[A/N: Late post. I was kidnapped by my sister to go outside the city.]
December 14th, 1984.
Deep within the ocean of subconsciousness, the giant rusty metal door started creaking, and flakes of crust fell off like snow. Deep, vibrating metal groaning was felt through the deep water and travelled outward.
Landing around Kincsem, who was meditating in a lotus position, in a perfect circle. She slowly opened her eyes as the open metal door began sucking in the water.
"Geez, starving aren't you?" She chuckled before sitting up, "Then again, I haven't opened you for a long time." Her long hair swayed as the suction ceased.
"Been a long time, hasn't it?" Kincsem hummed.
Light started beaming from the inside of the door; she only smirked before walking into it. Then the door slammed shut, causing intense ripples around the ocean of subconsciousness.
A girl with long jet-black hair fluttered from the sudden wind as she stopped climbing the mountain; her ears twitched as she turned her head to a specific direction. A white, sharp blaze down her face, creating a perfect diamond-shaped pattern on her bangs.
"Kincsem?" she mumbled, confused. She felt tremors of a ripple in her soul. This phenomenon only appears when someone opens their 'door', and she can feel familiarity from this tremor.
"It is Kincsem! What got her opening her door after all this time?" Her eyes widened in shock.
"Who's making her go through such a hassle to open that door when she's not young anymore?" She tugged her coat on before continuing to climb up the mountain.
She chuckled, "I guess this means I can expect something interesting in the future." A symbol can be seen on the back of her coat. While climbing up the mountain, the sunlight shone onto the symbol.
The symbol is an eclipsed sun.
--
Far in the United States, a tall, red-tinted, chestnut-haired girl was eating steaks, 5 large plates stacked on top of each other. She continued eating the steak before freezing; she turned her head toward a specific direction.
"New challenger?" she mumbled while chewing, before shaking her head. "No, this tremor doesn't feel new... One of the legends, then?"
Her heart was pumping strongly, as if she were currently racing at this moment. She can feel it, almost as if she is standing on the racing tracks with various other runners; their appearance cannot be seen as they are silhouettes.
She turned her head behind her and spotted a silhouette girl far away. She became confused. Why is that girl so far away from the starting line?
Then she saw it: the white pupils glowing brighter as the silhouette slowly moved toward the starting line.
An illusory eclipsed moon started to form behind that silhouette, then everything collapsed. The tremors in the ocean of subconsciousness ceased.
"... Who is it? That girl!" Secretariat laughed as she stood up excitedly. She understood why someone part of the historical legends opened their door! It was because of that girl!
Her tail was swaying as her legs thumped against the ground, revving up.
"Come on, reach the starting line faster. Let's race! Let us meet on the grand track!" She laughed before happily finishing the rest of the steaks; she wanted to know who opened their door and who that newcomer was.
--
Secretariat wasn't the only Uma Musume to feel or see that illusion; deep in Italy, where Ribot was painting to portray her 'perfection,' she turned her head toward the same specific direction. Ribot instinctually understood that her answer for perfection would be shown in a few years.
She put down her brushes and stood up. "Almost time for dinner; better prepare the pasta." She nodded to herself before walking out of the art room, moving across the grand mansion.
In Puerto Rico, a sunny-eyed girl, who was teaching the younger generation, paused for a moment. Her ears twitched as she turned around, staying silent until one of the girls walked up to her, confused.
"Big sis? What's wrong?" Camarero shook her head and showed a gentle smile. "No, it's nothing. Come on!"
She clapped her hands with a wide grin, "You can do it! One more lap, everyone!"
--
Then, at last, Echo Eclipse stopped stretching on the track, becoming extremely confused.
"Eh?" she didn't understand why, but she felt like she was placed on a pedestal for the world to see. That feeling only stayed for 15 seconds before disappearing; she became even more confused.
'Am I haunted or something?' she thought before shaking her head. She is blessed by the goddesses. She doubts that any supernatural entities would choose to haunt any horse girl for some reason.
Meanwhile, in America, an 11-year-old Sunday Silence sneezed. Unaware of her fate of becoming a ghost and haunting Manhattan Cafe in the far future.
Echo ponders what she felt before continuing to stretch; it's not like what she felt was something important. Her race is in two days, and she needs to be in perfect condition.
Even if she knows she would win without being in perfect condition, that would just be an insult to the hard work and effort the other runners went through. So she will be in perfect condition and respect those who raced against her.
And so, Echo returns to a dimension where it isn't in the [Flow] or [Zone]. She came up with a name for this state of hers.
[Freedom.]
Just like the cloud, flowing through each blade of grass, present while not being present. Her body ceased to be tense and guided around like a liquid. Her mind stopped thinking of any distractions, and her senses expanded.
She will embody her nickname, "The Unbounded Wind."
Her presence flickered in and out before disappearing from the face of the Earth.
No footsteps, no traces of her existence; she ran across the track like the wind before stopping at the finish line. Sweat trickled down her skin.
This results from her second blooming; she can utilise her unique skill and activate it daily with no worries of collapsing.
Nothing will chain her down on the track.
"No, that isn't good enough... I need to disappear truly. I need everyone to forget that I even existed for a single moment on the track... That's the only way I can escape any restraint." She mumbled under her breath while panting, staring dazedly and out of this world.
Everybody is always born in this world, restrained.
Restrained by gravity, by emotion, by scars, by wealth, by the need to breathe, by hunger, by memories, and more.
How could she call herself the unbounded wind when she is still restrained by reality?
Just for a moment, for a moment. I just need... to not exist.
She took a step forward, then disappeared from the world once again.
"But how do I make myself not exist?" Echo wondered while running.
.
.
.
[A/N: Also, if you enjoyed reading all the way here, please do give a review of this story, as that will help convince others to read my story. I think? Cuz my story doesn't have any rating yet.]