A couple days before the [Sapporo Kinen],
The winds howled around her as she raced for the finish line, her every step gouging into the Turf below. Sweat poured from her forehead to her chin, her teeth grit and her fists clenched. Her body was simultaneously burning from all the training she'd done, and cold from the night's chill.
Dicta Striker could see it. That damned monolithic wall—a representation of her Limits. Her hands slammed into it with all her might, but the thing refused to budge. The world around her remained just as dark, shrouded in mist. Her Limits remained standing, as if it'd been decreed by Heaven itself.
But the moment ended too early. Without her realizing it, she ran across the finish line. Her state of focus was shattered, and she was abruptly yanked back to the real world. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly slowed herself just in time to avoid accidentally tripping herself.
Once she'd slowed herself, she sighed as she finally felt how sore she was all over. And with a groan, she laid down on the track and stared emptily at the starry skies above.
The [Sapporo Kinen] was coming up, and by all rights, she was the best she'd ever been. Her body felt great, and her legs were in top condition. Honestly, aside from Mejiro Ardan and Inari One, there wasn't anyone else that could pose a threat to her.
But the only thing she could focus on was breaking through that wall. She didn't know how many times she'd slammed head-on into that thing, only to watch her efforts amount to nothing. And seeing a newcomer like Inari One unlock her own Domain had only spurred her on even further.
She knew that it wasn't easy. There was a reason why most umamusume never unlocked their own Domains. But the repeated failures still hung in the back of her subconscious, and Dicta couldn't help but grit her teeth as she slammed a fist into the Turf.
Yet, she had to. The Domain was necessary if she wanted to continue fighting in the big leagues. The [Takarazuka Kinen] a few months back had made that clear—in this insane competition, only those with Domains could have a chance to make it to the podium, much less take home the gold medal.
Oguri Cap and Blossom Star don't count. Those two were freaks of nature.
She breathed softly as she laid an arm over her eyes.
The Domain was unnegotiable. Not just because she needed her Limits broken if she wanted to keep improving, but also because she wanted to continue competing in the first place.
An umamusume's career was a transient thing. Sometimes painfully short, other times shockingly long. Despite all the research that'd been done, information about an umamusume's Peak remained nebulous at best. No one knew how True Blooming really worked, nor why umamusume weakened so much after it was over.
And she was no doctor, but her instincts told her that she didn't have much time left. There was this nagging feeling in the back of her head that this bubble was about to pop, and she could kiss her career goodbye after that.
Regardless, all she knew was this: Unlocking her Domain meant extending that period, just like what happened to Tamamo Cross.
…
It was confusing, and maybe a little frustrating. Belno Light had suggested that Desire might have something to do with it—that it was only in those moments of desperation that an umamusume could breach past their Limits. It sounded possible, especially after she considered everyone that had unlocked their own Domains.
But that implied that Dicta's own Desire wasn't strong enough.
"What am I missing?" She whispered as she stared at the stars. The stars stared back, her question left unanswered.
And after a few moments, another question bubbled past her lips.
She closed her eyes. "What do I want?" She then asked in a whisper.
It wasn't a question she'd ever pondered before. When she first arrived here in Tracen Central, the only thing she wanted was to run. She'd always had too much energy as a child, and when she first watched Symboli Rudolf tear down the track during her career, she'd wanted nothing more than to be like her.
And now she'd done it! She was here; a member of the Generation of Miracles, an umamusume so strong that some runners outright dropped out of races whenever her name appeared on the list.
A deep frown pulled at her lips as she thought about it. The dream that first pulled her here—hadn't she already achieved it by this point? She'd already 'made it', as her parents liked to say. She was the Yellow Bullet, after all.
…no, that wasn't quite it, was it?
"I got used to losing." She finally said, a small grimace on her lips. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
That was the crux of it, wasn't it? She was part of the Generation of Miracles, sure, but she'd never wanted to be anything more than just a member. She'd become content with who she'd become, and she'd internalized the fact that she could never win against true titans like Tamamo Cross or Obey Your Master.
Fuck. To think she ever got caught in something so obvious.
She hissed as she slowly stood back up. Her legs weren't as sore after her quick little rest, but she was still damn tired. She probably should be sleeping by this point, but she didn't want to. Not yet.
She was going to deal with this problem here and now, even if it meant she'd be out of commission tomorrow.
Dicta took another breath, and gritting her teeth, she bent forward as lunged into another run. The cleats of her training shoes smashed into the Turf below, each step leaving the ground slightly trembling as she charged ahead.
She could picture it, still.
She was in 6th place. Creek was just behind her. They were coming up on the last straight. Everyone was tired, having survived against the three-way Domain clash between Belno, Tamamo, and Obey. And dread was pooling in her stomach when she realized there was still one last uphill before the final charge towards the finish line.
And suddenly, Oguri and Star burst forward the moment they cleared the uphill, charging ahead so quickly that they'd practically turned into blurs as they raced for the finish line.
Dicta grit her teeth as she ran faster. Tried chasing towards their illusory figures as she was left behind.
It was impossible. Getting to the final straight had left her chambers empty. Her final {Yellow Bullet} had been fired to help her clear the uphill, leaving her with nothing left. And though she crossed the finish line several seconds faster than the previous record, it didn't change the fact that she was in 6th place.
That feeling of weakness, that frustration at realizing that she wasn't enough—it burnt inside her like boiling magma. Or maybe like the churning of solar plasma. It pooled in her gut, mingling with all the feelings she'd tried to forget.
Winning? Losing?
No, that stopped mattering a long time ago. She hadn't cared about the actual outcomes of a race in months.
No, more than anything–
I don't want to be left behind!
She screamed as she sped up, even though she had no more bullets in her chamber. The imprints her cleats left behind grew deeper and deeper as her legs stomped the ground with more and more force. Her eyes burnt like glowing magma, and unknown to her, sparks began exploding behind her, almost like the trails of countless fireworks.
But it wasn't enough. Not yet. Not like this. Tamamo was still too strong. Obey was too fast. Oguri and Star were too dominating.
More. More! With everything she had left—even though her body wanted nothing more than to rest-!
"MORE!"
Her lungs screamed in protest, but she didn't stop. Didn't slow down. Couldn't afford to. Here, doused with pain and burning with Desire, she felt like she was at the precipice of something greater.
But the moment ended too quickly. Before she knew it, she had passed the finish line again, and she screamed in annoyance as she felt that elusive focus melt away into frustration.
She hissed as she held her knees. She still wanted to run, but she knew it was about time to call it quits. Her legs felt like they were about to fall off, and she didn't want to injure herself before the [Sapporo Kinen].
So, gritting her teeth in annoyance, Dicta Striker muttered a few more curses as she made her way back to her dorms.
…
What she didn't know was that, at the trail end of that final desperate charge, the sparks exploding behind her had shifted from a warm orange to an electrifying blue.
.
.
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AN: Apologies for the late upload. I was little busy and had to push back this chapter by a bit. The 2 chapters for today will be coming out as normal though.