Collection of Souls
Ermac is a collection of souls, bound together by Quan Chi's dark magic. The souls within him were intended to function as a group mind. That part of the spell is temporarily undone, however, when Ermac is defeated by Mileena. During that period, one of the souls in Ermac's collection takes control of his group mind. It is that of Emperor Jerrod, deceased ruler of Outworld and husband of Empress Sindel. He rejoins the royal family, aiding Empress Mileena's reign. But when Ermac's collection of souls reestablishes its control, Ermac retreats to Outworld's shadows. No longer Quan Chi's slave, nor bound to the royal family, he must find a future worth fighting for.

For a moment, Jerrod took control. We fixed the damage which had allowed him, and reimposed our collective will.
But the damage went further than We thought. Without Quan Chi’s aid, the spell which birthed us would fail. All of our souls would die.
We freed the sorcerer from captivity. But after healing us, he betrayed us. He schemed to make us his slave once again.
Kombat was fierce. Yet, We persisted. Finding strength in the unique abilities of our collected souls.
Now We must decide our future path.
Reconciling our desires will be difficult, but reconcile them We must. If not, We will be consumed by civil war.