The sense of being engulfed is more than physical. The well of intensity that opens inside Midoriya is of a kind Paul knows well, and for a moment, he struggles to define a boundary between them. For a moment, it feels like being swallowed.

But Paul is learning how to swim in these black waves. He doesn't pull away. He reaches back, slipping his own arms around Midoriya's back and stabilizing him against Paul's seated form. This is the type of thing that would send traceries of sharp alarm through him; that maybe should be now, even as he finds himself still calm.

"I've got you," he assures him, unhesitant and steady, "I'm here. We're all right."