Riku pulls him up and dizzy, Vanitas looks into his face like he doesn't quite recognize him— just long enough for Elden to get in the middle. The movement jostles him back into the present, lets him shake off the remainder of the spell in time to look Elden in the face when he tries to dress him down.

Vanitas snarls wordlessly at him and violently slaps the hand on his shoulder off. It gives him the space to take a single step back and take a breath, even as his chest is heaving, even as he feels the echoing burn of Elden's Light in his body. He curls his hands into fists and turns his face, spitting blood onto the Invincible floor as his eyes stay trained on the other two boys.