"I guess he was from...I dunno. Earlier? He didn't seem like he was the same guy as from - when it was near the end."

Before he died, a pointless end to a pointless crusade. Maybe that's what It wanted all along; for Its puppet to perish at the hands of Its favorite little toy. The mere thought clenches his fingers into fists and stiffens the muscles in his jaw, but he bites into the wall of his cheek and breathes.

"I never..." He blows out a slow exhale, shaking his head. "I dunno how much of him was really him, by the end."