"I'm integrated," Saguna corrected, though another wave of pain made him slide down the wall to sit heavily on the floor. "There's a difference."
Osa moved toward him instinctively, water already forming around his hands. But the moment his healing element approached Saguna's transformed state, it recoiled as if touching something that burned and froze simultaneously.
"I can't heal you," Osa said in horror, watching his water retreat from Saguna's form. "The corruption... it's fighting the healing."
"Not fighting," Saguna managed, black fire flickering around his hands before shifting to gold, then back to shadow. "Protecting. It's part of me now."
Another convulsion wracked his body, and he doubled over, coughing up blood that sparkled with both light and darkness. "Hurts," he admitted. "Everything pulling in different directions."
"This is killing him," Osa said desperately, looking to Radji for some analytical solution.
