Elemental Cats

Toz had lowered the defenses on his mind. He had thus managed to regain some control of his breakthrough and his body and the mana ravaging it. But that did nothing to alleviate the sensation of having his body filled past the point of exploding with mana. There was also the fact that his body was on fire. And after that came the feeling of having his mana pool expanded to the verge of shattering.

The more Toz lowered his mental defenses, the greater clarity he had when it came to the outside world and the state of his body, which allowed him to contribute more easily to his breakthrough. But it also meant that he felt his pain that much more clearly.

The pain of his body repeatedly burning and recovering was especially excruciating. And if it weren't for the breakthrough and the mana storm locking his body in place, Toz was sure he would have screamed himself hoarse. But he couldn't even open his mouth, much less scream, despite the pain assailing his body.

And without an outlet, the pain only felt worse.

But there was nothing Toz could do. If he blocked out the pain again by sealing his mind and shutting out everything else, he would lose the ability to control his breakthrough. He would also lose the opportunity to break free from the mana storm spinning like a drill in order to burrow into his body.

However, compared to dying, enduring pain was significantly easier since it didn't come with the guilt of leaving the cats behind. As long as it didn't directly interfere with his actions, enduring and ignoring the pain was almost manageable.

So, while doing his best to ignore the pain and still retain the presence and clarity of his mind, Toz started controlling his breakthrough. In order to ignore the pain, he also ignored the source of the most intense pain, the fire burning his body from within and on the surface. He had retained just enough awareness of the flames to keep his body supplied with mana so that it could fight the fire and restore itself.

While doing that, Toz also began directing his breakthrough.

The mana surging through his body was too wild, and any attempts Toz made to control it failed. But the mana was forced to calm down when it entered his mana pool due to the size and lack of space to thrash around. However, that didn't mean Toz was in control.

Toz's body used the mana inside his mana pool to sustain itself and fight against the fire and mana wreaking havoc across his body.

But the mana that rushed into the mana pool was still greater than the amount that flowed out. While balancing the flow of mana, Toz also had to begin compressing the mana.

Breaking through while using his mana was quite stupid and nearly impossible. But thanks to the mana storm providing him with an infinite amount of mana, Toz felt that it might just be possible. It would just take longer than usual since he would have to slowly and gradually increase the quality and density of his mana while it was being used.

But, thanks to the mana storm, he didn't have to worry about not having enough mana to pressurize and condense the mana while also expanding his mana pool. And, thanks to the fire and his body using mana to recover from it, Toz didn't have to worry about his mana pool being unable to handle the amount of mana filling it and shattering.

The process sounded doable in theory, at least to Toz's exhausted and pain-addled mind. But even if he was clear-headed, Toz didn't have another choice. His body had already started the process, after all. And now, it was up to him to complete it and stay alive.

Toz began by controlling the mana in his mana pool, which was about the only thing he could do since the mana ravaging his body had wrestled control over it away from him.

Like with other breakthroughs, Toz only had to condense his mana until it turned from a thick orange liquid state into a more solid, clay-like state. The only catch was that he had to do it while letting enough slip out to sustain his body and keep it from exploding or burning up.

Toz shaped the mana into a funnel-like shape where the exit would let out just enough to keep his body afloat. And then, he would use the overflowing cone to restrain, suppress, and condense the mana that entered his body.

Since more mana entered his mana pool than he had to let out, Toz felt that he would succeed eventually. It was just a matter of time. He only had to endure the pain of his body tearing and burning for a little while longer.

As more and more mana entered his mana pool and the funnel, the density and quality gradually increased. It was much slower than if he had broken through using ordinary means. But it was proof that it worked. Well, it wouldn't have worked without a mana storm or something similar that gave Toz an endless amount of mana to work with during his breakthrough. It would have also been impossible without the fire burning his body since it forced his body to drain mana away from the mana pool.

Toz continued enduring the pain and compressing his mana using the funnel. He had expected it to be slow. But it was even slower than he imagined. The only solace he found was that the higher the quality of the mana he managed to condense, the less he had to use to combat the fire and restore his body.

That meant that the process of condensing the mana entering his mana pool would become easier and smoother since there wouldn't be as much leaving his mana pool. But that also meant he wouldn't have as much leeway when it came to the available space within his mana pool.

Toz had to expand his mana pool either way, but if he failed to control and compress the mana entering his body quickly enough, his mana pool would inevitably shatter. If he couldn't condense his mana as quickly as it entered his mana pool, the volume of it would rapidly grow beyond what would fit inside his mana pool.

Toz had to find the balance between the influx of mana, his speed in condensing it, as well as how malleable his mana pool was. While his body was on fire.