The outer Ring slipped ahead again while Hajin kept Aegis locked against Dreth's ridge-wide strike.
Aria projected four rotation paths around his right forearm and placed a correction point wherever the new halo crossed an injured pathway. Each adjustment pulled power away from the barrier for less than a second.
Dreth felt those changes through the Zone and drove his spear harder whenever the gold surface weakened. The ground gained a finger each time before the next Ring returned it.
"Hold the same output," Aria warned as she moved the final correction, "changing force now will drag the fourth rotation away from me."
"You have ten seconds," Hajin replied while he kept his left hand open beneath the barrier, "after that, I change whatever Dreth makes necessary."
The correction passed through all four Rings, so the outer halo pulled into line without restoring anything else. His wound stayed open, and depleted mana remained beneath the critical mark.
