“Welcome to today’s newcomer race here at Tokyo Racecourse. These runners will be making the first official start of their careers! Today’s sunny and clear, the track is 1400m long and firm turf. For many of the racers, this will be their first time facing a crowd of this size.”
“Ah! The runners are now circling the paddock. You can clearly see some are still adjusting to the atmosphere, with a few restless ears and nervous steps.” The commentator hummed.
“Ah, looks like we have a hyperactive runner here, Number 7. She walks with a bouncy rhythm. She doesn’t seem distracted by the noise around her.” He picks up his clipboard and checks the runner's name with their number. “From what we have here, her name is Echo Eclipse, and she is from Hokkaido. The crowd has begun to notice her as well.”
“For her debut race, she doesn’t seem nervous at all. It’s more like she is excited to debut.”
Echo Eclipse bobs her head left and right while waving at the crowd. More umas enter while the commentator is commentating others umamusume.
After everyone was introduced and surrounded the paddocks, an official staff member alerted the debuting umamusume to move to the track.
“The runners now left the paddock and are currently heading toward the turf course.”
“Oh? Looks like there is bickering among the racers as they make their way to the track.”
A green haired uma tries to get the attention of Echo Eclipse by insulting her, and yet Echo Eclipse’s head is currently empty, no thought. Humming happily as she spots the gates on the turf track.
“Tsk, is that girl damn deaf?” The green-haired uma huff before flicking her hair away. She wanted to rattle and scare the girl next to her, but there was no response. So she decided to target the girl to the right of her.
“This will be a mile race, 1600 meters. For the debuting racers, maintaining rhythm is more important than speed.” The commentator expins to the audience who is slowly filling up the stands. One of them is Symboli Rudolf.
She stares at Echo Eclipse on the track, before another girl sits beside her.
“ ‘xcuse me~” She let out a toothy grin as she leaned back into her seat, her fingers crossed together on top of her belly. “Wow! Are you Symboli Rudolf? Mind giving me your autograp-”
“Stop pretending, Mr C.B.” A cold and emotionless voice exits Rudolf's lips.
“... Aww… How did you find out?” She chuckles with amused eyes, adjusting her C.B accessory on her hat.
“Why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here?”
“You don’t have a habit of watching debut races.”
“...”
“...”
“Hahahaha!” Mr C.B. ughed loudly as she wiped a tear from her eyes. She knew that her kouhai had already won one of the crowns, and by being near her. She can tell that Symboli Rudolf is indeed strong. Rudolf has already researched her.
“...”
“Alright, answer my question first, and I'll answer yours. Equal exchange.” She turned her head to Rudolf with a wide, pyful grin, but Symboli Rudol didn't respond, which Mr C.B. takes it as tacit approval.
“Why are you here, Symboli Rudolf? Shouldn’t you be focused on training for your Tokyo Yushun?”
“...”
“...”
Silence filled the atmosphere before Rudolf parted her lips. She spoke for a total of 10 seconds. At that moment, all outside distractions disappeared as Mr C.B. stared in awe of what Rudolf just said, before turning her head toward Echo Eclipse’s direction.
“For real? Damn, I only came here to check out the girl that is sponsored and protected by your family.” She stroked her fingers with an excited glint in her eyes as if she found a new pymate.
“I didn’t expect to discover a red diamond here.”
“...” Symboli Rudolf doesn’t respond as she continues staring at Echo Eclipse.
Everyone started doing their warm-up down the backstretch of the track, getting used to the condition of the track. Some feel uncomfortable while others are getting used to the turf track.
“Oh my! Echo Eclipse looks like she is right at home on the track; there’s even little wasted movement in her form.” The commentator's voices alerted the spectators.
Echo is currently stretching and warming up her body, showing off her incredible flexibility. Making the other racers pause and look in awe and shock. Some felt envious because they wanted the same flexibility for their body too.
“Number 1 The Street is entering the gate.”
“Number 3 Bea…”
“Num…”
…
“Number 7 Echo Eclipse is entering the gate.”
“Wow…” Echo spoke out of her mind; she didn’t know the gate was this narrow. Entering the gate, she slowly gets into her running position. She can hear the machinations inside the gate and the breathing of the racers near her.
Her heart started pumping more blood in excitement and from tension.
“All runners are at the gate.”
“3!” There’s a noticeable click from the gate in front of her; she removes any distraction from her ears. All she needs to do is run once the gate opens.
“2!” More clicking and slight vibration from the gate is heard, startling or making other racers finch.
“1!” Most of the racers are hesitant as fear slowly takes over their mind. They are experiencing too much stimuli from their environments, all but one. Echo Eclipse.
The audience can see that all racers are subtly moving in anticipation, but they notice one racer out of the norm. She stood there like a statue; she hadn't blinked once, and they didn't even know if she had breath at all.
Mr C.B. whistles in excitement. She had seen the Symboli Rudolf G1 race, and Rudolf was in a simir state before the race started. It is one thing for an experienced racer to be proficient and focused on solely running at the beginning of the race, but for a debut racer that has no official experience?
“Go!” The gates opened as most racers simultaneously dashed forward; some were hesitant before dashing forward, which led them to have a te start.
Mr C.B. and Symboli Rudolf notice a change in Echo Eclipse's demeanour.
“Number 7 Echo Eclipse has taken the lead by 3 lengths, the race just started! Could you believe this! Is this the great escape?!” He said excitedly, but unfortunately for him. It is not a great escape, and what Echo is doing is trying to set the pace by being in the front and saving her stamina.
Feeling intimidated by this move, the inexperienced racers started speeding up to catch up to them. They don’t want to be left behind, and they are not realising that they are spending more stamina than they are used to at the beginning of a race.
“Forest Green is making her attempts to take the lead! A sudden boost of speed!”
Forest Green, the girl who tried to scare down Echo and failed, sprinted ahead with a wide smirk. Sweats are forming as she runs by the lead.
“She took the lead! Will Echo Eclipse take back her position?!”
And yet, Echo Eclipse didn’t react; she just softly smiled as she continued running at the same speed she left the gate. An ominous realisation sneaks up the spine of Forest Green.
“Forest Green and Echo Eclipse are 2 lengths ahead of the herd! They are steadily approaching the first corner”
“O-Oi!” Mr C.B.'s eyes widen in shock as she leans over and grip against the railing, before turning toward Rudolf for an expnation.
“Echo Eclipse can go into [Flow] state whenever she wants to.”
“...”
“...”
“I know that! You told me before! But… Even from before the race, too?” She asked, wanting answers. In higher-ranked races, such as G1, racers can enter the [Flow] state due to the intense amount of concentration and talents needed. However, that only occurs in the te part of the race. Echo Eclipse entered the [Flow] state before she even entered the paddock, which no umas have ever done.
Symboli Rudolf didn’t answer, but that was all Mr C.B. needed to understand.
‘She didn’t even look serious and focused during the introduction, up until the gate opened.’ She chuckles as she leans back, her hand covering her mouth as she tries to restrain herself from wanting to go down there and run against her.
She gnced at Symboli Rudolf, understanding why she sponsored Echo Eclipse. She would’ve done the same if she were in Symboli Rudolf's position.
“They are now approaching the second corner!” The comments from the commentator woke Mr C.B. up from her thinking before she paid attention to the race.
Green Forest is smirking widely and proudly, and yet she can’t erase the ominous feeling in her heart. She is still in the lead; she is running faster than Echo Eclipse. And yet…
She knows she mustn’t do it, but... She turns her head around, and a fearful expression appears on her face at what she sees.
Echo Eclipse is not even breathing heavily or sweating, in fact. She is wasting her breath by humming while running at this intense speed, but that isn’t what scared Green Forest the most. What scared her the most was the reflection of Echo Eclipse’s eyes. She can’t see her own reflection in those unique eyes, as if she doesn’t acknowledge her or recognise that there is someone in front of her.
“Green Forest and Echo Eclipse are approaching the final stretch! Will Green Forest take the win, or will Echo Eclipse take the win!”
As the two racers run, the thumps of the ground vibrate as Echo Eclipse closes her eyes. The feeling of the wind rushing by, the patterns of her breathing, as if she is floating. This is why she loves running, this is why she wants others to be able to run beside her as Symboli Rudolf did.
‘Ah… I wish this sensation could st forever…’ She opens her eyes again, and the reflection of the finish line is there.
[“Run til the chain breaks” has been activated.]
At that moment, a bck blur went by Green Forest, and before she noticed, Echo Eclipse was no longer behind her. She looked ahead and almost faltered by shock; reality is stranger than fiction after all.
“Echo Eclipse makes her st spurt! 3 lengths! 5 Lengths! 8 Lengths! Are you seeing this, folks?!” The audience roars with cheers; they haven’t seen a debut race being dominated by one racer ever since st year's March Symboli Rudolf debut.
Green Forest looks in front of her every time she blinks. The figures ahead of her move further and further, despite her attempts to accelerate and try to catch up. All she could do was chase after that shadow, being cast on the ground, and even then. The shadow is getting further and further away from her.
‘Oh… I see.’ Green Forest thought before resigning to her position as 2nd pce, there is nothing she could do to beat that monster.
“Are we seeing a legend in the making here, folks?! Echo Eclipse! Echo Eclipse!” The commentator wanted to say more, but seeing and feeling the pumps in his blood is making him stammer like an echo in a cave.
“11 Lengths! 13 Lengths! Oh my god! Echo Eclipse is still speeding up! The finish line is right there!”
Everybody roared even louder, as if threatening to break the railing and fall toward the tracks.
“Echo Eclipse! Echo Eclipse! And she crosses the line!”
Another roar of cheers appears, shaking the stadium. They didn’t expect much entertainment or passion from a debut race, but they are gd that they bought the ticket. They are seeing a legend being born in their eyes.
“She broke the record! 1 minute and 31 seconds! And by 17 lengths nonetheless! The ‘Unbounded Wind’ is here! The ‘Unbounded Wind’ is here!”
Echo is breathing heavily as she gnced at the scoreboard, before looking at the system notification.
[You have won 1st pce in your debut race.]
[You have received 150SP.]
[Due to your first time racing, a bonus of 50SP is given.]
“Green Forest crossed the line at the time of 1 minute 46 seconds.”
Despite the commentator speaking, the intensity of the cheers hadn’t diminished, and for the first time, Echo Eclipse noticed the cheer. She looked at the audience and smiled shyly. The contrast between when she was racing and after is striking.
She then remembers that she needs to do a winning pose. She pced her left hand on her hips and gave a peace sign with her right toward the crowd, a happy smile pstered on her face.
Another loud roar of cheering appears.
“Echo Eclipse! Echo Eclipse!”
“Echo Eclipse! Echo Eclipse!”
“Echo Eclipse! Echo Eclipse!”
“Echo Ecl…”
“Ec…”
…
..
.
