diff --git a/single_shot_inference.py b/single_shot_inference.py
index 9dff6bcc..371c3f32 100644
--- a/single_shot_inference.py
+++ b/single_shot_inference.py
@@ -107,7 +107,14 @@ class mHCBlock:
         mixed_residual = torch.einsum('tij,tjh->tjh', comb_mix, residual.float())
         post_term = post_mix.unsqueeze(-1) * F_out.unsqueeze(1).float()
         residual_next = mixed_residual + post_term
-        return residual_next.bfloat16()
+        # Gentle normalization: RMSNorm but preserving relative magnitudes
+        # Only active to prevent runaway growth (MoE should handle most balance)
+        _T = residual_next.shape[0]
+        rn_f = residual_next.reshape(_T, self.n_hc, -1)
+        rms = rn_f.pow(2).mean(-1, keepdim=True).add(1e-6).rsqrt()
+        # Scale RMS so unit norm ≈ 1.0, not squash to sqrt(d)
+        scale = (rms * math.sqrt(rn_f.shape[-1])).clamp(max=1.0)
+        return (rn_f * scale).bfloat16()
 
 # =====================================================================
 # RoPE