All of Caius' fears came to life as Lumina folded against him, an illusion forming at her side. He could sense it right away, the scourge-bound creature. It was here also that he realized that the parasite wasn't pure scourge. Something new and original was at the base of it, only blighted on top of that to give it further strength. It was far more sentient than the scourge had ever been, calling itself Eve.

"Pretty name. I like Lumina, or Claire, better myself however."

The shakes had stopped soon after the creature had appeared. When it began taunting him, his panic surprisingly began to fade away. It wasn't completely gone, no. Just pushed under the surface as Caius turned to stare at the creature, a smirk beginning to spread across his expression. He knew when desperation was seeping in, and even this parasite was capable of feeling it. It felt threatened, very threatened, by what they were capable of doing. He was indeed worried about the possibility that if it were to separate from her and materialize as its own thing, that it would take her memories. The memories of their time together that Caius had feared losing himself with all the instances of people disappearing lately. But he had belief in something that perhaps the parasite didn't. Better yet...

"Memories on Zephon come, go, and come back. Even if you take them, they will return. That is the way of this world" Caius spoke as he did his best to bring confidence to the fore. "But it's funny that you materialize when I bring up Noctis. Because I don't think Noctis is what you should be worrying about. Or even me."

A cheeky grin began to form as Caius cocked his head towards Lumina. "You underestimate her."

The creature's clear desperation had given him hope. A light at the end of the tunnel. The idea that they could actually do this, and that they had the resources and capability, if the parasite was taking these measures now. Threatening him with Lumina's memories. It told more story of its own weaknesses than anything else it had ever done. But there was another weakness, and that was one Caius was happy to share, to continue its desperation, to let it grow even more worked up... And eventually make a mistake.

"You claim to know how hard she's fighting, you complained about it before. But let's be honest. You have no idea just how strong she really is" Caius gladly brought up. "She's aided me in ways that nobody else could. Not Kings, Queens, Generals or gods. Through pure determination and compassion, she's helped me to heal and find my way forward. And that's how I know that even without Noctis, or even myself... She'd figure it out eventually. Of course..."

Caius wrapped his arms around Lumina, and took a deep breath as he began to channel his magic. "Doesn't mean she can't have a little help."

It had occurred to him that his magic made him innately resistant to the scourge. And if it scourge was what was anchoring the parasite's strength and allowing it to take hold as much as it was, and to spread...

Flashes of blue light began to flow from Caius and into Lumina. Infusing her with his own magic. He may not be able to give someone his abilities the way Noctis could, but as the Power of Kings was shown to be something flexible and able to be melded, kneaded and shaped in the way that the user desired... There was one thing he was sure that he could do.

And that was use his magic to push back the parasite. Drown it out, push it down as far and for as long as humanly possible. So that its ability to spread would, for now, stop. That it couldn't harm Lorenzo or her father, or others in Sonora any longer. It would buy Lumina time, he hoped. Buy her time for them to find a solution. After all, this was the same kind of magic that Noctis had used to blot out the scourge in the first place. Not as powerful, but it was clear that in the Power of Kings, the scourge had a weakness.

Even if her eye began to heal and the illusion disappeared, he didn't stop. He kept channeling his magic, even when his magic began to hit dangerously low levels.

And then finally, it stopped. Caius held out his arms to keep her from hitting the ground as he fell to his knees himself, short of breath. He'd hit Stasis, a temporary state of magic shortage stemming from overuse of the Power of Kings. While he had enough to protect himself if need be, his stamina was spent.

This was how he had chosen to repay her for her kindness. The least he could do was give her some time with her father without fear.

"It was nice... Hah... Meeting you... Eve. Heh."

“Your determination is commendable...Though I'm not so sure you're worthy of this. After all...you don't love her."

Caius rolled his eyes at that remark. Feeding on his own previous insecurities of where things possibly stood, go figure. The fact was he wasn’t sure where he was at, not in a way he could voice anyway. But deep down, he knew something was there. He just wasn’t ready to bring it up. Not just yet.

“Don’t bother speaking of things you know nothing about.”

Then Eve began rambling more. It could be truth, could be lies. He wasn’t sure. What he did know was that no matter the consequences, her safety and that of those around her had to come first. So he didn’t stop until he dropped.

“Claire. Her name is Claire. That doesn’t change.”

Simple and calm, confident in the older Claire’s ability to overcome whatever was in front of her. Lightning, Lumina, those were all just labels in his view. And while shenanigan had created a second Claire out of a technicality, Lumina had mastered herself enough to regain herself as the older Claire. Even with the parasite trying to stop that from happening.

So he was definitely surprised to see her change form completely, different in age and voice. Caius knew what was coming the moment he saw her change, but…

It didn’t make her forgetting him hurt any less. The heartbreak wasn’t something he could hide, and he averted his eyes at that.

“I feel old but I don’t think I am quite there just yet.”

Hiding his pain behind a mask was the ‘ol reliable for Caius. And there was no point in sending her into a panic regardless. So he kept his calm on the surface and looked over when her father showed up.

“Uncle? I thought you were her father?” Caius brought up with a quirked brow, staring at her “uncle” in confusion as they apparently couldn’t even keep her assumed identity straight. One that Lumina still hadn’t fully elaborated on to him. Caius managed to pull himself to his feet, bringing “Clarissa” up with him as he made his way to uncle dad, being forced to lean on him to keep himself standing.

“A monster attempted to take possession of her body” Caius whispered to them as he did so. “I have managed to stopgap it with my magic, but they appear to have activated a defense that has reverted her to a prior state. How, I don’t know. But it should be temporary, as my own method was. I wanted to buy her some time before it could do her any harm.”

Not the entire truth, but enough to give them a gist of the situation without blowing Lumina’s cover.

“You should get her inside. She should be safe for the time being, at least. I used up my reserves entirely to make sure.”

“If you’re that invested in love, maybe try building your own body.”

Calm snark came out of his mouth once more. The challenge of a visible opponent was something that Caius could handle with relative ease. The mistake that the parasite had made was revealing itself and in turn, bringing Caius into his element.

“She’s still Claire in the end.”

Then the demon was gone, only Clarissa remained, and he was in uncharted territory once more. They would be helped in and seated, and then began the story. Ever so slowly, Caius pieced together the situation. The man’s daughter, Clarissa, had died, and Lumina for reasons unknown, had been allowed to take her place. And the father actually seemed to know, even if never directly stated and as much as he danced around it.

If he was to guess, he had adopted Lumina and passed her off as Clarissa to protect her from the Sonorans. Which explained a great deal. Caius lowered his head. And closed his eyes in acknowledgment of the man’s loss.

This was a difficult situation for Clarissa as well, and likely even more for the father who was seeing his daughter the way she was before she was killed. Caius didn’t even want to imagine what they were going through right now.

"Are these two...associates of yours?"

“The prospective boyfriend, or so you’ve been telling me.”

He moved to pat Mog on the head as he tried to keep his calm, the jokes serving a purpose in of itself. Subtly, he was trying to jog her memory. But in a way safe enough to play off if it failed.

Perhaps it was because he'd been specifically searching her for a reaction, but...

Caius heard that.

A small, but sly, mischievous grin began to form. Along with an idea. “Would you care to pick the next date location then, Claire-issa?” Caius teased then, knowing the pronounciation and teasing her a bit had a chance of poking at her dormant memories. “With the monster pushed back, we should be able to go out together safely, if you would like.”

He had to avert his gaze from her father, however, as he said this. Because the more he spoke, the more he remembered her father was listening to him tease her on the topic of romance. And the more that he spoke, the more that his cheeks heated up and the harder he chewed the inside of his cheek awkwardly until he just found himself looking down at his own knees to avoid everyone at once. Sure, there was a practical purpose. But he wasn’t all that forward like Lumina was.

The possibility was broached, as she spoke up, that Clarissa’s soul could remain in her. Cassius managed to find the courage to look back to her grieving father. “It’s likely she is projecting what she remembers of her. But having another soul inside her is just another Tuesday for Claire” came a touch of sass, but he knew ‘er long that there was no happiness to be found in this subject. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t get your hopes up. I know what it’s like to lose your loved ones and how desperately you want them back.”

They soon reached a point where “Clarissa” began demanding to know what was going on. Caius let out a sigh as he considered his words, piecing together how to put this gently in a way that wouldn’t break her brain. “You were attacked by a monster, a parasite. I did my best to use my magic to keep it away, but it messed with your memories. That’s why you don’t remember everything that’s happened.”

Remembering his plan, he placed a hand on his cheek with a jokingly disappointed breath. “Which is a shame, truly. It would have been nice to have company out in Sonora.”