[Sorry for the late posting, very busy with school and personal life rn. Especially when the official exam is around the corner.]
After Echo mouthed "Come, run" at Bizen Nishiki, a system notification appears in front of her. Making her go stiff for a moment as she read what's on it.
[Congratulation! You have changed the fate of Bizen Nishiki.]
That's what was on the notification, but a new message was being forcibly written underneath the line of text.
[Thank you.]
The cheers seemed to vanish as Echo Eclipse gazes at two words: an appreciation. For her?
She inhales sharply before exhaling. She is still sweating; she's just won the race, and there's one more thing to do before she walks toward the stage.
'System,'
[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: 447 (C: Advanced)
Stamina: 423 (C: Advanced)
Power: 371 (D: Intermediate)
Guts: 358 (D: Intermediate)
Wits: 370 (D: Intermediate)
Zone: —
SP: 150]
'I already spent 200 SP on speed. What I need is more power so I can speed up faster in less time required.'
'System, put 100SP into power,'
Just like that, a sensation she was familiar with coursed through her body, nourishing each cell. Consuming a large amount of energy, steam emanates from her body.
With each step she takes, she takes a deep breath before letting out. Her body is still pulsing. Not from fatigue, not from the cheers. It came from her soul.
'I changed Nishiki's fate? What did that mean?' She thought long and hard, but couldn't understand the significance of that phrase. 'Maybe Bizen Nishiki's fate was originally sad and tragic, but she changed it to be good?'
'And that system, did it have a personality, an ego? Is that why it thanks me?'
As more and more thoughts piled up, it started overwhelming her. She is not suited for deep thinking! That isn't hers! She wanted her mind to be simple! Not complex!
She steps into the backstage to rest and get ready for her dance, but once again! She froze. A certain thought appeared.
'Is that the reason I was born here? To change fate?' She felt as if she had touched the truth of her reincarnation, because fate didn't intend for her to be born here. She is an outsider-
'Shut up. So what if I was an outsider? The things I experienced aren't fake; they are as real as Echo Eclipse.' She refuted her dark thought while pouting in real life.
'The world of Uma Musume… Fate… Goddesses… What's the purpose of our existence?' She knows that even this question, the goddesses won't answer her. This is the question that all mortals must find the answer to for themselves.
"Maybe it doesn't need an answer." Her white pupils observe her surroundings; she is currently the only one backstage, waiting for the rest of the runners to arrive.
"It isn't a simple reason or a complex reason…" Her tail sways, her short hair flutters in a non-existent wind. Her white pupils glow, and the surrounding shadows darken.
Her gaze deepened as she gave her answer to nobody, but she felt as if she should say it out loud.
"Life, we exist because the universe wanted us to experience the beauty of the world." Her voice wavers as unshed tears threaten to escape her eyes.
The universe is a vast, endless space, forever expanding outward until there is nothing left. In fact, the chances of humans or Umas being born are 1 in 10^2,685,000. A number so infinitesimally small that it was virtually zero.
And yet, life appeared on a rock 4.65 billion years ago. Eventually shaping up into humanity. The beauty of nature, the beauty of the night sky, the beauty of love, the beauty of death, and the beauty of sadness. The list goes on forever.
"We exist to experience the beauty of the world… Then what is the purpose of my existence?"
…
"Heh, well. I can find out later; I have my whole life to figure out the answer. Time for the concert."
She takes a bottle of water and chugs down the contents, feeling the cool water go down her throat.
"Gaah! That was refreshing!"
***
October 24th, 1984.
Bizen Nishiki grunted as she held a horse stance for isometric work, keeping her left leg static and stable while working the muscles to prevent atrophy. The sensation of her left leg burning is vivid, but she knows it isn't the bone threatening to break apart. It was simply her muscles.
But that doesn't stop the fact that she sometimes feels sharp or dull pain in her left leg, because there are metal rods in her leg.
"Shzzzzzzz- Welcome to t-the Keio Hai Sansai Sta-Stake!"
"Tsk, I should've gotten a new radio." She stops the timer at the 5-minute mark before sitting on a chair beside the radio on the table. She stretches her left leg outward slowly.
"Shzzzzzz- The sky is cloudy, the turf is in perfect condition, and Shzzzzzzzz-"
"Wha- Come on!" She frowned before smacking the radio on the top, causing the audio to clear up.
"Shzz- Today's feature race is an interesting one, the favourite Echo Eclipse is taking part. Thanks to that, the original 26 runners decreased to 17 runne- Shzzzz,"
Nishiki's brows rose in intrigue before letting out a proud smirk.
"Look at you, Echo, people are afraid to challenge you in a race." She hummed before smacking the top of the radio again, making the audio clear.
While she rests and listens to the commentary, she closes her eyes and leans back. Currently, Echo Friends aren't cheering for Echo Eclipse at the spectator seats because they aren't there. They are focusing on training for the G1 race in 4 days.
Including Symboli Rudolf.
Because it's the last crown race.
"Damn, it's almost the end of the year too… Time has flown by too fast." She chuckled and, without realising it, a minute had gone by, and she had missed most of the race.
"Shhz- cho Eclipse! Echo Eclipse has done it again! She won by a major 43 lengths!"
"Tsk, I missed it all. Looks like she broke another record again… Ahhh." She sighed before leaning back. She is doing her best in recovery and rehabilitation; it isn't easy, but she is doing her best.
"... The Triple Crown, huh…" If it were the old Bizen Nishiki, she would've been hating herself for being weak and injuring herself, since she cannot enter the race. But now? She doesn't feel any self-hatred or envy toward her friends.
"Gold Way… Is there a way I can motivate her to beat Symboli Rudolf?" The corner of her lips widened and curled up as she pondered. She thought it would be funny if Gold Way took the last crown from Symboli Rudolf.
"She's in love with me, right? Hm… What if I promise her a kiss?" Despite her stubborn personality, she isn't blind at all! She knows when someone is in love, especially when that specific someone has been acting differently around her.
She isn't planning on answering Gold Way's feelings yet, but maybe in the future…
"Mhm, a kiss will do." She grinned teasingly.