"Wooh- That's me?" Echo Eclipse exclaimed in excitement as she glanced at the poster in front of her. It was a promotional poster for the Niigata Sansai Stakes race; they are hyping up the event because Echo is running in it.
She is in the middle of the poster, steam coming off her body, and her white pupils shining through the steam, then a big bold title above her. There are other pictures of other racers looking ahead, determined, as if Echo Eclipse is the demon king they needed to defeat.
"Why do I look like the big bad they need to defeat!" Echo protests against an inanimate object.
"Khehe, I mean~ They aren't wrong," Nishiki giggled while tugging the Gold Way and Onward Cameroun toward the stadium. Gold Way has a defeated look on her face, and Cameroun is still silent and stoic as ever.
"Who do you think will be second place?" Suzu Parade mumbled while Suzu Mach was half-asleep; she was kidnapped from the house when her older sister figured that she would be late due to lack of sleep.
They aren't really considering who might take the 1st place as they know Echo Eclipse's power.
"I'm going to go now! Bye, Rudolf!" She waved excitedly like a puppy before running off toward the changing room.
Symboli Rudolf's tail swayed slightly before nodding gently in the direction of Echo, before turning around and moving toward the entrance of the stadium. The others followed her.
Echo Eclipse started skipping along while humming a song; there was no need to be anxious or scared of losing. As long as I am running ahead, try to reach me.
She puts on her silk with skilled precision, as if she had worn the silk for decades.
"My third race… I wonder how much closer I can reach the goddesses' shadows…
[Name: Echo Eclipse
Track Affinity: [Dirt: A] | [Turf: S]
Running Affinity: [End: E] | [Late: C] | [Pace: A] | [Front: S]
Distance Affinity: [Sprint: A] | [Mile: A] | [Medium S] | [Long: B]
Speed: 403 (C: Advanced)
Stamina: 381 (D: Intermediate)
Power: 369 (D: Intermediate)
Guts: 353 (D: Intermediate)
Wits: 362 (D: Intermediate)
Zone: —
SP: 50]
"..."
"When can I reach my 2nd bloom…" She slowed down and stopped skipping, glancing at her palms before fisting them. She wants to know how far she can go,
"Ah, right… Uma Musume are immortal and youthful. Then…"
She shook her head.
"No, I will not slack off. I will reach the goddesses in my career, not after." The corner of her lips curled up before she left the dressing room, approaching the running tunnel. She can hear the cheers and clamours from the outside, especially the commentator.
"Looks like this time the commentator is a female," She tilted her head before continuing walking down.
"Welcome to the Niigata Sansai Stakes at Niigata Racecourse. Wow! Look at all of these audiences! I bet you know what is going on! This is the third race of Echo Eclipse, and 18 runners will be facing her. Will she win with a devastating landslide like before, or will she lose?"
Echo Eclipse froze for a moment before glancing at the end of the runner tunnel with a mused expression. She thought the commentator was supposed to be partial. But all is fair when promoting your racecourse.
"Not like that matters anyway… I am the Unbounded Wind. I will be elusive if I want to, I will be silent if I want to. Do your best, racers, but you can't lock me down." Her voice got louder with each second as she stepped out of the tunnel. She spotted the other runners, who were around the paddock, staring at her with a determined and fearful expression.
"Oh… Did I say that out loud?" Echo said with a slight smile as she tilted her head, staring back at the runners, as if mocking them.
The runners would've believed that Echo Eclipse is mocking them, but seeing the sincere confusion on her face made it even more confusing. And it felt like Echo Eclipse became even more confident than before.
Before they could continue thinking, Echo Eclipse started humming relaxedly, as if the tensed atmosphere didn't affect her. Echo can hear the commentator introducing her, but she only wants to hear the sound of the track.
"Try to catch up to me." She mumbled silently, but the runner was able to hear it clearly amidst the commentator's rambling. They stood there, some filled with determination to beat her, some filled with dread, and some snorted with arrogance, believing that Echo Eclipse was nothing special.
"Eh? Is Mr C.B not here?" Suzu Mach asked, shocked after fully waking up, she is snacking on popcorn while watching Echo Eclipse do her stretching routine. Her older sister flicked her forehead.
"I already told you that she won't be attending today's track."
"Eeeeh, but I want to ask some tips…"
"You already have me, I can help you!"
"But you're more theoretical…"
"You little sh-"
Aside from the sister duo bickering, Onward Cameroun was the first to speak out within the trio of Bizen Nishiki and Gold Way.
"Is it me or… Echo is acting more-"
"Confident?" Gold Way finished her sentence before pressing up her glasses.
"Eh? Isn't she acting the same as always?" Nishiki remarked with visible confusion.
"That's because you are bad at noticing minor details with how muscle-brain you are." Gold Way sneered with a smirk while leaning back; she would take any opportunities to take a jab at her roommate ever since she was forced against her will to spectate today's race. Even though she clearly knows what the result will be.
"Hahaha, thanks for the compliment!"
"That… Aah… What did I expect?"
"Hahahaha!"
"..." Onward Cameroun just listened silently before turning her head toward Symboli Rudolf. Noticing her gaze, Rudolf answered her question.
"You can think of her last two races as getting used to the world of professional racing; this is her settling in comfortably." Rudolf crossed her arms and glanced at Echo's opponents. This has always been Echo Eclipse's true self on the track. She started wondering if maybe she also influenced Echo to be more confident and domineering subconsciously.
"Number 8 Echo Eclipse is entering the gate." The commentator's voice woke the group up as they focused on what was happening on the track
"3!"
"2!
"1!"
"Go-" The gate opened simultaneously as all runners left the gate at the same time. And most of them sped up more than they needed to; they need to trap Echo in.
But such a thing is impossible.
Echo Eclipse simply glide past them and lands herself at the front, running at the same constant speed. Seeing this, the runners who originally wanted to trap Echo started regretting because they had used up more energy and stamina than necessary during the beginning of the race.
Slowly but surely, Echo Eclipse is accelerating. She spots the goddesses' shadows once again. The length gap between her and the runners is widening, the runners know that now it is impossible to get 1st place, and they started fighting for 2nd place.
She started running at the speed that is typically seen during the G1 races, and she doesn't stop accelerating.
Come on… I need to get closer! Faster! Faster! Faster!
Echo Eclipse chanted the word "Faster" like a mantra while speeding up. Her speed has reached C+ and is slowly approaching B. She is growing excited because she can see that she is getting closer to the goddesses!
I don't care if my body gets wrecked, I want to reach them!
Her body started straining, but unlike before, she is staying up without collapsing. The mantra slowly became an obsession for her; she wants to run faster. She wants to accelerate her speed beyond B, beyond A, no matter what state her body will be afterwards-
She took one step forward, and a memory of the worried and concerned Symboli Rudolf appeared in her mind. A limit was formed within her.
She stopped accelerating and slowed down softly, moving away from B-rank speed and staying at C+ speed.
'Right, why did I start running. It was clearly not for reaching the goddesses.' She thought to herself before turning her head to the sides, it's empty.
"... This isn't right."
She took a deep breath before crossing the finish line with a length of over 39, setting another record for this racecourse.
"I just wanted someone to run beside me…" She felt herself inching closer to a cliff, and if a memory of Symboli Rudolf hadn't come up in her mind, she would've fallen off the cliff.
"How could I have forgotten the reason I run…" She glanced at her sweaty palms with dull darken eyes, before hearing a roar of cheers. She lifted her head and spotted countless of her fans, and amidst all of them, she spotted her friends.
"... I already have friends who are running beside me… No matter how slow or fast they are." Her lips curled up in a genuine, happy smile as she did her signature winning pose.
I am not alone on this racecourse that is named "Life."