The sun overhead scorched the city without mercy, baking the working people hurrying through streets and alleys—
but it couldn't touch Eternal Meteor's mood in the slightest.
After getting up by the river and asking a passerby for directions, she'd learned she was in Tokyo.
So she started getting a feel for the place.
Eternal Meteor strolled down the street with both hands clasped behind her head, her steps light—almost bouncy—humming a little tune as she walked. At the same time, she was talking with X in her head, hashing out what to do next.
"I should prioritize a place to stay and a source of income. After that—training, then preparing for my debut race."
"Solid plan," X said coolly. "But do you actually know how to train?"
"…Fair point." Eternal Meteor blinked. "What if I find a coach, show off my talent, and say I'm a genius who wants to become their disciple? Think they'll take me?"
Ideas started bubbling up again. She swayed her head as she thought, the ears on top bobbing cheerfully with every motion.
"So you've stopped using honorifics again," X sighed. "Whatever. But first you'd need to find a reliable trainer, and they'd need time to watch you 'demonstrate' that so-called talent—rather than shooing you away as some kid who hasn't even started formal training."
Eternal Meteor scanned storefront after storefront, searching for help-wanted signs.
"But I still have to solve the money problem first. I'm kind of hungry—and I really don't want to sleep under a bridge tonight with a thin blanket."
She glanced down at her stomach, which had been growling on and off for a while now, then lifted her head again and kept looking.
Time passed.
The streetlights flickered on, and the color of the sky turned dull and yellow. Eternal Meteor's expression darkened right along with it.
Not a single place was hiring.
"Damn it… not one shop needs staff. I went in and asked and they all said no. Is this even real life?"
She wanted to kick something—anything—just to vent. She'd spent the entire noon and afternoon searching. Not one place. Not even a convenience store.
It was like the universe was messing with her.
Eternal Meteor began seriously considering whether she should rummage through trash cans for cardboard. If she ended up sleeping under a bridge and caught a chill, getting sick out here would be a disaster.
Bent over, clutching her stomach, she trudged forward in little nodding steps, muttering under her breath.
"Do you think I'll just… starve to death?"
"Could happen," X replied.
"Wow. I'm going to cry right here—then cry while digging through garbage. Maybe a kind-hearted person will pity me and give me something to eat."
She was already drifting into fantasy mode again. And honestly, in a world like this, it didn't feel completely impossible.
Then she turned a corner—
and slammed straight into someone who was running.
But Eternal Meteor had gone a full day without food, and she'd been wandering under the sun for hours. The impact knocked her backward; she hit the ground and skidded along the pavement.
"Ah—it hurts!"
Like the last straw snapping on a camel's back, she lay there, vision swimming. Instinctively she raised her right hand to protect herself—
and watched her arm and fingers slowly turn red.
"You—are you okay?!"
The other person rushed over in panic. Their hat fell off as they crouched down.
"Can you hear me? Hey—stay awake!"
"I can't—" Eternal Meteor started to say.
But before she could finish, her world went black.
In the instant before she passed out, she thought she saw hair—white mixed with brown, and a deeper shade of brown beneath it.
Eternal Meteor opened her eyes.
A white ceiling. A white fluorescent fixture. The steady beep… beep… of machines.
"Unfamiliar—no, familiar hospital ceiling. Did I get hit by a truck or something?"
She turned her head and saw her left hand hooked to an IV bag of glucose, her right hand wrapped so thickly in bandages it looked like a rice dumpling.
She tried to move.
"Huh? Why doesn't it hurt at all?"
X spoke up suddenly.
"This is the second thing I need to tell you. Before, I didn't have time to explain why you only have five years. Now I need to warn you properly."
Eternal Meteor's ears shot upright. This was about her life—so she listened with full focus, waiting for the rest.
"This body is a horse girl body I created," X said. "But your soul is still your original soul. That means they will reject each other. I lowered the body's activity level to slow the rejection and extend your time—but I can't stop it."
"I get it," Eternal Meteor said, raising her bandaged right hand like a student answering in class. "It's like the Relic in Cyberpunk 2077, right?"
"Close enough," X replied. "Because the body is extremely strong—and because I accidentally added too much vitality when I built it—any injuries you take will heal quickly. Training, racing, it doesn't matter."
"Ooh. So I'm basically 'cheating'?"
"Don't interrupt. The price is your remaining time." X's voice sharpened. "The more you train and race and force this body to perform, the more violently it will reject your soul."
Eternal Meteor tried to rub her chin with thumb and forefinger out of habit—then looked at her right hand wrapped like a dumpling and gave up with a grimace.
"So, in other words…" she said. "No matter how hard I train, even if I push into 'domain' territory during races, I'll recover fast either way?"
"Yes," X said. "But I advise you not to do it. Otherwise, forget five years—you might not even make it to the end of three seasons."
"Hahahaha!"
Eternal Meteor suddenly burst into laughter, like she'd just heard the funniest thing in the world.
"That line is exactly like the gun on the wall in a novel," she said, wiping the laughter away as her eyes steadied. "It's obviously going to get used. What else am I supposed to rely on to compete with geniuses who've trained since childhood?"
She leaned back against the pillow, smiling like she'd already made peace with the cost.
"As long as I can finish three years, that's enough. If I die on the podium after the last race… that might be even more unforgettable."
She spoke softly, almost as if she were reciting a vow to herself.
"I remember a saying: life is the cheapest resource."
"My name is Meteor."
"Then I'll burn like one."
"…You're kind of embarrassingly chuuni," X muttered.
"Shut up!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l Chapter 26)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live Chapter 26)
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