Point of View: Tharok
What did Marek mean…?
His words kept echoing inside my head.
"Then why do you think he doesn't know?"
I quickly shook my head.
No.
That was impossible.
The image of my father appeared in my mind, but I immediately pushed it away.
—No… that can't be…
My breathing became heavy.
—It's impossible…
It had to be a lie from Marek.
He just wanted to break me.
To enjoy seeing me like this.
Yes.
That made more sense.
It had to be that.
Or rather…
It could only be that.
I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes.
—I won't give you what you want, Marek…
My voice came out trembling.
—I won't let you disturb my mind.
Then I heard footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
My expression hardened.
It had to be him again.
He had probably come back to mock me some more.
Yes.
That was it.
He wanted to see me doubt.
He wanted to destroy the last thing I had left.
But he wouldn't succeed.
I raised my voice before seeing him appear.
—What do you want now, Marek?
No response came.
I frowned.
—Speak.
—What do you want now?
The footsteps kept approaching.
And little by little, a silhouette emerged from the darkness.
At first, I thought it was him.
But then I hesitated.
I had known Marek for far too long.
That figure…
Wasn't his.
But it felt familiar.
Very familiar.
My heart began pounding against my chest.
And when the figure finally got close enough—
My breathing stopped.
—…Father?
Point of View: Rogan
Tharok's eyes widened completely.
—Father… is that really you?
I observed him silently for a few seconds.
He was in a miserable state.
Covered in blood.
Deep wounds.
No origin energy left.
And yet…
He was still alive.
I answered coldly.
—Yes, son.
—It's me.
Relief immediately appeared on his face.
—I'm glad you're safe…
—Sara and Marek betrayed us.
I didn't respond.
He continued quickly.
—Hurry, free me.
—If I get to Dalaran, they can still heal me.
He still didn't understand.
Or perhaps…
He simply didn't want to understand.
I only walked slowly until I stood directly in front of him.
My eyes traveled over his wounded body.
He was finished.
And then he finally noticed something strange.
—Father…
His voice turned uncertain.
—Why aren't you saying anything…?
Silence began crushing him.
I could see it in his eyes.
The doubt.
The fear.
And finally…
Understanding.
His breathing became erratic.
—No…
—Something's wrong…
Then he whispered slowly:
—How did you find me so quickly…?
This time, I answered.
My voice sounded completely cold.
—You already know the answer to that question, son.
Silence once again filled the dungeon.
And then I added:
—And you should also know why I'm here.
His pupils trembled.
But he said nothing more.
There was no point in talking anymore.
I grabbed one of the chains restraining his body and pulled hard.
The metal screeched against the stone.
His body slammed heavily onto the ground.
And I began dragging him out of the dungeon.
Throughout the entire journey, neither of us spoke.
Tharok didn't say a single word.
Not even when the stones tore at his skin as he was dragged across the ground.
I had nothing to say to him either.
The important decisions had been made long ago.
When we finally stepped outside, the freezing wind struck my face.
Snow fell slowly from the dark sky, covering the trees of Frostfang in a white blanket.
I looked toward the horizon.
The sun had almost disappeared.
—Nightfall will arrive in a few minutes…
I frowned slightly.
—I need to finish this quickly.
The abominations became far more active during the night.
Staying here too long would be reckless.
I calmly looked around.
This dungeon belonged to Drakar's tribe.
And I still needed to return.
I had to find out whether he suspected anything.
Or if he still failed to understand the true scale of the problem.
Without saying another word, I tied Tharok's chains around a tree.
The metal tightened firmly around the snow-covered trunk.
Only then did I finally look at him.
—Do you have any last questions, son?
His voice came out hoarse.
Painful.
Broken.
—Why… father?
The disappointment in his eyes was obvious.
But to me…
The answer was simple.
—Power.
The freezing wind swept through the forest as I spoke.
—For power, son.
I stared at him directly.
—You are too strong.
And that made you dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Not only to my position.
But also to my life.
I let out a slow sigh.
—Sooner or later, you would have replaced me.
And perhaps Tharok would never have taken the position willingly.
But that didn't matter.
Because the world did not function according to intentions.
It functioned according to power.
And Tharok possessed too much of it.
Far more than he should have.
My gaze slowly lowered toward him.
—If you thought about things calmly…
My voice became even colder.
—You would understand why I did it.