The force of it launched him sideways, airborne for one horrible second, and he hit the ground rolling and came up coughing, chest on fire, and the Wrath still cooking through every cell because he could not afford to drop it.
Alice's healing bloomed across his torso. He felt the mana drain spike through their link, felt her reserves dip from the cost of repairing broken bone while the Dominion Convergence was still running, and the math in his head came up red.
'Healing on the ribs, nothing else. I need you to have mana for later.'
'Trust me. This is... nothing.'
With a weary heart, the little sister listened. The healing focused on the three breaks, bone knitting back together in a warm pulse that cost her exactly what she could afford and nothing more. His shoulder stayed fractured. His mouth stayed bloody.
