"What is the last memory you have?" Zein asked the esper.
Varion immediately became defensive. "Why would I tell you that?"
Zein raised his hand and Varion winced in reflex, flinching back slightly. The esper stopped when he heard someone scoff and in embarrassment, realized that the guide wasn't about to hit him. Zein tapped his commlink, and the screen appeared in front of Varion.
On that screen, Varion could see himself mumbling something that couldn't be caught by the commlink's audio system. But it was clear enough that he didn't look like himself, with eyes that sometimes moved wildly and sometimes became void. He was restrained with a chaining spell, but he wasn't moving in the first place; shoulder dropped and limbs slacked.
That was...him? Varion watched the recording with widened eyes.