The marks on his left arm grew hot, and he narrowed his eyes.
He nearly withdrew. Yet the heat did not spread beyond the amber lines, and with it came a stronger sense of the thorn ahead. Ulrich could feel the larger branch, the strained Vein beside it, and the hard intrusion fixed where the two crossed. He followed the space between living growth and obstruction until the thread of mana rested against one side of the thorn.
"Uhnn!"
Ceres's fingers tightened on the linen.
Ulrich stopped moving. Her breathing was faster, but she had not cried out, and the image above her still held. He waited for the pressure in her Tree to reduce. When it did, he gave the thorn the smallest pull he could manage.
It shifted.
The movement was so slight that Veinsight barely registered it. Mana Echo gave him a clearer answer: a harsh scrape through the affected Vein, followed by a moment in which the flow of mana sounded almost free. Ulrich's attention sharpened.
