"That child…"
Symboli Rudolf stared at the race unfolding on the track, her brows knitted tightly together. She didn't even finish her sentence. The only emotion left on her face was worry—deep, unhidden worry.
As expected, the thing she feared most had happened.
Garden Gale hadn't escaped all the way to the finish.
Someone had caught her.
T.M. Opera O had surged up from behind and cut off her advance.
…Not just her advance.
Her rhythm, her mindset, her position—everything shattered like bubbles bursting in midair. Once she'd been overtaken, Garden Gale collapsed entirely. From first place she plummeted to the very back of the field. As Admire Vega and Narita Top Road swept past her, even they couldn't hide a trace of regret.
Why did she fall here? Hadn't she sworn she would take revenge…?
But the way she'd slowed, the way her spirit seemed broken...
Anyone with eyes could see it. She had already lost the ability to compete for the championship.
"…Damn it."
The word slipped from Symboli Rudolf's lips, thick with frustration.
She should stabilize her pace. Stabilize her mindset. The race was only halfway finished… There was still a chance—still a chance to turn the tide and fight back against the wind.
The urgency clawing at Rudolf's chest made her want to shout. She wanted to see Garden Gale keep moving forward.
She shouldn't stop here.
She absolutely—absolutely—should not stop here.
She was meant to stand somewhere higher.
"You seem pretty invested in that kid."
Mr. C.B. shrugged lightly. There was a hint of regret, sure, but nothing serious enough to linger on.
What was that about calling me back as 'Mr. C.B.'… and that's all she's got?
That was the dominant thought in her mind.
…Though a smile soon crept onto her lips.
So even Symboli Rudolf didn't always judge an Umamusume's potential perfectly.
Rudolf pressed her lips together.
She didn't argue. She didn't rush to explain herself.
But deep in her heart, one final thread of hope still remained.
She still believed.
…Garden Gale was the kind of Umamusume who could create miracles.
Again and again, she had accomplished the impossible—things that even left Symboli Rudolf in awe.
...
Off to the side.
Air Shakur's hands slowly loosened their grip on the railing. The shock in her heart faded into a quiet sigh as Garden Gale's position sank lower and lower.
…Was she simply too reckless?
Should she never have chosen a Runaway strategy? Should she have raced steadily instead?
Air Shakur didn't know.
Even if she ran the calculations a thousand times, the answer would still be unknown.
What she did know was that Garden Gale had fallen into an unprecedented crisis. The crowd's attention had already shifted entirely to T.M. Opera O. For the audience, after all, as long as the race was exciting, that was enough.
This Satsuki Sho was clearly a spectacle.
The raging storm only made it more dramatic.
Is there still a chance?
Had the road to the Classic Triple Crown been extinguished the moment it first sprouted?
Air Shakur didn't know what expression she should wear anymore.
She wanted Garden Gale to win. She wanted her to claim the Classic Triple Crown—fulfilling the dream Air Shakur herself had once failed to reach.
"Shakur."
Fine Motion tugged gently at her sleeve.
A silent signal: sit down.
No matter how worried they were, it wouldn't change what was happening on the track.
Right?
So Air Shakur sat back down, regret heavy in her chest.
And continued watching the Satsuki Sho.
Silence Suzuka gazed out at the track without saying a word.
But everyone understood.
A Runaway that had been caught—and then dropped to last place.
Winning this race was no longer realistic.
To even mention the word victory now …felt like a fantasy.
No matter how hard she tried, it was useless.
Her ranking had already fallen to the very bottom.
No matter how desperately she longed for it, she could no longer reach it.
The light ahead—the path forward—was slowly going dark.
Even when she unleashed everything she had, she'd been overtaken with ease.
And something even more frightening than defeat had happened.
At this moment, Garden Gale had lost the desire to win.
Or rather—she had lost that champion's heart again.
Her full-power burst had been crushed so effortlessly by T.M. Opera O that the gap between them felt insurmountable.
In other words—
There was no way to win.
If that was the case, then nothing really mattered anymore.
If she couldn't take first place, then what difference was there between second… or last?
And so... she had fallen into this state.
The arrogant version of herself before the race felt laughable now.
Just a few casual impressions had been enough for her to underestimate T.M. Opera O. She hadn't even regarded her as the greatest rival—only vaguely dismissive, faintly contemptuous.
Now—
The lesson had been carved into her in blood.
From this day forward, she would never underestimate any Umamusume ever again.
Even one who appeared weak.
Unfortunately…
By the time she understood that truth, it was already far too late.
Is there still a chance?
She didn't know.
Would she keep running?
She didn't know that either.
Her will continued to sink.
...
...
...
There was still hope, wasn't there?
No matter how thoroughly she numbed herself, that thread of hope remained plainly in front of her.
The race wasn't over.
There wasn't just one last sprint left—there wasn't even merely the final stretch.
There was still a full thousand meters remaining.
The third corner hadn't even arrived yet.
Who could say something unexpected wouldn't happen along the way?
Just as extremes often reverse themselves.
At the very bottom of her despair, a faint ray of light slowly pierced the darkness—like sunlight filtering through the depths of the ocean.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Her chaotic thoughts hadn't been consciously organized, yet little by little they gathered themselves. The tangled threads of her mind straightened. With each breath, Garden Gale's focus miraculously sharpened.
The fog of negativity vanished.
A calm, rational mind took control.
Like a plant reborn from barren earth, life surged within her again.
A vitality strong enough to grow into a towering tree.
—Was this the turning of fortune?
Or something else entirely?
She didn't know.
Garden Gale only knew that she had regained her calm.
With every breath, her mind grew clearer.
…Now I understand.
This wasn't some miraculous intervention.
By releasing the negative emotions that had flooded her body, her mind had slipped naturally into a state of absolute concentration. Deep breathing cleared away everything else.
It had been said before—Garden Gale could enter a state of total focus with surprising ease.
No matter what she was doing.
...
As the next corner approached, Air Shakur suddenly leapt to her feet from the very first row of the stands. Leaning over the railing, only ten meters from the track, she shouted at the top of her lungs:
"GO! GARDEN—!!"
Every head nearby snapped toward her.
Her voice carried raw, desperate emotion—so loud it was almost a scream.
It looked as though she might leap straight onto the track herself and start running.
"KEEP RUNNING!!!!!!!"
Garden Gale… heard it.
She gave a faint nod.
A silent acknowledgment.
And her heart began pounding again—strong and fierce.
Keep running.
This isn't over yet.
Even if fate itself says otherwise...
I'll break through it.
I'll carve my own path forward.
---
T/N: THATS WHY AIR SHAKUR IS THE GOAT!!! WE DONT SEE CUCKAI TEIO SHOUTING FOR GARDEN!!!