Deneve was asleep. Lord Red washed the few dishes. He prepared a cup of tea before retreating to the settee with a book. The parasitic Spirit didn’t seem to worry her.

He shouldn’t have lied about his name and how they got into this world, but not knowing what she remembered, it seemed like a logical option. After all, he was a pariah to his school of study in their world. He did not know how she would react if she knew he was the dreaded Lord Red.

She was beautiful enough. Redrick would have been lying if he hadn’t recognized that her appearance appealed to him. She was exotic, dark-skinned, with carmine-colored eyes and flowing black tresses. The golden butterfly tattoo accented her mysterious appearance. He was conscious of her dainty frame as he stooped a good bit when he’d helped her across the room.

In truth, he was merely a few years older than she, but his battle with Marg had artificially aged him. He would remain with her until he discovered his Spirit’s home. Once that was satisfied, he would leave to return to his research alone.

He sought to replace his Godr Sphera as he had sacrificed the sphera to save them. He gave up both Marg and Arne’s powers without it. Neither of the summonses had spoken to him for some time. He had his staff, but the sphera were more powerful. He had assumed she could assist him in creating a new Godr Sphera.

However, if the Spirit took those memories, she wouldn’t be of any help.
He scowled at the paradox of encountering someone he would have considered close to an equal and being unable to discuss the probabilities due to the Spirit’s influence.

A sudden frantic cry from the bed broke him from his conjectures. He immediately made his way across the room to see a still sleeping Deneve in terror. Before he thought about what he was doing, Redrick sat on the bed and drew her close to him as he attempted to wake her gently. Failing that, he just sought to soothe her. He couldn’t imagine what caused Deneve to have such an awful ordeal. Perhaps it was a trauma from the explosion. She never woke. However, she seemed to respond to his words, “you’re safe. I’m here.” Once she was sleeping peacefully, he slipped off the bed and sank onto the settee.