Belno Light was going insane.
Not literally-, or maybe literally? It wasn't like she had suddenly turned into someone else entirely.
But her mind could not stop working. From the very moment she caught sight of that phantom soldier saluting her, her thoughts had been running on overdrive. She wasn't deluded enough to believe that she wasn't the main cause of that phantom appearance. Somehow, with the simple wish of wanting something to drink, that phantom had manifested, presumably gotten some water from the cafeteria, and brought it to her.
The fact that she'd apparently activated her Domain without thinking was strange enough, but the fact that her Domain was capable of performing something so complex was mind-boggling. Or was it even her Domain? Were those phantom soldiers part of her Domain, or was her Domain simply the method through which she could summon them? She'd never personally seen a ghost before, but she'd heard enough stories to at least be a little stitious.
And beyond that was the fact that her Domain was apparently able to interact with the real world. Like, how? Her Domain had never done this before—all the spears and anchors and trumpets she unleashed were always illusory effects. They never had any physicality to them.
But now they did.
Belno Light bit her lip as she stared at her notebook. The page she'd been writing on for the last hour or so had been completely overwhelmed with notes and scribbles, to the point that it wouldn't be legible to anyone else but her. Words like 'phantom!?!?' and 'yin-yang??' and '60,000!!!' were written all over the edges like some sort of mantra.
Something had changed. Maybe in her. Maybe in her Domain. Maybe in the world. Whatever it was, something had irreversibly changed, and suddenly reality had become a little stranger than she last remembered.
Something had changed. Something had happened.
…Could it be?
With a frantic energy, Belno suddenly dove forward as she wrote down '[JAPAN CUP]' onto the already filled page, before she proceeded to circle the words nearly a dozen times to ensure she didn't miss it.
That was it. It had to be. It was the only thing that could've caused it all.
Or-, maybe it wasn't the [Japan Cup] itself, but rather what happened in it. After all, Oguri's Domain caused the moon to appear, and then Star's Domain made the sun return, causing the two stellar bodies to overlap and create an Eclipse that only disappeared once both of their Domains finally–
…
"Eclipse?" She whispered.
Eclipse.
Eclipse. Eclipse. Eclipse.
It was that word again. It was that event again. She felt like the Eclipse was the answer she'd been looking for. Somehow, the appearance of the Eclipse felt like it'd shattered something fundamental in this world. But she'd heard of Eclipse before, even before an actual Eclipse appeared during the [Japan Cup].
"Eclipse First, the Rest Nowhere." She quoted the motto of Tracen Central, realizing that it'd been staring her down this entire time.
Why that motto in the first place? Why Eclipse? The way it was written, the motto spoke of Eclipse less like an event and more like a…person. But she'd never heard of a person called Eclipse before. But surely someone that was remembered by Tracen Central in such a manner would be someone famous, right? Then surely someone like Symboli Rudolf or the Director should–!
Before she could even attempt to stand, a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, their touch simultaneously warm and deathly cold. The paradoxical sensation snapped Belno out of her spiralling thoughts, and brought her attention to the fact that the pen she'd been holding was on the verge of snapping.
She took a deep breath, and the knot in the back of her head finally loosened. "Thank you." She whispered. And though the phantom could not speak, a proud smile came onto their lips as they pounded a fist onto their chestplate. Their body melted into thin air moments later, disappearing like a faded memoria.
Belno smiled, though her eyes then narrowed in thought.
It was fascinating. Once again, those phantom soldiers had appeared without her consciously asking for them. Had done so as if something from beyond the veil had called for them and brought them into the world. The last time, it did so to bring her water. This time, it was to stop her mind from spiralling any further.
Both times, she'd been thinking about the Eclipse.
With an intrigued smile, she wrote down 'ECLIPSE' and 'IMPORTANT!!!' on the already filled page. She wasn't sure what significance the Eclipse had on this world, but whatever it was, it seemed to be some sort of supernatural power capable of bending the world's laws.
And curiously, Oguri and Star's Domain just happened to perfectly align to call forth an actual Eclipse.
Hmm.
Interesting.
But those were mysteries to be pondered at a later date. She'd spent long enough holed up in the clubroom, and she hadn't eaten anything. Her stomach was feeling quite hungry now that her mind was buzzing with ideas and theories.
So, with a somewhat awkward smile, she closed the notebook and left the room right after, intent on eating enough food to hopefully get her mind some respite from her own thoughts.
…
The clubroom of the famous Team Kitahara promptly fell quiet as its last occupant left the room behind. The notebook Belno Light had spent so long scribbling on remained on the table, neatly closed as if nothing had ever happened.
Then, as the sunlight peered into the room, dozens of phantoms suddenly appeared in the room. Some were dressed in armor and carried weapons, clearly ready for war. Others wore clothes befitting of ancient eastern nobles. Some were umamusume. Some seemed to be normal humans.
But they all had something in common–
"Aha, our general is so cute, isn't she?"
"Of course she is. She is our beloved general, after all!"
"And so smart too! She came soooo close to finding things out~"
The phantoms spoke to one another, their voices both haunting yet chime-like. Their words overlapped with one another, and yet none of the phantoms were confused as they spoke over one another.
Meanwhile, standing at the edge of the group were two phantoms. One a man dressed in fine robes, his expression growing darker and darker the more he listened to the other phantom's conversation. The other an umamusume, a carefree smile on their lips as they watched the chaos unfold.
"Cease your mutterings, heathens. Our Lord needs no useless drabble." The man said, more than displeased.
"Psch, stop being such a downer!" The umamusume said, grinning wide. "This world has changed tremendously since we last walked the Earth. Is it not best that we too change with the rising tides?"
"I do not disagree, but this–" He pointed at the group of phantom soldiers before him, and the idol cheers they were suddenly performing.
"Belno-chan~!"
"Belno-chan, go, go, go~!"
The man's lips twisted in mild disgust. "–I would much rather wish I had cut off my own ears before our final battle."
"Ahaha, looks like everyone's becoming an idol fan!" The umamusume said.
He sighed. "What an insane world we live in…"
The umamusume laughed cheerfully as she roughly patted the man's back. The man grunted, though a small smile soon lifted his lips.
And when the next streak of sunlight passed into the clubroom, all the phantoms suddenly disappeared, and the room returned to its silence.