(A/N: Trying to figure out if I should use the present tense or past tense. Cuz the other book I'm writing is in the present tense. I'll add to my schedule to practise combining both tenses for my stories. Also, here's an update on the progress for the cover.)
The nurse runs a series of basic tests on Echo Eclipse, while Symboli Rudolf waits outside the infirmary. She had already notified their dorm manager so they won't be reprimanded for missing the mandatory morning class.
After a few minutes, Symboli Rudolf could finally enter the infirmary. Instantly, she was already sitting beside Echo Eclipse. Seeing this, the nurse playfully shook her head before summarising Echo Eclipse's condition.
"She doesn't have a fever."
"Eh?" Rudolf looked at her in confusion, then the nurse continued talking.
"Her senses are overwhelming her, so if you haven't gone the drastic route, which is carrying her at high speed to reach here. She would've not have been sick." Rudolf coughed as she turned her head away, avoiding the nurse's deadpanned stare.
"I recommend she take a break today: no training, no running. Nothing. Let her adapt to her upgraded senses." The nurse sighs while writing a study leave for Echo.
Symboli Rudolf nodded seriously before asking, "Can I also take study leave for today?"
The nurse looked at her in confusion, "What for?"
Rudolf naturally pointed at Echo Eclipse, "She doesn't have any other hobby besides running, without me being there. She would've continued running even in her sickness."
Hearing the answer, the nurse nodded before writing a doctor's note. "Take it to your homeroom teacher with the same explanation you gave me. I'm not permitted to give you study leave. Echo is an exception because of her second blooming."
Rudolf nodded before gently caressing Echo's bangs, whose eyes shut.
"I'll be back soon," she whispered, while Echo gave a subtle nod. Echo does not like the sensation of her upgraded senses currently.
Rudolf left the room, toward her homeroom, as Echo rested. Second Blooming doesn't just affect her physical body; it also affects her mentality.
If Echo were to describe it, it would be "Wsssh" into "Buzz Buzz". So I'll translate it for you.
A mind is often difficult to train for Uma Musume. Through the mind, Umas are capable of surpassing their speed during the race. Through the mind, Umas are capable of generating an aura from just their presence.
But it can only be trained through loss, through extreme emotion, and through stillness of the mind.
If the Echo Eclipse's mind from yesterday was an egg, then today, Echo Eclipse's mind is like a fully grown bird.
When the mind grows, the senses often grow alongside the mind.
"Grrrh..." Echo covers her ears; she can hear the faintest of sounds. She can feel each constant touch from the air, the buzz from the light. It's overwhelming her.
She always had extraordinary senses before her second blooming; her mind was tempered from the pain of her past life. Greater than any Umas would've experienced. But having those same senses upgraded by 2x is too much for her to handle immediately.
"Guh," she parted her eyelids and sat up, feeling each motion of her body mechanism. Feeling the light pricking her eyes like needles.
"The Goddesses Statue..." Echo mumbled, taking one step away from the bed before disappearing like a ghost. The nurse never realised Echo was gone until she went to check on her, which was a few minutes later.
"..." the nurse stared for a few moments before sighing and shaking her head.
Echo is walking normally, albeit swaying a bit. But she is moving faster than normal walking speed, walking past other students without them realising there was anybody there.
Her balance feels perfect, her breath is heavy, and her entire body feels like a cloud. In one instance, she is standing in front of the statue.
There is nobody nearby, and she can see a golden orb floating.
"Goddesses?" Her voice was weary and muted.
Not happened for a second until a blue, long-haired hair covered Echo's vision; a gentle, motherly voice hummed against her ears. "Sigh... I told you to come here after your recovery."
When the long hair moved out of the way, she was now standing on the grassland. The same golden orb was still floating in front of her, and the blue-haired goddess was beside it.
Echo feels at peace; her senses are no longer torturing her anymore.
"Better now?" Godolphin Barb asked Echo, who Echo nodded.
Barb lets out a satisfied smile, "This is only temporary, you know. Your senses will attack back once you leave."
Echo lets out a whine, "Really?"
"Hehe, really."
"So, why am I here?" Echo tilts her head after asking that question.
"Touch the golden orb, and you'll see,"
"Kay," with no hesitation, she touches the orb, and everything goes dark. Barb looks at Echo Eclipse in astonishment. This girl is really too naïve and gullible.
Echo stared in shock before tears fell down her cheeks; she didn't know why she was crying.
"How was it?" The blue-haired goddess asked while tilting her head, with a broad smile plastered on her face.
"Who... is that?"
"You."
"Me?" Echo asked in awe when she touched the golden orb. She saw a recording, a runner whose presence strikes dominance and awe in everyone who sees her. The white pupils of that runner streak white light with each step she takes. She is the undefeated empress.
However, Echo can feel that the runner is... lonely.
"How is that me?"
"To be exact, it's not you, you. It's more like a 'what-if' version."
"..." Echo stares as that runner passes the finish line, but there are no celebratory emotes. No emotion, as if this were just another day for that runner.
"Why is she... alone?" That runner has countless fans, but...
"Symboli Rudolf does not exist in this timeline."
Immediately, Echo Eclipse's head snapped in her direction in shock. "What?"
"You heard me right," Barb nodded before snapping her fingers.
"Here's a timeline where you don't exist." Echo turns her head back toward the recording; there she was. Symboli Rudolf... But this Symboli Rudolf, she doesn't recognise her.
This Symboli Rudolf was like a beast, full of arrogance, full of discipline. Nobody could rein her in. Then the recording sped up, and a scene appears: a grey-haired Uma confronting Symboli Rudolf, she had never seen Symboli Rudolf glaring and threatening anybody before.
Almost as if that Rudolf was thinking of that grey-haired Uma, 'You need to learn your place; I am the Emperor here. You are not.'
"..." Echo stares in silence as the recording ceases to exist. She lowers her head before speaking.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Well, you needed a push."
"Huh?"
Barb lets out a small smile, not clarifying even further.
"I just want you to know how special you and Symboli Rudolf's existence are to each other, that's all." She spread her hands wide, telling 50% truth and 50% lies. She wants to see love blossoming between those two, especially with how dense Echo is.
Barb clapped her hands, "Alright, time is running out. Symboli Rudolf is currently running all over the place to find you."
"Eh?! Wait, what about my senses?!" Echo yelped in fear, before Barb only gave her a wave, before she returned to the real world. Standing in front of the statue.
Echo hurriedly closed her eyes and covered her ears, preparing herself for the overwhelming information from her senses. But nothing happened?
"Eh?" Echo opens her eyes to find that she isn't being overwhelmed anymore. A system message appeared.
[Set a limiter on your senses. Throughout the weeks, it will subtly loosen as you grow. Ehe.]
"Don't Ehe me!!" Echo shouted while pointing at the statue, panting. She was pranked by the goddess. She really thought that her peace was only temporary in that dimension.
"Echo?" She turns her head behind her to find sweating Symboli Rudolf.
"Why did you run off! You dense idiot who only loves running! You are supposed to be resting in the infirmary!" Symboli Rudolf immediately walks toward her while scolding her. Her tail was swaying when she finally found Echo Eclipse.
"You are still recovering..." Rudolf slowly decreases her speed as she stares at Echo's condition. Echo is magically normal now?
"Sigh..." Rudolf rubbed her forehead, immediately assigning this weird phenomenon to how Echo Eclipse is just as it is. Common sense doesn't apply to her, apparently.
Echo observes Symboli Rudolf before walking to her and hugging Rudolf tightly. Taking a small inhale of her citrus scent.
Rudolf froze at Echo's action, and after approximately 15 seconds, Echo gave a small nod.
"Mhm, I like this version of Rudolf more." Echo pulls away with a smile, not clarifying what she is on about.
Rudolf stared dumbfounded before shaking her head. Shucking this behaviour of Echo Eclipse as Echo Eclipse being Echo Eclipse.
Before Rudolf can say anything, a massive growl is heard. Coming from Echo's stomach as she rubs it. "Rudolf the reindeer, let's go eat!"
Echo said, smiling brightly, leading the way.
"... Does a second bloom really affect a person's personality? Or was this also Echo Eclipse?" She rubs her forehead before catching up to Echo. Why did she have to fall in love with someone dense like her?
She can easily infer that she is in love with her; it is obvious from the way she treats her differently from others.
'Well, that's fine. Seeing her smile is more than enough for me,' Rudolf thought with a smile.
"Echo, I know a restaurant. Let's go."
"Kaay~,"
"What do you think about Chinese cuisine?"
"Never tried one before; is it good?"
Rudolf nodded, "You'll love it."