Chapter 13 - hidden retirement triggers.
I rested. Not for long, but enough. My body healed quicker than it should have. Muscles relaxed. Breath steadied. The Domain quieted, like it was waiting instead of pushing.
I checked the system again. Stats. Logs. Run records.
That was when I saw her.
Hiyakawa Tazuna.
I stared at the screen.
Wait. She was a horse girl?
I knew the name. Everyone did. She was supposed to be a phantom. A legend that never fully raced. Crippled early. History said she faded before her peak. But here she was. Full profile. Full stats. A real runner.
That was Run 2.
Tokino Minoru.
That run went smoother than expected. Too smooth. I had seen Marzensky's memories. Timing. Pressure. Corners. Skill order. Domain control. Healing Tokino's leg through the system early on. The injury that defined her tragedy was just gone.
She won the Triple Crown.
Clean. Controlled. Almost easy.
And then she retired.
No warning. No regret. Just gone.
The system logged it as complete. No resistance. No pull to continue. Like her will was satisfied.
That was when I started to notice the pattern.
Run 3 was Mr CB.
Still In Dominating her timeline...
Then Run 4 Kazuragi Ace.
Still In Dominating her timeline..
Run 5 was Northern Taste. Akiwa Yayoi. Dominated the time line but didn't hit the trigger return condition. Which after research would most likely be the great tragedy of Northern taste never having a uma son. So that's what Yayoi me is trying to do. Rest in peace. That version of me is likely never coming back.
My soul and memories fused with theirs, yes. But their will mattered more than I thought. Each Uma had one deep regret. One moment they could not accept. Once that was overturned, once their ideal future was reached, the run collapsed on its own.
And something else was happening.
I could feel it.
Versions of them that were not me. Training. Improving. Existing in their own timelines. Ego versions shaped by different choices. Different worlds.
It felt like foreshadowing.
Like someday, these paths would cross.
Different teams. Different legends. Game. Anime. Fan made worlds.
All running toward the same track.
I leaned back and stared at the system screen.
This was bigger than a playthrough.
And I had a feeling the next run would not end so quietly.