Astonishing stood alone in the vast, empty void of the blackspace.
She did it. She never thought the idea would actually worked. She just forced herself into this blackspace. She often reads about people in the internet talking about their lucid dreaming experience, she always having a hard time believing if it's possible, but now she knows it is.
Previously she was dragged in here randomly by her other self, but now she can enter this space freely.
"Well, well, isn't that impressive? You finally found a way to enter this space by your own will"
The voice didn't come from behind her, nor did it echo from the vast emptiness. It sounded as if it were standing right beside her, close enough that she could almost feel a chill against her ear.
She turned around and take a few steps back.
Stepping out from the swirling obsidian mist was her shadow self. But unlike their previous encounters, her face... there's a small crack on the cheek, showing an actual skin underneath.
"Surprised?" the shadow murmured, tilting her head as she took a slow step forward. "You shouldn't be. You're the one who did this."
Without a warning it launched an uppercut on her.
The sudden blow caught Astonishing completely off guard.
The sharp impact connected squarely with her jaw, sending her skidding backward across the floor. She staggered, her heels dragging through the ground before she managed to find a footing and catch her balance. A dull, throbbing ache flared along her jawline, the pain felt real.
"What...?" she rasped, staring at her counterpart.
"That's my payback"
Another crack splintered along the shadow's jawline, exposing a larger patch of smooth, warm skin underneath.
"You came in here thinking you could control this space, didn't you?" The shadow launched at her again, the force of the impact make Astonishing loses her balance and fell into the ground with her other self pinning her down. "I think you misunderstood something"
"You have no power here"
"I do" Its fingers dug deeper into Astonishing's shoulders, pinning her relentlessly against the cold, dark floor.
It raised its hand again and throw a punch straight to her face.
"STOP"
Again.
"PRETENDING"
And again.
"TO BE HER!"
The strikes rained down, relentless and brutal. Each impact rattled through her skull, the metallic taste of blood blooming on her tongue as the shadow's face was fracturing further with every blow.
Astonishing lay pinned, her vision swimming is blurry. She couldn't breathe under the suffocating weight. She couldn't pull her hands up to guard her face.
'I need to wake up!'
She slammed her eyes shut and drove every single ounce of her mental energy into a single, desperate command: WAKE UP.
'WAKE UP!'
The blackspace violently distorted, bending and warping into static noise.
"Wait-!" the shadow cried out as the entire void dissolved into a blinding wave of white light.
.
.
.
Astonishing gasped, her eyes snapping open as she violently jolted upright. Her heart was hammering like frantic. Sweat clung to her forehead, and her skin felt icy cold.
Her hands scrambled to press against her face, her chest, her jaw, checking, searching for the damage.
Nothing.
The pain is gone too.
She gripped her sheet. She needed air.
Quietly, she sneeked out of the room and outside the building without noticing another empty futon she just walked by.
The cool night air hit her face the moment she stepped outside, but it's not enough to calm her. Unconsciously, her legs began to guide her down the dirt path leading toward the beach.
Her fott sank instantly into the cool soft sand. The open expanse of the ocean stretched out before her, a vast mirror under the pale moonlight. The waves crashed gently against the shoreline.
She closes her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the salty air filled her lungs.
When she opened her eyes and take a glance on her surroungding, she sees someone sitting on a big stone, too far for her to recognize who it is.
Slowly, Astonishing closed the distance. After what she had been through, she's not really scared of ghost but if it's the type to chase then she still would run.
As she drew closer, the familiar white hair gave it away.
"Dora...?"
The figure jolted, her shoulders squaring up instantly as she snapped her head toward the sound. The aura of the usual cheerful and full-of-energy girl she knows is gone.
But just as quickly, Dora forced a wide, toothy grin, waving her arms in an aggressively. "Ah! Aston-chan! Wow, you scared me! What are you doing out here? Is the beach jelly calling to you too? I was just, uh, found this cool big rock and testing how it feels to sit on! Yeah!"
Astonishing didn't say a word. She just stared at her friend, knowing something is off. "What are you doing here? You look... troubled."
Dora's grin faltered, the corners of her mouth twitching before the mask completely shattered. She let out a long, deflated sigh, her ears drooping flat against her messy hair as she dropped her hands into her lap.
"... You really don't miss a beat, do you?" Dora muttered. "Though I can ask you the same question"
"I couldn't sleep," Astonishing said simply.
Dora looked at her for a long moment, the silver moonlight catching the unusual, heavy solemnity in her eyes. Then, she shifted her weight on the large stone, patting the cold surface next to her. "Well, the ocean's pretty big. Sit down before you freeze. The wind's biting tonight."
Astonishing hesitated, then stepped forward, and climbed onto the boulder. She sat down, leaving a deliberate space between them.
She glanced at her friend, "Dora..."
"Sorry you have to see me like this." She said without looking back. "It's pretty tiring to act all cheerful all the time, I need a moment for myself"
Astonishing stared at her, she never imagine she would see this side of her, she almost think that this girl is not Dora at all.
"It's okay, I understand. You don't have to apologize." she said, pulling her knees slightly closer to her chest. "I should be the one to say that. Sorry I haven't spent much time with you"
Dora slowly turned her head, looking at Astonishing with a mixture of confusion and a quiet, softening warmth. "You don't owe me an apology for that. We've got out own schedule, it's normal that we don't have time for each other. Besides... it's not like you were avoiding me"
"....."
Astonishing returned her gaze towards the ocean where the moonlight shines upon it. "Then I'm sorry I didn't attend your performance in the Oaks"
"I wanted to go," Astonishing said softly, her tone laced with quiet regret. "I really did. But at that time... I was being so selfish. I'm just... in a tough situation"
"I know," Dora said simply. She didn't sound angry or bitter. "Well, I was having the same situation too after the Oaks, can't get my mind off of it even now, gotta need more time. More or less, we are the same."
Just like how Astonishing loses the Derby, Dorazora loses the Oaks.
Dora let out a long sigh.
"When you run with everything you've got and still fall short... it feels like the track itself rejects you," Dora murmured, her voice carrying a soft, vulnerable weight that Astonishing had never heard from her before. "Everyone tells you 'you did your best' or 'there's always next time.' But all that hits you is the realization that your best... wasn't enough."
Astonishing brings her knees closer to her face.
"Yes," Astonishing whispered , her ears dipping slightly. "It feels as though... the person you were before the race no longer has a place to return to."
Dora gave a faint, self-deprecating chuckle, though there was no malice in it. She stared at the sea through the messy strands of her white hair swaying in the sea breeze.
"Sucks, doesn't it?" Dora said. "We put on a brave face, we smile for our fans, we pretend we're ready to jump right back into the next race... but deep down, we're both still sitting on the turf, wondering where we went wrong."
"I hide it well, don't I?" She continues. "I really am a good liar. I'm sure I can put a fight against a real lawyer, haha" For a moment her cheerful persona surfaced.
"You don't have to carry the persona out here, Dora," Astonishing offered softly. "Not with me."
"Thanks, Aston," Dora whispered, her voice dropping all remaining theatrics. "Honestly... it's a relief to just say it out loud."
They sat together on the stone for a long time, letting the cool sea air clear away the lingering heat of their respective burdens.
"Dora," Astonishing spoke up after a while.
"Hmm?"
"What's your plan for the future? I mean, your next race"
Slowly, Dora lowered her head, her white bangs casting a faint shadow over her eyes before she turned to look at Astonishing.
"The Shuka Sho," Dora said softly. "I'm running in the Shuka Sho."
"Shuka Sho?" The final leg of the Triple Tiara.
"Look, I know my chances aren't golden. I know people are going to write me off after the second leg, afterall I've never won a G1 until now and only there as a supporting character whatever. But... I started this journey for the Triple Tiara, and I'll be damned if I turn my back on the final race just because it got painful."
"I don't care what the final result is going to be," Dora continued, "I don't care if I win, if I place, or if I come in dead last. I just... I need to finish what I started. I owe it to myself, to the fans who cheered for me, and to myself who thought she could take on the world when this season began."
Astonishing stared at her friend in quiet awe. Dora wasn't running because it was easy or because she was guaranteed a storybook ending. She was running because stepping onto that turf was the only way to honor her own journey.
"You really are strong, Dora. It's truly admirable"
"Ah, geez... don't make it sound all majestic" Dora muttered, though her smile widened, genuinely. "I'm just being stubborn. But hey... what about you? You can't just leave me out there carrying the weight of our generation all by myself."
"I..." Astonishing started, her voice barely louder than a whisper before she caught herself, "I don't know if I can give you a grand declaration like yours, Dora. Not yet."
"My trainer and I still need to find our path together. But I promise you this... I will not leave you to carry the weight of our generation alone." she declared.
Dora stared at her for a moment, then, a wide, bright grin broke across her face, not the forced one, but the true, radiant smile of a rival and friend.
"Heh... now that's the Astonishing I know," Dora said, letting out a loud, contented sigh as she stretched her arms high into the biting sea air. "Man, look at us! A couple of broken-down runners making vows on a giant rock at three in the morning!"
She swung her legs over the side and slid down off the boulder, her feet sinking into the soft, cool sand with a light thud.
"When you're ready to step back onto the track," Dora said softly, "I want to see you running with everything you've got, too."
She turned back and offered an open hand toward Astonishing. "Promise me you will give me what I want"
Astonishing looked down at Dora's outstretched hand. She reached out, her fingers wrapping around Dora's warm and gentle hand "Very well. I promise. Then you too shall give me the most outstanding performance"
"Then it's an oath." Dora said, her grip tightening for just a fraction of a second while a warm smile formed on her face. "Let's give everything we got for eachother"
"An oath..." For a moment, she remember the oath she made with World's End Opening.
.
.
.
"--Accompany me on my journey in the Twinkle Series! Be my obstacle, a wall, a foe! I want you to chase me for eternity!--"
"--Fulfill your destiny! And when you do... Let's stand on top together"
.
.
.
'This feels nostlagic' Astonishing thought. A soft chuckle escaped her lips.
Dora tilted her head, her white ears perking up in curiosity. "Hm? What's funny? Did I say something weird?"
"No," Astonishing murmured, "It is nothing."
"An oath between rivals," Astonishing continued, her voice taking on a quiet, unyielding weight. "It seems that no matter how far I stray, I am always pulled back to the same truth. We need someone to chase... and someone to meet us at the finish line."
Without her realizing, she's holding Dora's hand so firmly.
"U-umm, can you let go of my hand, your grip is very strong you know?"
"Ah..." Astonishing quickly released her grip, her ears twitching in subtle embarrassment as she took a small step back. "Sorry. I... got slightly carried away."
"Well! Oath officially sealed!" Dora declared, "Now we really need to go back. We can't afford to get caught"
She turned and began jogging up the path toward the beach dormitory. Astonishing fell into step beside her, their strides matching evenly under the pale moonlight as they left the dark shore behind.