Feb 11, 2023 21:33:47 GMT -5
Post by Ayu on Feb 11, 2023 21:33:47 GMT -5
One of those days, a quiet rainy morning was all she needed. Ayu was sitting on the tilted floor of the Lookout, inside one of the many chambers here, her legs crossed and her mind clear - meditating. Her energy was stable now for most parts, yet controlling the power level was another story. She could finally sense her own energy without anything backfiring. At this point, she understood why so many people told her that she was strong... Too strong. Like a burning torch in the darkness, she was standing out among the crowds and it wasn't anymore only about the green color of her skin. As someone once told her, so much power could attract unwanted attention - so for the last few days Ayu has been practicing concealing her presence. The results weren't stunning. As much as she could relax her energy and keep it calm, the power wasn't simply dropping to a lower level. Something wasn't right... She wasn't yet fixed as if every health issue created by the pressuring her body Ki wasn't solved, yet she was doing better now. How come she couldn't grasp the basics that others were able to do so easily and effortlessly?
Again. Another attempt was like throwing a fistful of sand against the wall. Nothing budged. So how could she do that? Ayu felt a shiver in her wrist and she rubbed it without thinking, her mind focused on something else. Unconsciously, she raised her hand and it stayed like that for a second with a pointing finger slightly lifted - Ayu blinked, puzzled, and joined together her arms in the posture right for meditation. Huh, was her head so much in the clouds she was moving without realizing it? A small glance at her hands didn't explain anything. But... As soon as she closed her eyes the familiar sensation of shivering run through her wrist again and once she opened her eyelids, her hand was up and her finger was tracing something invisible in the air. It was a weird sensation on the back of her head... She needed to do it.
Ayu's finger was drawing a sign in the air. The finished pattern shone with a soft light before it wore off, fading away like it was never there.
She blinked. And she tried again, guided by a barely audible whisper inside her mind. Ayu drew a sign in the air, her glowing finger leaving behind a luminous afterimage that was suspended in place. The gentle light was nothing more than that, right? Yet her instinct was telling her otherwise. A little troubled by all that, Ayu couldn't help but feel conflicted. She raised her hand to touch the sigil again, looking at the circle with a flowing pattern inside curiously yet with some caution. There was no explanation as to why it took this shape or why she felt the need to draw it this way. The style reminded her of markings that she found in the books in the library - the Lookout got quite the collection there. It was like a sixth sense told her to do this, unknown knowledge appearing in her head was guiding her hand. And when Ayu touched the seal it stuck to her palm like that. She blinked, rubbing her hand with her fingers, but the drawing was still there... It didn't hurt, it didn't even make any difference in how she felt but-
No, wait. Her energy was now lower? Ayu slowly got back to the meditation position, gazing at her palm. The sign there was fading, masking its appearance but she could still tell it was there. And her Ki - finally didn't feel so strong. In fact, it dropped by a significant amount and Ayu couldn't be happier if only she could understand the mechanics behind it. Saying that she felt the need to draw a seal and it worked without a fail, was just a tiny bit... Well, anyway, her power level was lower now. She didn't feel any difference at all, yet she could tell that right away. Fascinating... Was that magic or did she use her Ki while making this sign too? And once the energy was lowered like that did it make her abilities somehow reduced too? Ayu moved her hand and a ripe, red apple appeared there. Nothing happened, energy was at the same level... Then again, making apples wasn't the peak of her performance, was it?
A very unpleasant, cold shiver danced on her spine and breathed icy air on Ayu's neck. That's right, she was able to do much more with her Chlorokinesis but the first and last time she used it like that - things were out of control. Still, it was only for training and she trusted herself enough to handle it. She hoped. With a gentle sight, vines started to appear, slowly entangling her and filling the chamber with a miniature jungle. The palms grew alongside blankets of flowers, the walls turned green with bushes hanging from the marble structures inside. The more Ayu used her powers the more this space was getting denser with the vivid vegetation... Then it happened.
Ayu's eyes were fixed on the seal - the marking faded completely and everything returned to normal. So that's how it was... She might have cracked the mechanics of this sigil.
It looked like the time has turned back when all the flora Ayu created curled back into sprouts and disappeared without a trace. It wouldn't be nice to leave it all like this for Mr. Popo to clean... And she needed to focus on her training. She wasn't able to use more power than she had with some part of her energy sealed. If she'd split it into halves, the energy safely used would be equal to half. Anything lower was breaking off the sigil, the technique was wearing off easily if she'd used more Ki like that so she ought to be careful. Yet to be sure she knows how it works she needed to try again. Now, she drew the seal once again, focusing on concealing her energy. She didn't simply want to lower it, it needed to be unreadable... And once the pattern was glued to her hand again it happened just like that. Ayu smiled in relief, not being able to sense even a pinch of her presence.
She struggled for months to be able to learn that... And now it felt like an enormous weight was lifted from her shoulders.
Power Level - 242,837
Word Count - 1,084
Technique - [ST1] Seal - 1TP