I think of it this way:
Activating Rift/Spirit Recall is an in-game thing that the character has to do, and they have to be able to be able to move their "head neck" in-game, but being able to speak i-g doesn't matter.
Per the scroll:
"To activate a Spirit Recall, the player recites, "I recall one. I recall two. I recall three."
The way I read it?
To activate it, you have to complete that entire sequence. Then, a second counted action is used to describe what is happening to the character with no way to stop the effect since it's completed and doing what it does.
But once that entire sequence is complete, the player then becomes like a Game Master and is announcing/describing to others what is happening "I rift out 1, I rift out 2, I rift out 3" or "I spirit recall 1, I spirit recall 2, I spirit recall 3" to describe to others what their characters are seeing in-game.
While counting, if the character takes any conscious in-game actions to defend themselves during the activation sequence (I recall one, I recall two, I recall three) like calling a Bane or Dodge, then the activation is interrupted.
If the character is able to complete the Activation Sequence above, then the 3-counted action afterward describing what is happening in-game by the player to the character cannot be interrupted, and the effect completes regardless of the state of the character. This also means that once the Activation Sequence is completed, the character cannot defend themselves with Smart Defenses as Rift and Spirit Recall incur no Immunity; the character must take whatever is thrown at them because the Effect has essentially completed and the player is simply describing to those around them what's happening to the character. Those status effect counts - if any exist - then pause during the OOG Spirit Walk, and start back up again once the Rift/Spirit Recall completes at the other side.
Personally, I think the whole mechanic is silly, confusing, and more complicated than it is worth and should be removed. But them's the breaks.
