"Bro, you can't!" Adrian shouted—his voice trembling with emotions that felt foreign coming from Grall's own mouth.
Grall felt a sad smile tug at his lips as he drew the blade closer to his throat. "I have to, my friend." His hands shook as he forced Adrian's hand—his own hand—nearer. "It's either you or me, and if I have to choose… then it has to be you."
A sickening laughter echoed around them. "Yes," the voice crooned, dripping with amusement. "Who will it be, I wonder?"
Grall ignored it. He cupped Adrian's blood-stained face with a trembling hand. "I'll make it quick. And clean." His voice cracked in his ears—Adrian's ears. With that same sad smile, he plunged the blade into Adrian's heart.
The world warped.
Grall found himself staring down at his brother—Grodak—his sword buried in the orc's chest.
Grodak looked up at the man he once called brother, staring into those cold, black eyes that no longer recognized him. His words could no longer reach Grall. He glanced down at the steel lodged in his torso, a tear welling in his eye. His grip tightened desperately around Grall's sword hand; if he let go, he knew he would die.
"You took her away from me!" Grall screamed. The sorrow in his voice crashed over Grodak like waves as every plant around them shriveled and died.
Grodak swallowed bitter tears. He knew what he needed to do—what might free his brother from this torment. He dragged Grall close and whispered into his ear, voice shaking with revulsion at his own words.
"That's right," he rasped. "I killed her. And I'd do it again… and again… and again."
Grall—his own brother—let out a feral scream and shoved the blade deeper into Grodak's chest. Blood spilled from Grodak's lips as the world froze mid-motion.
A figure known only as the Source gazed upon the suspended scene with a faint smile. "I've watched your tale from beginning to end," he said as he stepped forward, the frozen moment unmoving around him. "I know what you wish to ask of me… and I cannot deny that I wish I could grant it." He turned his eyes to the orc, gentle but firm. "But I cannot give you your wish, Grall."