Benny had some time to think about all that had happened recently. Enough time that he figured it was safe to go back now. Significant time had passed. Those people should be long gone by now.
But little did he know, they were persistent in their pursuit. They wanted to know who the masked individual was so they could finally put the matter to rest. Nida's insistence had divided them on the issue and caused a temporary rift among the group. Some thought it was a waste of time. Others couldn't let it go.
Benny carefully treaded along the path toward the first floor sanctuary. The team had actually hidden themselves outside the sanctuary, positioned in the corridors and alcoves nearby. They could trap the masked individual when it returned.
Benny returned slowly, creeping forward with practiced stealth. What he didn't know was that he was currently being watched by multiple pairs of eyes. Hidden in the shadows. Weapons ready.
He scouted the area beforehand, of course. Carefully, not making himself known. At least, that was what he hoped. He saw no one. The sanctuary appeared empty. Abandoned.
He let his guard down.
He entered the sanctuary, wanting to see what those people had done here. Whether they had disturbed his things. Whether they had left any clues about who they were.
After his inspection, he began to strip himself of his armor and weapons. It was too heavy for resting. Too restrictive. And finally, his mask. He set it all aside carefully.
That was a grave mistake.
The team carefully approached from two entrance points simultaneously. It meant that he was now trapped inside, caught between them. They had decided on this tactic some time ago, debating the best way to corner their target without giving them an escape route.
And it seemed to have worked pretty well. They had taken this being completely off guard.
Benny could only curse internally. Fuck. What do I do now?
He hurriedly grabbed his mask and weapons. His armor would take too long to put back on. He was now like a trapped rat, cornered by many cats. All exits blocked. All advantages lost.
Without any more options he could resort to, he was now prepared to face them and take down as many as he could before they overwhelmed him. It wouldn't be easy, but he could attack the weakest side. Or if these people let down their guard for even a moment, he would seize it. Strike fast. Create an opening.
"You fucker! You made us wait!" Rippler's voice echoed through the sanctuary, sharp with anger. "Tell us who you are, and I promise I won't kill you! But if you're a monster, then expect your head to roll!"
Clearly, Rippler had been agitated, and his anger hadn't dissipated since their first encounter. He wanted to know badly if this being really was Benny. And if it wasn't, then they could finally rest their case. Move on. Stop wasting time on ghosts.
Benny, of course, didn't answer. He didn't know why they wanted to know who he was. And he was under no obligation to tell them anything. His voice had changed anyway. Would they even understand him if he spoke?
That being said, this was getting dangerous for him by the second. The others had closed the gap on his exit routes. And they had a solid defensive formation. They weren't weak, either. These were veterans. Survivors. People who knew how to fight.
To make matters worse, he had already stripped some of his armor. His chest and shoulders were exposed. Vulnerable.
Then a female voice called out his name. A begging voice, full of plea and desperate hope.
"Be... Benny? Are you Benny? Please, tell us who you are. Please, I beg you."
Nida was pleading with him. Imploring him to answer.
So they would know who he was. Or at least, they thought they did.
But he couldn't remember who they were. What if these were just voices inside his head and none of this was real? What if this was an elaborate illusion designed to make him lower his guard? What if these weren't humans at all but shapeshifters who had taken on human faces? Skinwalkers, wearing the forms of people he once knew?
He was full of doubts and paranoia. So he didn't answer.
Instead, he took on a full combat posture. Knees bent. Weight balanced. Weapons ready.
"That's it, you fucker! I don't care anymore about who you are, but you're pissing me off!"
Rippler charged at him, his flaming spear already manifesting in his hands. Fire magic wreathed the blade, casting dancing shadows across the sanctuary walls.
Benny anticipated the attack and parried it with his sword. The clash rang out like a bell. He followed with a counter immediately, not giving Rippler time to recover. He wanted to be fluid in his motion. Constant movement. So he wouldn't get stuck in one place where they could surround him completely.
He tried to move to the next opponent, but the numbers and skill of the people here were proving difficult to overcome. If that was the case, then he wanted this to be a close-quarters melee battle. He made sure to position himself directly in front of the melee fighters who attacked him. Using them as shields. So that the ranged fighters couldn't fire their arrows or spells without risking hitting their own teammates.
But Rippler's anger was rising. His killing intent began to leak out, thick and palpable in the air.
And they had all forgotten something important.
Battles inside the sanctuaries were prohibited, especially when one was exuding killing intent with the potential to harm another occupant. The defense mechanisms were just about to activate. The air began to shimmer. A low hum started to build.
Gustav saw it and shouted immediately. "What are you doing, Rippler?! Contain your bloodlust! Everyone, restrain this being! Get to the bottom of this without killing intent!"
That's right. They had discovered long ago the limitations of the sanctuary's activation of its defenses. When significant killing intent was activated inside with the potential of harming one of the occupants, the sanctuary's ancient magic would respond. It would vaporize the aggressor to protect the innocent.
They all realized it now. The being in front of them was indeed human. The sanctuary only activated its defenses to protect humans from monsters or other humans. If this had been a monster, the defenses wouldn't take a long time to charge up, it would obliterate it directly. Monsters could instantly be killed the moment they show any killing intent, but for humans there is a significant wind up, it was like giving them a chance.
So the best course of action was to incapacitate him without releasing their killing intent. To restrain rather than destroy.
Benny knew of this function, of course. That's why he still had some confidence that they wouldn't be able to kill him inside. He took the chance that he could use this protective function to his advantage. Force them to fight with restraint while he fought with everything he had.
He had used this tactic many times before when being chased by monsters. Lure them into the sanctuary and watch them get vaporized when they attacked. It was a cowardly tactic, sure. But victory meant another day of survival. And survival was all that mattered.
What he hoped wouldn't happen was already occurring. The overwhelming number of attacks was getting to him. His stamina was dwindling. Even with the sanctuary protecting him from lethal strikes, they could still disarm him. Exhaust him. Pin him down.
He fought desperately. Parried a spear thrust. Dodged a sword slash. Blocked a shield bash. But there were too many. Too coordinated.
Then his mask cracked. A blow from Greaves's shield caught him across the face. The mask, already damaged from previous fights, shattered into pieces.
He was now panting on the ground, surrounded. Disarmed. Defeated.
He had put up a good fight, but this was it. There was no escape now.
As the pieces of the mask fell away, they saw the face beneath.
It was unbelievable to them. No, it was especially unbelievable to Nida, who had seen him die from injuries too fatal to recover from. Who had held him as his blood pooled on the stone. Who had seen him close his eyes when his breathing finally stopped as she ran away by herself.
She fell to her knees. An assassin who had seen more deaths than she could count actually succumbed to the shock of witnessing a dead person still alive. Still breathing. Still here.
"So it was really you."
There was silence among them. Even Rippler, whose anger had driven him forward moments ago, stood frozen. Staring.
Even Benny, who was panting and gasping for air on the ground, didn't understand the somber mood or atmosphere. Why were they looking at him like that? Like they had seen a ghost?
Gustav stepped forward slowly. His voice was quiet when he spoke. "Benny. It's really you."
Benny's hollow eyes looked up at them. No recognition. No familiarity. Just confusion and wariness. Like a cornered animal looking at predators.
"Do you remember us?" Meredith asked, her voice breaking slightly.
Benny said nothing. Just stared.
Nida crawled forward on her knees, tears streaming down her face. "I watched you die. I left you there. I thought... I thought you were gone."
Still, Benny said nothing. His mind was racing. Were these people telling the truth? Were they really people he had known before? Before the fog in his mind appeared?
He couldn't remember. Couldn't trust his own memories even if he wanted to. Everything was fragments. Pieces that didn't fit together.
The reunion they had all hoped for had finally happened.
But it wasn't joyful. It wasn't relief.
It was tragedy. Because the person they found wasn't the person they had lost.
Benny was alive physically. But the Benny they knew was gone.
And neither side knew what to do with that terrible truth.