"Who... are…. you?"
A single question that broke them further. Shattered whatever hope they had been holding onto. Benny was utterly confused by the situation. They knew him somehow, but he didn't know them in return. And the more he tried to remember, the more his head hurt. As if there was something actively blocking him from accessing his own mind. A wall he couldn't see or climb over.
"His voice is no longer the same!" someone observed from the group. "One of his eye colors has changed, and his hair now has streaks of silver. Is this really the Benny we know?"
The question hung in the air like smoke. Because objectivity seemed to have been lost in the moment. Everyone was just relieved he was alive. They wanted it to be him so badly that they were overlooking the differences.
These weren't observations that could normally be noticed by Benny himself. He didn't have an introspective image of his current and past self. That too was blurred beyond recognition. Only fragments remained. His name was Benny. He was stuck here in this place. Beyond that, everything was fog.
His memories had eroded. Not just from the time they got stuck here, but even some of his past memories. Even information about himself that was supposed to be important. Foundational things. Like Alzheimer's disease eating away at the mind, but this one wasn't natural. It was through divine intervention. A cosmic price paid for a power he never asked for.
One of them who specialized in supporting the combat team approached him carefully. It was to inspect not just his outward physical appearance but also what lay within. To get answers beyond what eyes could see.
"May I hold you?" Meredith asked permission, her voice gentle.
Of course, they weren't actually sure what was happening or who this person really was. If it was human or if it was a monster pretending to be human, wearing Benny's face like a mask. Those around her were still restraining Benny. They had already restrained him during the fight, but they made sure to add extra measures now. Rope around his wrists. Hands on his shoulders keeping him down.
Benny was too tired to resist, so he didn't fight it. Instead, he bided his time to recover. He wanted to escape this place eventually. This felt more humiliating than crawling and hiding away from monsters. Like he was being subjected to an interrogation while simultaneously having his rights violated. Treated like a suspect rather than a person.
Meredith gently placed her hand on his head. She had a skill to check how a person was doing internally. It was a skill called the «Mind's Eye». It was able to get a better read or gather more information about a person's mental and spiritual state. Of course, it was overpowered in some sense, but it also had its own limitations. For one, you would need to use it regularly to level it up to a certain proficiency. Gaining experience led to better results and deeper insights.
As she placed her hand on his head, she began to examine his mind. She found out that it was in complete disharmony. There were significant changes since the last time she had done this to him. That time when he was still the version they knew. The Benny who was nervous but determined. Who smiled and joked despite his fears.
She was shocked to learn that this could happen to a person. That such profound damage could occur at all. Mind's Eye was a good skill to complement her healing arts, but this was beyond her. It was something deep and fundamental that couldn't be healed by external influence. Well, she could try to help, but it would only go so far. Like putting a bandage on a severed limb.
She pulled her hand back and took a breath. She now had her own assessment of the situation.
"He is indeed the Benny we know," she said carefully, choosing her words. "But whatever happened to him is terrible. His mind is in complete disarray. He's healthy physically, but other than that, he's broken. That must be the reason he can no longer identify us. And maybe he can't even fully identify himself. I don't think this can be healed, either. This seems like something fundamental, beyond us. His mind seems to be blocked by something I couldn't quite comprehend."
They could see sweat forming on the side of her head. Even her body was sweating profusely, her hands trembling slightly as she pulled them away from Benny.
It seemed she had seen far more than what she just announced. But explaining it was difficult. It was both scary and not scary at the same time. Like peering into an endless abyss and realizing another eye was looking back at her. Something vast and patient and utterly inhuman watching from the other side.
"So you're saying that he is human? And that he is the Benny we know?" Gustav asked, seeking clarification. Needing concrete answers.
"Technically, yes. But..." Meredith paused, struggling to articulate what she'd witnessed. "It may no longer be the Benny that we knew before. Not completely."
"Hahaha... this has become complicated. What the fuck happened to you, man?" Rippler's laugh was hollow. His fiery personality and confusion were apparent but understandable. Different people processed different information and perceived things differently. Some laughed when they didn't know what else to do.
Gustav then gave an order, his voice firm. "If he is the Benny we know, then what we're doing to him right now is inappropriate. Release him. We've already done enough."
The hands on Benny's shoulders lifted. The ropes around his wrists were cut. He rubbed his wrists where the bindings had been, feeling the circulation return.
Benny could only feel relief that he was now released. He had heard the conversation, of course. So it seemed he did know them after all. That none of this was hallucination or dream. He was still grounded in reality, though it seemed like a different reality from what they remembered. A shifted version where pieces didn't quite line up.
And to be honest, there were many things he didn't understand. From the moment he woke up in this place to how he got here in the first place. Why he was here. What he was supposed to do. All of it was fragments and fog.
But now, this all seemed to be clearer. At least a little.
For the first time in a while, he tried to make conversation with someone other than himself. He too had questions. So many questions. But his voice, his thoughts, couldn't formulate well. The words felt foreign in his mouth. Like a language he'd forgotten how to speak.
"Ahh... ahh... tell me... who you people are..."
The words came out broken. Halting. Like someone relearning speech after a stroke.
Everyone looked at each other. The pity in their eyes was obvious. They understood now. This wasn't going to be a simple reunion. This wasn't going to be relief and joy and everything going back to normal.
It seemed they all would need to have a long talk with each other. To explain who they were. What had happened. How they'd gotten separated. And maybe, if they were lucky, some of those explanations would stick in Benny's fractured mind.
Gustav sat down on the ground, gesturing for the others to do the same. If they were going to do this, they should do it properly. Not standing over Benny like interrogators.
"Alright," Gustav said quietly. "Let's start from the beginning. My name is Gustav. I was the leader of our group's expedition when we first entered this place. Do you remember anything about that? About entering the labyrinth?"
Benny stared at him. Tried to pull up memories. Found only blank spaces and pain.
"No," he said simply. His voice was rough, unused to forming words.
Gustav nodded. He'd expected as much. "That's alright. We'll explain everything. This is going to take a while."
Nida was still on her knees, tears still streaming down her face. She couldn't stop looking at Benny. At the hollow eyes that didn't recognize her. At the silver streaks in his hair that hadn't been there before. At the changed eye color that made him look like a stranger wearing Benny's face.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry I left you."
Benny looked at her. Confusion clear on his face. "Left... me?"
"You were dying," Nida said, her voice breaking. "You were hurt so badly and the enemies were converging on our position. You asked me to leave, no, I was selfish, I thought you were dead. I ran, I ran by myself. I'm sorry."
Benny processed this information. It didn't spark any memories, but it felt important somehow. Like a piece of a puzzle he didn't know he was solving.
"It's... okay," he said slowly. Not because he remembered or forgave, but because he didn't know what else to say. The woman in front of him was in pain, and some instinct told him to try to ease it.
Rippler sat down heavily. His anger from before had completely evaporated. "Fuck, man. What did this place do to you?"
That was the question, wasn't it? What had the labyrinth done to Benny? What had the resurrections cost him? What price had he paid for refusing to stay dead?
They didn't know. And Benny couldn't tell them because he didn't know either.
All they knew was that something fundamental had been taken. Something that couldn't be returned.
The conversation would be long. The explanations would be difficult. And even after everything was said, Benny might not remember any of it tomorrow.
But they had to try. Because he was alive. And as long as he was alive, there was some small chance that pieces of who he used to be might still be salvaged.
Or so they hoped.