For a moment, Risen Star could not even tell whether the moisture on her face was cold sweat, or simply the sweat pouring down from running with all her might.
She muttered under her breath, "Xingyun Liuge… she's strong like some kind of monster."
Feeling the terrifying pressure surging up from behind, Risen Star forced herself to joke through the strain.
"At the moment, she really is a monster through and through."
What ordinary horse girl could make her sweat like this? Under normal circumstances, she should have been the one casually blowing past everyone else and cruising to a beautiful victory.
But the reality before her was this: Xingyun Liuge, who had burst onto the scene out of nowhere, had shattered her dream of a championship and made her taste defeat. And now that same Xingyun Liuge was about to do it again and take the Preakness Stakes as well.
Was she supposed to just lose here?
Of course Risen Star refused.
Especially when those rolling masses of black mist were splitting apart and lunging for her from every direction. At a glance, they looked almost like tentacles. What horse girl could possibly endure that without a fight?
"I don't want to lose! I refuse to lose!"
Risen Star drove herself forward at full speed, trying to flee the reach of those grasping shadows, trying to seize victory, trying to end Xingyun Liuge's legend the same way Xingyun Liuge had ended her dream of an undefeated Triple Crown.
A Domain was the embodiment of spiritual force, the very definition of something governed by will alone.
When its owner still had enough stamina left, and still possessed the unwavering resolve to win even at the cost of everything, it could bring forth miracles.
At times like this, one could borrow a line that was not entirely fitting:
Belief itself was magic.
As Risen Star roared at the top of her lungs, sweat pouring off her like rain, her Domain answered her yearning.
Seeing that, Xingyun Liuge narrowed her eyes and smiled lightly.
"I figured this change might wait until the Belmont Stakes. I didn't expect it to happen this soon. Horse girls really are fascinating."
That was right. Whether it had been her one-on-one clash with Winning Colors, or the pressure she had piled onto Risen Star, Xingyun Liuge had done it all deliberately, half in play.
She had come to believe there was a flaw in how horse girls studied Domains.
If a Domain was a will-born phenomenon that only manifested through relentless training, and most often emerged when someone was pushed to her absolute limit by an unyielding spirit, then wouldn't the answer be simple?
Force them to face that limit, again and again. Drive them past it. Push them until they either awakened a Domain or elevated the one they already had.
Wasn't Risen Star the perfect example?
At first, her Domain had been a path to victory shaped by her desire to win—a special ability that let her run on the ideal line for herself, ignoring the state of the track.
After the training race, that power had changed. It had become a cross-shaped starlight hanging high in the heavens, something that guided her, strengthened her gate skills, sped her up while slowing her opponents down. Perfect for every occasion.
So what if she were pressured even further?
Could her Domain take another step upward?
Now, Xingyun Liuge was seeing exactly what she had wanted to see.
"The flowing wind rests in the sky. The stars rest in the night. And an unyielding heart… rests within her."
The gleaming starburst in the sky was reflected in Xingyun Liuge's eyes. She stopped swinging her arms, as if the brilliant starlight had stolen her attention, and stretched her right hand forward.
At the same time, Risen Star saw a shining road appear before her.
At first glance, it looked just like the radiant path from her original Domain release. But the moment she stepped onto this path of stars, she understood the difference.
My body… feels so light…
Risen Star felt her stamina rapidly recovering. Her steps grew lighter. Her thoughts became clearer. It was as though there was no longer anything left to fear.
She forced down the joy surging in her chest and ran.
"The final three hundred meters! This is a deadlock that belongs to Xingyun Liuge and Risen Star alone! They're neck and neck! Who will take the lead? Xingyun Liuge—or Risen Star?!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, call out the name of the horse girl you support! Xingyun Liuge! Risen Star! Xingyun Liuge! Risen Star!"
The announcer shouted himself hoarse, whipping the entire crowd into a frenzy. Spectators screamed for their chosen runner until their voices broke. Even the trainers were shouting now. In this moment, the allure of horse racing was on full display.
Risen Star nearly forgot about winning and losing altogether. All she could feel was the joy of running with everything she had. Beyond that, nothing else mattered.
And at the same time, it felt as though the outcome had already been decided.
It made sense, really. She was running on her own home turf, and this was already the second time she had broken through under pressure, counting the Kentucky Derby.
If this were an anime, a manga, or a novel, then she would absolutely be the protagonist—the heroic figure standing against an invading demon king from overseas, destined to become a champion of her country.
Of course she would win. Wasn't that how these stories went?
Besides, the dark mist under Xingyun Liuge's control really did make her feel like some terrifying final boss. Since when did the hero ever lose to the villain?
But just as that thought crossed her mind, Xingyun Liuge—who had appeared to be mesmerized by the brilliant starlight—slowly clenched the hand she had stretched out.
"You're mine now."
An irresistible force descended in that instant, something terrifyingly beyond the bounds of ordinary reality.
Risen Star felt like a leaf caught in the core of a storm, her entire field of vision twisting, stretching, bleaching away.
The starlit road beneath her feet, the dirt track below that, the cross-shaped light hanging overhead, even the salty scent at the edge of her nose—everything, everything was seized in a giant invisible hand, twisted, and remade.
And what appeared before her in the end was ghostly fire and absolute stillness.
She and Xingyun Liuge had been dragged into a space that existed apart from the world itself.
There was no racetrack, no audience, no course beneath their feet—only cracked black earth that smelled of sulfur and decay. Wisps of gray-white death-mist seeped up through the fissures in the ground, entwining in the air until they wove a canopy of hopeless green above them.
There were no sun, moon, or stars here. Only the faint glow of spectral flames, beneath which twisted shadows writhed soundlessly, like imprisoned souls struggling day after day in endless despair.
Far off in the distance stood immense jagged pillars of black stone, like the ribs of some colossal beast, stabbing past the limits of sight and pointing accusingly toward that dreadful sky.
The air was thick as mire. Every breath seemed to draw in a cold despair that dragged at her limbs, weighing down every organ, every nerve, as though her heart might stop beating at any moment.
This was the Cycle of Absolute Desolation—
the kingdom of death shaped by Xingyun Liuge's own hand,
and at the same time, a merciless arena built for devouring all who entered.
Then those ominous tendrils came at her once more.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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