Chapter XLVI - The Purpose of Life Is a Life of Purpose

I didn't even think about what I was doing. I pushed myself off the rock and jumped after him. I caught the young mage in mid-air, but at this point my strained wings reached their limit. Despite my efforts, his weight pulled me down, onto the rocky slope, and we covered the rest of the distance towards the bottom in an exceptionally unpleasant way.

When the world around me finally stopped spinning and there was suddenly hard ground behind my back, all I could feel was pain... and lack of air. It took a few horrible moments before I managed to take a proper breath again... There was a sharp pain in my left side, accompanied by the not so small weight of Light, who unfortunately landed right on top of my ribs. I hoped that it would at least mean that my efforts to shield him during the fall didn't go to waste... Still, I didn't have the courage to open my eyes and see the actual result... Eventually though, I had to, and looked...