But Grim found he couldn't halt the flow. The sacred location's concentrated mana had created a feedback loop with his new heart, drawing in more power than his body could safely process.
Mana began crackling around him in visible arcs of blue and silver light.
"I can't control it," Grim said through gritted teeth, sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled against the overwhelming force.
The first explosion erupted from his left hand—a burst of uncontrolled mana that shattered a boulder ten feet away.
The second came from his chest, creating a shockwave that flattened the grass in a twenty-foot radius around their position.
"Focus on your breathing!" Húwáng commanded, moving quickly to place stabilizing hands on Grim's shoulders. "Don't fight the energy—guide it outward gradually!"
But the mana had its own momentum. A third explosion, larger than the previous ones, erupted from Grim's entire body, sending both him and the Fox King tumbling backward.
