Kael circulated his mana into the crystal.
The effect was immediate. The Soul Vein Crystal hummed beneath his palms, and the purple glow intensified, pulsing faster, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat. Mana flowed out of him in a controlled stream — not the violent flood of combat, but a measured, deliberate current guided by the Breath of the Deep Green technique.
The mana traveled up his arms, through his shoulders, into his neck, and then into the specialized meridian loop in his brain. The technique's pathway was precise — a closed circuit that threaded through the frontal lobe, looping back on itself in a pattern that felt unnatural, like writing with the wrong hand.
The crystal absorbed the mana. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then it fed something back.
Kael's entire body locked up.
