"How does it feel, Blossom-san?" The nurse asked me.
"...weird." I eventually said, my voice soft and raspy as I tugged on the blindfold I was wearing. "Eyes…itchy…"
The nurse hummed, and I could hear writing something. "That is to be expected. Your…'scars' are still fresh, and the itch will likely remain until they have healed." She said, "Ah-, and please do not tug on your blindfold so much, Blossom-san. I understand that it is itchy, but this is for your own good."
I sighed softly. "...okay." I let my trembling hand fall back down onto the hospital bed, wincing slightly as my arm also began itching.
"Hmm. Then, I'll take my leave for now." She bowed. Or at least I assumed so, since she did just that the last time around. I couldn't see anything due to the blindfold I was wearing. "If you require any aid, don't hesitate to ring the bell to your right. Another nurse will come to your side."
"Mm." I took a small breath as I heard the door close behind the nurse, and once I was sure no one else was coming in, I sighed as I sank back into my pillow.
A whole day had gone by since the [Japan Cup], and here I was; a bed-ridden patient, freshly brought out of the ICU, with a blindfold over my eyes. To say that I felt terrible would be an understatement—my whole body itched like crazy, and I was more than tempted to scratch at my 'scars' until they began bleeding again.
But I wouldn't. Partly because injuring myself again would be pretty stupid, and also because she'd already given poor Belno enough heart attacks in the past several hours. The girl's blood pressure didn't need to get any higher.
Still, considering the state I was in when I was first brought into the hospital, the fact that I was awake and capable of talking was a miracle of its own.
…
An impish smile came onto my lips as I slowly raised my hand, and with trembling fingers, I slowly lifted the blindfold until I could see out of my left eye. And I immediately winced as the world suddenly turned white, but after some time, the world began slowly coming into view.
Or at least what I could see of it. My eyesight was still pretty shot—it was no longer as bad as it was during the final homestretch of the [Japan Cup], but things still looked fairly blurry. It was almost as if I was wearing glasses with the wrong prescription.
But I could see well enough, and I couldn't help but sigh in both awe and caution as I looked at my arm.
My entire arm was covered with 'cracks', their patterns closely mimicking that of lightning scars, or of cracked earth during an earthquake. My skin looked a little red, almost as if my entire hand had been burnt by a fire, and had only recently healed back.
It wasn't just my arm, of course. My entire body shared this same avant garde look, with the worst being my legs and my chest, both of which had one giant 'crack' that ran up across them.
And yet this was an improvement compared to yesterday. At least blood wasn't leeching out of them.
In truth, the final homestretch of the [Japan Cup] was a little blurry in my mind. Everything had sort of melted together, and I could only remember the broad strokes.
But I remembered enough. I still remember how those cracks bled with golden blood, how my body was both burning on the outside and on the inside. I remember the 'ichor' that streaked down my flesh was both cooling and carried so much heat that they actually burnt my skin. I remember the way my eyes bled with that same ichor, causing what tears that fell to immediately turn into steam.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting remnants of my Domain to actually carry over after the race was over. I thought those golden cracks were only a metaphysical representation of the Three Goddesses' Domain—a way of showing how my Limited body wasn't capable of fully containing the true power of my Domain.
I was wrong. Not only did those 'cracks' remain as scars that'd likely take weeks or months to fully disappear, but my hair had also nearly turned completely white. There was only a small patch of brown hair at the crown of my hair, but even that was shrinking as time went on.
I sighed, tugging my blindfold back down over my eyes before I lowered my hand back down.
I wasn't really that worried about myself. Despite my injuries, the doctors were certain that I would fully recover, though even they were surprised when they first made that judgement. After all, my body was the very same Divine-blessed body Secretariat had, and combined with my System, my body's healing was clocked to the absolute limit. Hell, some doctors even believed that I might recover in time for the [Arima Kinen], though I wasn't as hopeful.
The one I was really worried about was Oguri. Because while I didn't really remember much, I knew that she was in a pretty bad state as well. Her Domain was unsuited for her, and yet she'd kept it active until the very end, and it was only when the race was over that our combined Eclipse finally faded away.
She was asleep right now, and in pain. Her legs were fine; they were unnaturally tough, even tougher than mine. But the rest of her body had endured far too much, and had our Domains not been actively supporting one another, her condition would've been far worse. She was in a better state than I am, but that wasn't really a high bar to cross.
…
I wasn't sure how I knew that, considering I hadn't asked. I just knew, almost as if a psychic connection had formed between us.
It was a strange feeling. Was this how Oguri always managed to find me regardless of where I was?
…Anyway,
[The Hero has achieved the impossible!]
[The unchanging future determined by Destiny no longer exists!]
[The purpose of the Umamusume Hero System has been accomplished! {Blossom Star} has truly become a Hero!]
[The System has entered the {Epilogue}!]
These notifications were the first things I saw when I woke up. I hadn't checked them out, mostly because barely a minute after I resigned myself to waiting in silence, a nurse had entered my room, saw that I was awake, and promptly sent the entire hospital into a panic when the doctors realized I woke up way sooner than they expected.
My eyes narrowed slightly behind the blindfold. "...epi…logue?" I whispered slowly.
[Detected codeword from {Blossom Star}. Playing recorded message–]
Wait, what-?
Suddenly, despite the blindfold over my eyes, the darkness exploded with color, and suddenly I was floating in a sea of twinkling stars. I was aloft for a moment, before I was gently set down on a cloud of nebulae. And there, standing on another nebula in front of me was Eclipse, dressed in the outfit I saw her wearing in that dream I had before waking up.
"Hi, hi~! How're you doing, Star?" She smirked playfully as she winked. "Hopefully you've woken up by this point. Would be pretty awkward if I'm just talking to someone who's still sleepin'."
"Ec…lipse…!" I tried to call out with my feeble voice.
My friend turned towards me, but her next words dashed my hopes. "By the way, don't bother trying to get my attention. This is a recording; I can't hear anything you say." She snickered. "Don't worry though—this message isn't rigged to blow up once it's done at least! I'm not trying to kill you again!"
I stared for a moment, before I smiled wryly. Well, if I had any doubts about Eclipse really being my friend, they were certainly gone by now. Only she could pull off morbid jokes with such a bright smile.
"Anyway~, you've probably noticed the whole thing about {Epilogue} or whatever." Eclipse spun on her heel before she sat down on the nebula. "You probably already have an idea on what I'm about to say."
I did, but I remained quiet as the projection of Eclipse continued speaking.
"I created the Hero System as a way to make its holders way stronger than they're supposed to be." She explained as she twirled a finger. "I didn't really control who the System went to after I died—all that mattered was that the System would eventually make its way to you."
"And it did! And if this recording is playing, then that probably means you've kicked Destiny's butt! Or its champion at least. Details, details~" Her smile softened. "And that means it's time to go."
Eclipse sighed softly as she stood back up, her gaze fond as she stared at the sea of stars that surrounded us. "No story lasts forever. It is their impermanence that gives it meaning." She stepped onto the edge of the nebula she stood on, smiling with pride. "You've been a Hero for long enough, Star. It's about time to kick your legs back for a lil' bit."
"Of course, I'm not telling you to retire or anything." She grinned as she shrugged. "If you still wanna run, then run. Don't let me rain on your parade."
"But the System needs to go. I made that thing almost 200 years ago, and without me around, that thing has never been able to recharge itself. I bet that thing's practically on its last leg!"
I nodded faintly. That was what I'd expected when I first read the notifications I got, though it was nice to at least get an explanation as to why I had to let it go.
I didn't really feel too bummed about it. Sure, I'd probably miss it once it's gone, but it'd been a long while since I've been dependent on the System. I'd long grown from that depressed girl who needed a visual representation of my growth as a constant source of dopamine.
"I don't really know where to stash the System once you're done with it, but my best bet's with the Three Goddesses. They'll probably know what to do." She chuckled softly. "I mean, I've dumped enough problems on them. What's one more, right?"
I rolled my eyes, though I didn't disagree. If there was anyone I could 'return' my System to, it'd probably be the Three Goddesses.
The only question was when I'd give it up.
"Well, that's enough from me~" Eclipse grinned as she let one leg dangle from the edge of the nebula she stood on. "Now, you better go and rest, m'kay? Don't be stupid and listen to your doctors!"
She held her fingers in front of her, pinching them close in preparation to snap.
"Now, ciao~☆!"
Eclipse snapped her fingers, and suddenly the sea of stars around us crumbled in a giant supernova.
And suddenly my vision went dark, and I found myself back in the hospital room. I was back in my hospital bed, and I could once again hear the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor next to my bed.
I took a small breath as I leaned back into my pillow, and I smiled softly. "See you…soon." I whispered.
And though I couldn't see, I could imagine Eclipse replying with a big wave and a cheery smile, just like she always did in a world we'd both left behind.