❇ ⁞  training grounds

wistful footsteps barely make a single echo through the silent fields of the training grounds, a bustling arena commonly enliven with sparring and lively laughter now ghostly quiet, empty – jieqiong was all alone, as she'd rightfully intended. chestnut eyes peer through every nook and cranny of the field, surveying the area to make sure her suspicions of it being empty were correct. after a few long moments of checking, she'd figured it was.

through her searching, she finds a tiny opening from a window not more than a few paces from where she stood. it seems to shine warmly, with a certaim luminance concentrated and vibrant enough to be extracted and wielded.

"one, two," the countdown commences, every beat of her sandals against the ground aligned perfectly with her musing. "three, four, five," she continues, channeling down her inner reserve, searching through herself a mighty well of power ready and open for reaping. "six, seven..." she halts just a few steps in front of the window. just like her father had always taught her, true magic resonates from within. "eight, nine," what is seen by the eyes is a reaction from the clockwork that turns within one's mind, from the thundering, the pounding of a ready heart within one's chest. she steadies her breathing best as she could and enters a stance, two feet flat on the ground, as the final number slips through her in a form of a whisper.

"ten."

with the last count, she reaches the depth of the phantom well.

within the last 5 years, she'd only used her power for mundane, miniscule purposes. it served her moreso as a necessity than a skill that should be honed. but now, in the academy training grounds, she wills – no, allows herself to fully delve into her magic one again.

"you are true light jieqiong, you are what you wield. become it, embody it." her father's words ring loud and true within her as she takes the sliver of light between her calloused palms. exhaling a steady breath, the very same light that illuminated her hands seep through her flesh, traversing through her veins in an elegant waltz. in more ways that one, jieqiong knew she truly is what she wields: the glowing lines beneath her skin was one proof of it.

soon enough, her eyes glow a faint white light, too. it was a sign, a given physical signal that says her body knows and understands the maximum capacity of the light she has. how bright she can make it, how warm it could get, and when precisely must she stop before she harms herself. the window placed before her allows her to see the glow, but when the lack of a reflective surface is evident, she usually relies on how clouded her vision is becoming. if a certain instance is presented and she manipulates light to very exaggerated extents without first waiting for the sign of her eyes glowing, she knows it would mean highly dangerous results.

light was not meant to harm, but to heal oneself and all others. jieqiong tends to keep that known within herself.

and just like her father's teachings, she allows herself to become the light she wields. the transient sphere of light between her palms and her are one; through the connection in her veins, she is it's master and can instruct it to materialize into whatever shape or form she wishes.

the lass parts her digits further from each other slowly, and the light sphere between her hands glows significantly brighter than it's original state. she repeats the action a few times until it's even brighter, brighter, brighter.

letting the light settle into her palms, jieqiong begins shuts her lids in a delicate flutter. this is where in begins; whenever she weilds, she must do so like her mother and sisters: completely blind. light is a beautiful thing, but it cannot shine as bright as it's capacity can go without harming anyone else. jieqiong herself is not immune to that – and therefore, she learned to wield with both her eyes shut.

she raises her arms up just above her torso level and the sphere hangs in front of her, suspended in mid-air. with the rather shapeless bundle of light hovering still, motionless before her, she then decides it would be a good time to practice her morphing and shaping as well.

she knew she did not need to take the light between her palms anymore, for they are still connected through the same glow in her veins. she would be in complete control of the light for as far as it allows – when her veins stop glowing, it would mean she's lost full control over the light as well. and so she raises a pale arm once more, sinewy fingers instructing the bright sphere. she takes a few moments to form a functional lasso from the formerly spherical light, and to use said whip to envelope around a nearby stool she remembers she found lying around.

the lasso acts as a soldier, she is the commander and the light follows as she says. she raises the intensity even more, to a certain extent that would shine no lesser compared to the strength of ten common light bulbs combined. jieqiong hears the sizzling of the burning light against the wooden stool, and just when she's positive it had left a visible mark, she retracts the light wip and commands it to settle back into her extended palms.

after feeling it's faint warmth once again as it hovers back in front of her, she turns it yet again into it's original spherical shape. and just like she instructed it to glow bright, she also then reverts, willing the sphere to dim down more, more, more – until the light vanishes like it had never been there.

a few heartbeats and the glow on jieqiongs veins disappear as well. she looses another breath as she once again opens her eyes. she turns around swiftly and poorly fights the overpowering urge to grin like a madman with the energy left she had. she was slightly exhausted from wielding it to such an extend again after so long, but the reassurance that she still had it in her, that her father's lessons did not go to waste, filled her with great joy she fought so hardly to contain.

"poor stool..." she whispers to herself as she lays sight on her unsuspecting victim, the lashes of the whip she created a visible ebony char against the auburn of the wood.

walking over to study it closely, she tucks back a rebellious chestnut strand behind her ear, a decision she made of dyeing her hair the same color as her eyes which she ultimately regretted not long after. she missed the stark contrast of her natural raven black locks against her porcelain complexion, especially how it had always reminded her of her family.

she props the stool back up on its four legs and takes a leisurely seat upon it, thoughts wandering off into the distance – or more specifically, back to china, where the people she loved most currently stayed and remained out of touch with her.

never will a moment pass that she'd exercise her abilities without thinking of home: her father's lessons and her mother and sisters' disabilities being a crucial part of it, how she and her powers were their light before they were taken away from her.

she would soon return home and look for all of them, she knows the day will come when she'd reunite with them again.

and suddenly, a bright smile groomed her features with the vibrance of a thousand shining suns. there was no use of fighting such joy anymore – because that's what light does.

light is joy, it is love that comforts the weary and warms the cold. it is what carries us through the dark.

to jieqiong, there is no greater honor than to wield it, call it something that gives you power;

and there is no greater joy than to do so in the name of those you love most.

her nail slyly digs just under her hair tie to bundle her lightened, pink tendrils behind her, exhaling a small breath. for a moment, she's stuck looking through the mirror hung in the locker room, her layer of side bangs drape to shape her jawline and she reaches to tuck them over the shell of her ear. with this does her gaze loom over her training attire for her monthly simulation, her name printed finely across her chest, 'shin ryujin'.

"shin ryujin." she murmurs, to no one in particular. her eyes, they travel up to her own in her reflection—just staring.

in a trance, umber irises dawn upon a younger ryujin, one that had once blamed the entire world for taking her mother from her. a rage so palpable that she froze the room of her mother's funeral to just.. bask in their final moments. not only did they take someone that could've helped her manage her abilities, but also someone that could've taught ryujin how to love herself and others. her heartless, mortal father only fueled her hatred all this wasted time.

"student shin ryujin, it is time for your evaluation."

this announcement lulls her from her thoughts, steady footsteps echoing down the hallway as she saunters. and as she enters the arena, she's relieved that within new heroes academy, they've managed to come to her aid for her quirk at least. the rest—loving herself and others—that was up to her.

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