You know, time's a strange, strange thing when you're dead.
After all, the laws of space and time only existed for those who could still be influenced by the physical laws of the universe. And though the brain ran on electric signals and chemical imbalances, the Soul was a materia that existed beyond that. An origination that came to be not due to the chaotic synchrony of the universe, but from the blessings from a Thing unknown.
Simply put, the dead were never meant to remain in the material world. There was a reason the Three Goddesses created a simulacrum of an afterlife based on the knowledge granted to them by CyGames. Even in this fantastical world, the spirits of the deceased needed their own place, lest they be corrupted and turn into something far worse.
And I'm also dead!
Except I'm still here. Or, at least as much as I could be.
I giggled as I watched Oguri feed Star slices of orange, her tail swaying happily as she finally got the chance to feed Star after three weeks of separation. Poor little Star looked completely overwhelmed by the attention, but like the lovestruck girl she was, she took to Oguri's yandere-esque tendencies with embarrassment and a tad bit of arousal.
And sure, Star seemed to be trying to hide it, but it ain't doing anything. I mean, girl, you're clenching your thighs and squirming in your bondage—there isn't anything more erotic for a repressed Christian girl like her.
…wait, was she Christian in her past life? Was I Christian in my past life?
Argh, can't remember. It's been so long, and all the time I spent in the material world had left me hollowed. Trying to remember just made me remember vague things about pAiN and hATreD and the urge to k̴̢̡̙̯̖̩̺̠̙͓̩̹̟͐̀̈́̏̓͌͆̀͑̑̔̈̈́̀͂̀̊̈́̕̚͜͠ͅǐ̷͖̻̞̩̹̦̫̪̩̜̦͔̳̿̀̑́̂͑͗̒̿̑̐͆͋̆̐͜͠ͅļ̸̡̛̞̞̮͍̬̪̣͓̖͎͓̤̜̥̙͉͎̝̜̞̓̐̈̒̓̌͒͊͊͂̍́͗̽̋̒̿̈́͑̆̂͊͆̕ͅͅĺ̴̨̧̬̮̙̎́͗́͊͐̆̆̔́̓͆͆͊̀̀̑̄̓̚͘͘͠ ̸̢̨̰͉̤̥̜̥̲̗̘̠͚̩͕̭̦̭̝̣͇̫̂̎͜͠ͅͅm̷̡̭̥̝̩̖̰̠̻̀͆͂͊͂͂̿y̵̡̡̧̪͕̤͈̜̙͕̯̩̰͕͎̯̼̗͕̿̕͜ͅͅs̶̺̠͚̹̗̹̯̖̮̖̅̇̏͋̀̈́̐̒̆̈̅́̍ͅe̸̻̺̬̠̣͓̙͐̓͆̑̿̑̎̉͑͗̈́̒͗́̚͘l̴̤̃̅̈́̊̑̐̀̈́͆̽́̀̊̒͛̕̕̕f̴̢̨̧̢͇̖̮͚̝̬̭͍̻͎͕͇̻͈̣͍͖̺̲̓̔́̋̉̃͂͌̆̍͌̈́͌̅̌̓̈́̚̚̚͝͝͝ͅͅ.
(AN: Careful there.)
Wha-?
Oh! I must've blanked out there! Silly me~
(AN: You can't keep doing this.)
Mhm~! I know, I'm not stupid~! I already gave that whole exposition about how dead people really shouldn't be sticking around like I am. I mean-, everyone's already seen how weird I look like to Oguri. Going from a cute and hot girl to that blob of black is just such a sad turn~
But I need to stay, my dear Author. At least for just several more chapters. At least until I get to witness my beloved friend race in the [Arima Kinen] with the people she loves.
(AN: Your {Soul of Bravery} can only last so long. If you shatter before you return to the Throne–)
Then that's fine~. I've been here for long enough. Trying to stay sane for another 200 years—I don't think even I can do that! And besides, that Throne belongs to Star. She's the one who helped break this world away from Destiny's hold. She's the one who deserves it~
(AN: …)
(AN: Very well.)
…I really am sorry, my dear Author. I'm probably being a little selfish, right?
(AN: It's fine. You deserve to be.)
(AN: So, you want the next scene to be another dream sequence?)
That's right~! As I am now, I won't be able to talk to Star without being a garbled mess, so this is the only thing I can do. It's not quite what I promised to Oguri, but this is the best I can do at the moment~
This is probably the last time I can appear in this story, so let's make it grand! Giant explosions! Glittering supernovas! Maybe I'll even call on the power of the Spiral and declare that I'll drill the heavens! After all, a grand Hero like Star needs the best of the best, right~?
(AN: Let's get the recording started already.)
Uuu~, you're such a busybody, my dear Author~! Can't you let me play around a little?
But fine, if you insist~
Okay, deep breaths! In, and out~
.
.
.
I breathed softly as I softly held my wrist. My entire body ached after being tied to that chair for so long, and finally being free for the first time in hours felt amazing. Of course, I could've escaped at any time, but with Oguri watching me like a hawk, I'm pretty sure I would've gotten dragged to a basement if I ever made an attempt.
N-Not that it'd be that bad! I mean, it's still Oguri, and I know she'd never hurt me despite how roughs he could be when we're–
Uh-, anyway,
"What're you doing?" I couldn't help but ask, smiling wryly as Oguri continued playing with my ears. We were both laying on the couch, our legs intertwined and our faces inches away from each other. And yet Oguri's entire attention was directed to my ears, waving her hand back and forth as she flopped my ears back and forth.
"Soft." She said, and I shivered slightly as I felt her breath on my neck.
"I'm pretty sure that's how umamusume ears work." I said, glancing at Oguri's ears. Now that my hair was white, our ears looked nearly identical. Though perhaps her ears were slightly darker in tone? I honestly couldn't tell.
She shook her head. "Softer than normal." She said, continuing to play with my ears. "It's your winter coat."
I blinked. "My what?" I asked, unconsciously reaching up to grab my own ears. And I physically recoiled when I felt that my ears were fluffier than usual—the usually soft fur that covered my ears had grown slightly. "When did that happen?"
Oguri hummed. "When you were sleeping?"
"Maybe…"I frowned as I gave my ear another poke. "Is this normal?"
Oguri blinked as she tilted her head. "It should be." She whispered. "My mom's ears always get super fluffy whenever it's winter."
I hummed. I knew that a horses' coat grew thicker when the weather turned cold, but I didn't expect that trait to carry over to umamusume, especially since the only 'fur' we had was on our ears.
Thinking back, I was fairly sure I'd never had a winter coat before. I could distinctly remember feeling cold whenever winter came around in Kasamatsu, so my father bought me that little beanie I always wore whenever it started snowing. And I was pretty sure I didn't have a winter coat last year either.
My strangely delayed True Blooming, my lack of a winter coat, my previously non-existent instincts as an umamusume–
It was almost as if my body had been frozen in time.
Then again, I guess this was included in that whole bit about 'Reclaiming my Birthright'. I suppose awakening my Domain finally gave my body the energy it needed to restart all those functions that'd been previously locked away.
"Star?"
"Hmm?" I hummed, my eyes drooping slightly as I felt Oguri's hand gently brush past my ears. It'd felt strange at first, but as Oguri kept doing it, my whole body began feeling fuzzy. It almost felt like I was being wrapped by a blanket, and I couldn't help but yawn slightly as I leaned into her neck.
"Tired?" She asked, her voice sounding a little distant.
"Mmn." I mumbled.
Maybe it was the light snowfall, maybe it was the warmth from the nearby heater, or maybe it was the fact that Oguri was lying next to me. Whatever it was, I could feel myself slowly dozing off, and it became harder and harder to keep my eyes open as I listened to Oguri's soft heartbeat.
"Sleep." Oguri said, her voice gentle. "I'll wake you up for dinner."
I chuckled softly, and then my eyes closed as I drifted to sleep.
…
But then awareness returned to me in a flash, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself standing on the roof garden of a building, the skies above dark and cloudy A thin metal railing guarded the entire rooftop, facing out towards a sprawling city I could've sworn I'd seen somewhere. The scenery felt familiar, though something about it didn't look quite right to me. It was almost as if I'd always seen this same scenery from a different perspective.
I stood there for quite some time, almost entranced by the strangely familiar cityscape, before I heard a familiar voice call out to me. "Hello~! How're you doing on this wonderful day~?"
I blinked, and when I turned around, I found Eclipse walking towards me. "Eclipse?" I whispered, unconsciously stepped back as she continued walking straight towards me.
But she didn't stop. She kept walking towards me. And then–
She passed right through. A chilling sensation crawled across my body as she phased through me.
I turned towards her, but Eclipse kept on walking until she eventually reached the railing. She placed her hand on it and stared out at the cityscape for a moment, her expression pained and fond at the same time. Then her whimsical smile returned, and she winked at me as she spun and sat on the railing, playfully kicking her legs as she kept herself balanced.
"You know the drill already, don't you?" She asked with a grin. "Just like before, it'll be another message from little ol' me~!"
I took a small breath, smiling wryly as I pressed a palm onto my chest. "Geez, don't surprise me like that." I said, knowing that my words would go unheard.
"Well~, I won't dally around this time! After all, I only have so many minutes before this recording blows up~"
"It won't." I said. My expression twisted with worry as I saw her growing grin. "It won't, right?"
"Who knows~"
"But I'll stop meandering."
Eclipse's smile softened, and suddenly the clouds above parted, letting a ray of light shine down onto her.
And slowly, she spoke.
"To you, 200 years from now,"