"Why did you choose to indefinitely withdraw from the Twinkle Series at such a crucial moment?"
Given your generation-defining talent, why did you stop?
"Why? Heh, that's a good question."
Tachyon hiked up her pant leg, revealing her ankle. Kousei froze, stunned.
"Is this why you stopped participating in everything?"
"Yes. After the Satsuki Prize, I realized there was something wrong with my leg. It doesn't cause any problems in daily life, but the moment I step onto the racetrack, I'll vanish like a wisp of glass-like mist. That's my life."
Why bestow such talent only to strip away the very meaning of living as an Umamusume? Is fate always so cruel?
"So your experiments were for..."
"Exactly. To run again."
"Then why didn't you just tell everyone sooner?"
Tachyon shook her head with a smile. "You don't understand, Kousei. I have no interest in such things—neither sympathy nor attention. Do you think I keep running for those reasons? I do it for myself! After all, Umamusume are creatures driven by their inner desires; we are the very embodiment of desire."
"What?" Kousei had never heard such a perspective before.
"There can only be one winner. Would you really want McQueen to yield for you?"
"No, I hate that," Kousei replied without hesitation.
"Dreams themselves are desires, aren't they? You must feel it too—that thrill in your heart as you race on the track, that burning yearning that fuels your strength."
Kousei understood Tachyon's words perfectly, for she had experienced it all firsthand.
"Right now, you can't yet bear the weight of your dreams. Your desires are too shallow, your fears too deep. With such a mindset, surpassing your peak will forever remain an empty boast."
"You—"
They had started by discussing Tachyon's problems, yet the conversation had somehow shifted to Kousei.
"I know, I know what you want to ask. Didn't I tell you before? We're kindred spirits. That's why I couldn't help but offer a word of advice to a fellow traveler lost in confusion. My goal is to transcend the limits of the body and glimpse the scenery on the other side—in a sense, to go even beyond the peak itself."
Kousei's brilliant heart stirred slightly, as if something had become a little clearer.
"So then!" Tachyon snapped back to her usual self in an instant. "My kindred spirit! Let's conduct experiments together! I'm sure you won't refuse me, right?"
She let out a strange giggle, as if she had always been a mad scientist at heart.
"Alright, then. I'll accompany you on this journey toward your unattainable dream."
As many Umamusume there are, so many dreams exist. If it's a dream, Kousei would never refuse.
"Excellent! Then first, let me collect your physical data!"
"Alright! Bring it on!"
Whether it was an endurance run or a sprint, Kousei would always give her all.
"Let's start with your measurements!"
"Huh?"
Tachyon held the measuring tape, her eyes gleaming with a feverish intensity.
"Heh heh. I've finally got my hands on an Umamusume test subject. I'm going to study you from head to toe."
She's a scientist, yet she's lost her reason? Wait, is it precisely because she's a scientist that she's lost her reason?
After all the fuss, it finally ended.
"Alright, next time, show me how you run."
Kousei shot her a resentful glare, clearly not understanding the purpose of all this.
"Don't look at me like that. As an apology, let me treat you to a drink."
Kousei was indeed a little thirsty.
"Here you go."
"Thank you."
Kousei eyed the colorful potion in her hand, hesitant. "I'd rather just have water."
"Heh~ So it didn't work? You're really something," Tachyon said with an odd hint of admiration.
Kousei found herself increasingly unable to grasp Tachyon's thought process.
Under Kousei's wary gaze, Tachyon refrained from further experiments.
"By the way, Tachyon, do you know anything about the four mysterious figures who appeared at Tracen a few days ago?"
Since Tachyon typically only cared about her own experiments, Kousei hadn't held out much hope.
"Oh? Those four? I know all about them," Tachyon replied nonchalantly.
Everyone else wore solemn expressions, but Tachyon's demeanor was somewhat casual. Since Tachyon seemed to know something, Kousei figured she might be able to glean some information from her.
"But I won't tell you," Tachyon preempted Kousei's thoughts.
"Huh? Aren't we the same kind?"
"Indeed."
"I need your help right now. I desperately want to know the inside story behind this matter."
Tachyon leisurely sipped her coffee. "Manhattan Cafe's coffee at is truly excellent~"
"Don't misunderstand—it's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that I'm not the best person to inform you. You'll find out soon enough anyway."
"Are you saying this has something to do with me?"
"Of course."
"But Narita Brian-senpai explicitly said it had nothing to do with me."
Tachyon's brow furrowed slightly. "Why aren't you calling me 'senpai'?"
"No particular reason. I just don't sense any 'senpai aura' from you."
"You're usually so obedient, yet you refuse to call me 'senpai'?"
"Don't change the subject!"
Tachyon took another sip of coffee. "She's not wrong. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with you. But someone will intervene, and he'll seize this opportunity for you."
"For me? What does that mean?"
Tachyon seemed uninterested in offering an explanation.
"Seizing? So, I never truly belonged to this event," Kousei murmured, the chains around her heart remaining unbroken.
Once again, Kousei thought back to the Japanese Derby.
"Belong? What a foolish question. Wherever you stand becomes your stage. Meaning isn't bestowed; it's affirmed. Just because you were initially excluded, you wallowed in self-pity, believing you shouldn't even be here.
If that were true, I should have vanished long ago.
Yet I'm still here, struggling to run. I'll heal my legs and reclaim that stage I supposedly 'don't belong' to. I'll run again, showing the world that I belong here.
If even the Divine tries to deny me, I'll snatch the opportunity from its grasp without hesitation and laugh in its face.
That's who I am—Agnes Tachyon.
That's my ambition."
Her voice remained remarkably calm, but the madness and obsession in her eyes were impossible to conceal.
Her soul trembled as Agnes Tachyon sought resonance. Overflowing with desire, her figure blazed like a living flame.
"Mother?"
The flame grinned malevolently before vanishing in an instant.
Kousei immediately stood up. "It's too late! I have to go!"
With that, she hurried toward the Gate as if fleeing.
"Kousei."
Tachyon's voice called out from behind her.
"Don't compromise."