"The White Comet isn't giving up!"
Blossom Star grit her teeth as she leaned forward. Her eyes bled with ichor, marring her cheeks with streaks of gold. The golden cracks spreading across her entire body pulsed like a second organ, filled with a blessing so pure that it was actively tearing her own body apart.
{Solar Radiance}; such was the name of her true ability, her Birthright. The condensed purity of Heroism, distilled and purified over dozens of generations until it held the power to rival the sun itself. The golden blood she bled was a show of that; the golden wings that shone behind her was a show of that; the blinding sun that hung just over the moon was a testament to that.
Such power was never meant to exist, much less be contained within the body of a mortal.
But right now, it was the exact thing she needed to cross the final 400 meters!
She smiled wide. "Here I come, Oguri!"
Her foot stomped deep into the earth, the ichor she bled radiating with such heat that the earth deformed before her foot even touched the ground. The Turf around her was lit alight, turning into ash as thin plumes of smoke rose into the air.
Then, she finally activated the Skills that'd been denied by Folkqueen's Domain.
{In Body and Mind}, {Professor of Curvature}, {Playtime's Over!}, {Mold Breaker}, {Prepared to Die}—
And then she turned into a literal shooting star, leaving behind a trail of flames in her path.
"Blossom Star surges forward! She's leaving behind a literal trail of fire as she goes!"
「So now she's the chaser?」Sunday Silence asked, her body still glimmering with shades of purple and black. Then, she grinned.「Y'er really the best, Blossom Star…!」
Oguri Cap's eyes widened in both awe and terror as she caught sight of the golden cracks that continued to grow across Star's body, and she grit her teeth as she forced herself to turn away. "Don't worry." She whispered, her voice panicked. "It'll be over soon, Star. Just hold on a little more!"
Star didn't hear her words—she couldn't. Her body was falling apart with every second her Domain remained active, unadjusted to finally being whole again. Her whole body screamed in agonizing pain, and her insides felt like they were being boiled. Tears of golden blood kept falling from her eyes. Every earth-shaking step she took flung ichor out of the golden cracks on her legs. More and more of her hair turned white as snow.
But the pain returned a reward too incredible to ignore.
The 9 lengths Oguri and Sunday had built over Star during the previous 200 meters was now shrinking at a rapid pace. The new speed Star had reached was breaking records across the entire world; a force that hadn't been seen in over a hundred years.
"They've passed the 300-meter mark! Sunday Silence snatches the lead from Oguri Cap, with Blossom Star quickly approaching them!"
Thump!
Oguri bit her lips as she held back a gasp. "It hurts…!" She bit out, her face now pale as tears built in the corner of her eyes. She wasn't sure of all the details, but she understood that her Domain couldn't last forever. Though not to the same degree as Star, her body was also screaming in agony as the moonlit phantasma tore her body apart.
It wasn't because she was weak, or because her Domain was too strong. Rather, the {Umbral Sonata} was a Domain that she was never meant to hold. Her journey was supposed to be the encapsulation of Cinderella as she'd seen from those recurring dreams; her Domain should've been one that adhered to that story.
As her friend had put it, her body was simply unsuited. It was this very reason that'd stopped her from opening her Domain for so long, despite having the chance to do so nearly a year ago.
But she would persist. She must.
Because right now, the only thing keeping Star's body from imploding was the moon that hung in the sky. If the Eclipse ended, then Star would be forced to hold her crumbling body together on her own, and considering how Star already was like even with their Domains combined–
Oguri didn't want to consider it. She couldn't.
So she bit down on her lips and forced herself to continue running.
"The 200-meter park has been passed! Sunday Silence is still in the lead, but Oguri Cap is right behind her! She's about to take back the lead…!"
Star could no longer see.
Too much ichor had fallen over her eyes, covering her sight in a murky golden stain. But even without it, her nerves were burning, and her vision was completely shot. The only thing she could see were indistinct blurs—she couldn't even see where the finish line was.
But what she could see was the cloak of moonlight that hung around Oguri, and the veil of darkness that spun around Sunday. They were the only things she could see; her compass.
So she ran. She ran with everything she had left, unknowing of how much more she had to run before she took back the lead. She ran with speeds she had never achieved before, each step she took leaving behind flaming craters across the Turf.
Even though each step made her bleed with gold, even though each breath she took scorched her lungs–
She ran.
"The 100-meter mark has been passed! 100 meters left…!"
The announcer had completely run out of words, but no one in the audience blamed her. No one could utter a single comprehensible word as they watched the divine battle happening right in front of their eyes. The only thing they could do was shout and cheer as the three umamusume charged ahead towards the finish line.
Sunday Silence was laughing as she ran forward. Sweat poured down her cheeks as she battled through the insane pressure that was coming from the looming Eclipse, and she could feel her own Domain heaving its last breaths, but she kept her Domain from falling apart through sheer grit alone. She wasn't letting something as paltry as exhaustion stop her from fighting until the very end!
Oguri Cap bit down on her lips with enough force to draw blood. The pain from maintaining her Domain had become unbearable, and her brain was screaming at her to stop running. But she ignored it—she forced herself to keep running. Because the finish line was so close. All she had to do was run a little more, and then everything could end.
Blossom Star couldn't feel anything. All the pain had made her numb. The golden cracks had covered every inch of her body. Her G1 outfit was completely soaked gold in ichor, while the legs of her pants had been burnt away from the searing heat she left behind with every step.
She couldn't tell who was in the lead anymore. She didn't even know if she was still running straight towards the finish line. Her vision had gone so blurry that she couldn't even make out the moonlit haze around Oguri.
But she kept her faith and ran.
"It's a dead-heat! I can't tell who's leading!"
She ran. They all ran.
And then–
"They've crossed the finish line!"
"Please give us a moment! We'll immediately survey the camera footage!"
The moment Star heard those words, she quickly slowed down. And once she was sure she was no longer moving, she just-, stood. She stood in place, her golden eyes dull and her body subtly trembling. The golden wings hovering behind her began cracking, spilling away as golden dust.
She couldn't see anything, but that wasn't what brought her fear. Instead, she waited in growing anxiety, waiting for who had ultimately come out on top.
The seconds ticked by. The crowd had gone quiet, similarly anxious for the results.
.
.
.
.
.
The speakers crackled to life.
"I-It's Blossom Star! Blossom Star takes first place!"
"BLOSSOM STAR WINS THE [JAPAN CUP]!!"
A second went by, and then the world erupted as hundreds of thousands of people cheered. The scoreboard finally lit up, solidifying Star's victory in the annals of history.
Blossom Star, 1st place.
Oguri Cap, 2nd place.
Sunday Silence, 3rd place.
Star slowly breathed out, dull gold eyes staring at the now-lit scoreboard. "I…won…?" She whispered with chapped lips. Her chest trembled, and tears fell from her eyes as she clenched her fists. "I…won…!"
"Star…!"
"Oguri, I…!" She turned towards where Oguri's voice had come from, but the sudden motion caused her to lose her balance. She tripped forward, but Oguri was there to catch her. "I won!" She said, and she hugged her tight as she sobbed. "I won…!"
Oguri took a shaky breath. "Yeah, you did." She whispered, wincing slightly as she hugged Star close. Star's body felt like a furnace, but Oguri didn't dare to let go.
Then, softly, Oguri leaned close and whispered, "You won." She said, smiling softly. "It's over now, Star."
Star tensed for a moment, before she finally relaxed.
And at that moment, both of their Domains shattered. The Eclipse that hung above them faded away, and the sun returned to its rightful place. The crumbling golden wings behind Star finally shattered, scattering into the air like windswept pollen. The golden cracks scattered across Star's body turned dull as they began fading away.
Oguri took a weak breath as her legs began shaking, and then she too lost her strength. But before she and Star could hit the ground, a strong hand grabbed them both.
「Ya' guys are the best.」Sunday Silence said, her feral expression finally smoothing into a small smile.「It's okay now. The festival's over. Ya' can rest.」
And though Oguri couldn't quite understand what exactly Sunday was saying, she understood enough.
Oguri let her eyes close, and she knew little else after that.