Chapter 215: Ashen Star

In my third year at the senior level, I—Hoshino Wilm—found myself facing countless defeats and hardships.

Tokai Teio, a genius capable of forcing even Ayumi-san to throw up his hands at the very last moment of a race.

Happy Meek, who, given perfect alignment between prediction and reality, can completely seize control of a race through her Domain.

Understandable, the Hero of the West—perhaps equal to Teio, or even surpassing her.

Oguri Cap, who crushes everything through sheer overwhelming ability and explosive power born from her absurd physical spring.

Nice Nature, whom I’ve never faced directly, yet a remarkable figure who combines high ability with sharp scheming.

Every one of them is a terrifying Uma Musume.

And every one of them is the greatest kind of rival.

This past year—fighting them, running with them, elevating each other—

It’s fair to call it a collection of priceless experiences.

I’ve lived days I’m certain I could never obtain again, no matter how many times I might be reborn.

And all of that is thanks to Ayumi-san.

He’s given me countless treasures—and among them, this is one.

Racing against powerful opponents. Battles that set my heart racing more than anything else—battles I might not even win.

For the me of this life, that’s something I can call indispensable.

It gave me this magma-like passion, boiling hot enough to melt even the ice that once froze me solid.

It’s the moment I enjoy more than anything—the one I’m truly obsessed with.

And it’s the guidepost that brought Hoshino Wilm this far.

…But, well, naturally.

Even I, Hoshino Wilm—the reincarnated, cheat-level Uma Musume—can’t have a perfectly smooth, flawless path.

When races grow fierce and rivals become overwhelmingly strong, struggle is inevitable.

Yes. Lately, I’ve been struggling.

No—more plainly put, I’ve been beaten down again and again, losing repeatedly. I’ve been forced to understand that there are still heights beyond me in the world of Uma Musume.

There are many reasons for those losses, of course—but if I had to name the biggest one…

It would be Domains.

Domains.

They are the embodiment of an Uma Musume’s soul… what Ayumi-san once casually referred to as the “Uma Soul.”

When our running style reaches a certain level of completion,

When we truly enjoy running and competing with others,

And when our focus on the race reaches its absolute peak—

Only then can we finally use them.

If I were to put it in terms from my past life as an otaku, they’re like unique ultimate techniques—different for each individual.

Their effects vary widely, but the most common type—self-enhancement—strengthens and optimizes one’s running.

In that sense, they’re similar to other universal techniques that improve performance…

But what makes Domains truly special is the mental processing power they consume.

In the world of athletes, there’s a well-known state—the Zone.

Domains are said to exist as an extension of that.

And naturally, in exchange for their immense power, they consume a corresponding resource… cognitive processing capacity.

For most Uma Musume, handling even one Domain is the limit.

Even with my “Anime Reincarnation,” I can only manage two—and using them simultaneously is something no one but me can achieve.

And because so much mental capacity is devoted to them, if a Domain is suddenly destroyed from the outside, it disrupts the user’s running and forcibly drops their performance. That’s another troublesome aspect.

So yes, there are several restrictions typical of ultimate techniques.

But even so—more than enough to outweigh them—Domains are overwhelmingly powerful.

As I experienced during my Classic year, and again just recently, the difference between having a Domain and not having one is truly like heaven and earth.

That’s precisely why Domains that interfere with others—those that destroy or suppress another’s Domain—are so troublesome.

Symboli Rudolf-senpai’s destruction through a single, arrow-like strike.

Nedirika’s suppression through “Sanctuary of All Domains.”

A new angle that began to emerge around this year’s Takarazuka Kinen.

In otaku terms, you could call it a new meta. The era of simple power clashes is over—now it’s an age of counterplay.

So far, only those two have used such abilities.

But if either of them were among the runners, it would be obvious they’d pose a major obstacle to Hoshino Wilm’s victory.

That’s why Ayumi-san and I have been working on countermeasures…

And we found a hint in Oguri Cap-senpai’s Domain.

Ah… I see. It’s simple, isn’t it?

All I have to do is create the strongest possible world—one that won’t be shaken by something as trivial as another person’s Domain.

Of course, I understand that it’s difficult.

After all, this is the Domain of Oguri-senpai—a top-tier runner even among the Dream Trophy League, standing alongside Rudolf-senpai.

It’s probably something only a true legend could attain.

Well, that’s fine.

After all, Ayumi-san did say, “If we ignore Domain compatibility, you can beat Symboli Rudolf.”

So the direction is set: create an overwhelmingly solid Domain.

What remains is how to reach that level.

My Domain, “Heavenly Star Serpent Dragon,” has already been sublimated into a different form.

“Blue-Flamed Kurikara” lacks versatility, no matter how you look at it.

That’s why the real problem is how to give a Domain absolute dominance…

…and for that, I got a hint from her as well.

If I put it this way, a lot of Uma Musume might recoil and deny it—but honestly?

Hoshino Wilm isn’t a genius.

Sure, I have the physical strength from being a reincarnated cheat.

I have the special ability to accelerate my thinking.

And I have Ayumi-san’s perfect, unparalleled training insight.

But I don’t have the kind of instinctive brilliance and explosive growth that Tokai Teio or Understandable possess.

My strength has always been something I built steadily over time.

Yes, I’ve developed techniques mid-race—but even those were simply the result of thorough prior training, skills taught by Ayumi-san, and vague ideas finally crystallizing under the stimulation of an actual race.

Especially outside of the Takarazuka Kinen and Osaka Hai—I’ve always verified and established my techniques under Ayumi-san’s supervision before bringing them into a race.

Safety and reliability first—that’s been our policy.

I don’t have much in the way of improvisational ability… what Ayumi-san calls a “Uma Musume’s explosive power.”

If it came down purely to in-race explosiveness, I probably couldn’t beat those two true geniuses.

So no—I’m not a genius.

At least, not a real one.

…But still.

There are things that I—no, that we—can do.

Alright. Preparations are complete.

The stage is set.

Now then—time to show it.

To my rivals. To all the fans.

The “true world” of Hoshino Wilm, the racing Uma Musume.

"Carrying their dreams down the backstretch, the pack is beginning to stretch out!

Mihono Bourbon sits far back in fifth, followed by Unison Black—and right behind them, Tokai Teio pressing forward! Mejiro McQueen is just one length behind, Rice Shower another length back, then Ikuno Dictus half a length further, and two lengths from there to Shall We Run!

Will they chase down the runaway leader—or maintain their own pace? Every runner is being forced to choose!"

"…hah… hah… hah…"

My breathing rhythm—something I’ve long since grown accustomed to.

Careful not to disturb it, I exhale, inhale, and exhale again at a steady pace.

Three years—no, fifteen years—of refinement, combined with the enhanced cognition from Anime Reincarnation, has made even breathing control an unconscious act.

It’s as if running is my natural state.

No—honestly, that might not be far from the truth.

Even as I run, pushing my body forward, my thoughts are elsewhere.

With such a wide gap between me and the pack, there’s no need to worry about the runners behind me…

So naturally, my mind turns to the greatest variable in this race—

Domains.

The threatening runners in this race… well, all seventeen of them are threats, but the ones I need to pay particular attention to are three:

Nice Nature, Tokai Teio, and Happy Meek.

But if I had to narrow it down to just one…

Nature’s schemes can be perfectly read by Ayumi-san.

And Meek-senpai can’t fully unleash her power due to conflict with Nature’s race plan.

Which leaves—of course—Tokai Teio.

To be honest, from both my perspective and Ayumi-san’s, the scariest thing is Teio’s Domain.

Her first Domain, the “World of Blue Skies,” still had room to evolve.

And she witnessed Symboli Rudolf’s true running—the kind that destroys Domains.

In the worst case… Ayumi-san said it’s “almost certain”—she could have developed Domain-breaking power.

And that’s far more terrifying than simply combining multiple skill-based Domains.

After all, I was knocked down to third place for the first time in my life when my Domain was destroyed recently.

I know exactly how terrifying it is to be outplayed without being able to use my own Domain.

…But at the same time—

She’s also the one who gave me the hint to break through this situation.

"…hah… hehe…"

I picture it behind my eyelids.

Tokai Teio, running with a scorching earth in her right leg and a free blue sky in her left.

It was… nothing short of brilliant.

To maintain two degraded Domains as skills—or rather, to go beyond that and fuse them, even if only in a pseudo form…

Who could have come up with something like that?

…Yes. Fusion.

That’s the true innovation born from that run.

The answer hidden at the bottom of a crushed shell—something no one else could have imagined.

Normally, Domains can’t be used together.

Simply put, deploying multiple at once consumes far too much mental energy.

Rudolf-senpai and Teio solved this by turning Domains into skills.

They reduced precision, degraded them while retaining a trace of their presence and power, and tuned them down into techniques that barely consume concentration.

Then they use those before or after a true Domain.

That’s how they achieve pseudo-continuous Domain usage.

Meanwhile, as a reincarnated, cheat-level Uma Musume, I can massively boost my thinking power by activating “Anime Reincarnation,” allowing me to use two Domains—

Though even then, using both simultaneously drains me rapidly.

…but that’s still just “sequential” or “simultaneous” use.

It’s not fusion.

All I’ve been doing is layering Domains—like stacking them on top of each other.

The idea of fusing them into a single layer…

That never even crossed my mind.

But after seeing Teio’s legs—

Seeing a run where two Domains were fused to their absolute limit—

That kind of idea naturally begins to take shape.

In the end, for someone like me, who isn’t a genius…

It’s always the real geniuses who give me new ideas.

I spent this past month practicing it—over and over again.

While running, I kept thinking about my own running, my own existence, my own soul—what form they take.

With “Anime Reincarnation” pushed to its limits, I tried to reproduce the image I had drawn in my mind.

And then… at last, I grasped it.

I’ve never actually done it before.

But I seized something real—enough to make Ayumi-san give me permission.

My true world.

My deepest Domain.

"Now they’ve passed the backstretch and entered the third corner! The fearsome Hoshino Wilm still leads! Daitaku Helios, Mejiro Palmer, and Souri Cross are gradually being reeled in by the pack—but still, still Hoshino Wilm surges ahead without breaking her pace!!

A complete runaway! Absolute solitude! Will the myth of the Star Dragon carve its mark even into the Arima!?

Nakayama’s homestretch is short! If the runners behind don’t close in now, they won’t make it in time! The pace is skyrocketing—this is where the race will be decided!!"

I, running alone in a full breakaway, enter the final phase of the race.

At Nakayama Racecourse, the “final phase” of a race is practically synonymous with the third corner.

Of course, the others are still more than twenty meters behind.

Which means—this late phase, the corner, the final turn, the homestretch—

None of the other runners have even reached them yet.

Aside from a few exceptions like Souri-chan, most of them haven’t even met the conditions to activate their Domains.

…Well, that said—

Even if they had.

Even if they were forced to draw out their Domains—or had them suppressed—

It wouldn’t matter.

Not at all.

"…inhale."

I take a breath.

At the same time, I flip the switch on “Anime Reincarnation” to full.

In that instant, my thoughts accelerate explosively.

A world that had once felt vague—phenomena I couldn’t even comprehend—

All of it becomes clear, as if a fog has lifted.

The exhilaration of being able to understand everything.

Ah… no matter how many times I experience it, this feeling of omnipotence never gets old.

It’s one of the reasons I love running so much.

…but this time, I’m going to abandon it.

I can’t say for certain, since this isn’t a fully reproducible technique yet—

But what I’m about to attempt will likely consume more thought, more focus… and more of my soul’s power than anything I’ve done before.

There’s no room for excess.

I’ll go all out—body and soul, at full power.

"…exhale."

I breathe out.

Letting go of everything unnecessary, I return—if only for a moment—to a natural state.

And then…

I connect them.

The entirety of the course unfolding before me—something my mind can fully analyze and comprehend.

Using all of that, I push my thoughts forward, relentlessly analyzing, understanding.

One.

The first world I opened—a sky filled with countless stars, where I run as one among them.

One.

The second world I opened—a vast grassland, where everything burns to become power that drives me forward.

…With those, I analyze.

The meaning each world holds.

The shape each world takes.

The color each world possesses.

And then—

Their origin.

A while ago, Masa-san said something.

I don’t know how much faith to place in it, but she claims to have spiritual sensitivity.

That souls have colors.

Honestly, just as she admitted, it wasn’t something I could easily believe…

But Ayumi-san said, “I think it’s real,” so I chose to trust it.

If what she said is true—

Then our souls… this thing called the “Uma Soul”—must have colors as well, at least from her perspective.

Defined by her sixth sense—her spiritual perception.

Which means—

This vague, elusive concept of a “soul” is actually something that can be defined.

Something that exists, even if my five senses can’t perceive it.

According to Masa-san, the color of my soul is “a somewhat complex, cold-looking, thickly layered gray.”

And from that “color,” Domains are born.

If I had to put it simply, it’s like the relationship between a tree’s trunk and its branches, as Ayumi-san theorized.

The various mental landscapes and the Domains they produce—

All of them branch out from a single trunk: the soul.

…That got a bit abstract, but in the end, what I’m saying is this:

If you follow the branches—

You should be able to reach the trunk.

I imagine it.

The worlds I possess—extending thin limbs of understanding into them, or sinking roots down in search of my own essence.

The sky.

I trace its meaning.

Receiving light and heat from others, shining—someday becoming a star myself—and then passing that heat on.

Self-sublimation.

The grassland.

I trace its meaning.

Using the past I’ve cultivated as fuel, accelerating endlessly forward.

Self-sublimation.

Ah… that’s right.

I’ve always been like this.

In the end, Hoshino Wilm’s essence lies in self-sublimation.

Taking in external stimuli and accumulated experience—

Using them to elevate my running without end.

Passing that heat on to those around me, pushing my rivals to grow stronger—

And then using that as fuel to grow even further.

That is my essence.

That is how Hoshino Wilm lives.

A gluttonous dragon that devours everything around it, growing stronger without end.

Or perhaps…

An ashen star that burns the world away.

That existence—that way of being—is closest to the color I possess.

My existence. The shape of my essence. The color of my soul.

Breaking them down, dissecting them, wrapping them in the limbs of understanding—

"Got it."

At last—

I reach it.

The pure soul of “Hoshino Wilm”—

Unmixed with the color of “me.”

Last time, I stopped just before reaching this point.

But this time is different.

Not because I swore to win.

No…

Because I want to become stronger.

More. Far more.

And for that, I need what lies before me.

A Domain—the Zone—that only borrows fragments of power leaking from the unconscious…

That’s not enough.

A fragile world that can be interfered with by others—

Has no value.

So—

"Hoshino Wilm—me—look. I’m going to run!!"

The thing sleeping quietly, without consciousness—

I forcefully awaken it.

In that instant—

“…ah… ha, haha.”

Laughter spills from my lips.

Because I understood.

The nature of my soul—what it means to be an Uma Musume… the very meaning of that existence.

What a… ahh.

What a blessed form of life we are.

Now—let’s go, Hoshino Wilm—me.

The journey you left unfinished… let’s run it again, together with “me.”

You—my beautiful, ashen brilliance.

To our rivals, to the fans, to the world, to our trainer—

Let’s show them all… one more time.

---

The gray radiance filling me—

It surges through my planted right leg, then bursts forth.

A Domain is a technique that channels the power flowing from the soul into one’s inner landscape, layering that world over reality.

As seen by how so many Uma Musume awaken to it, it’s simply one of the easier, more accessible ways to make use of the soul’s power.

But… ahh, now I understand.

To think Domains are the ultimate power—the highest technique—

That can’t be true.

If you use that power more directly—more purely—on a far greater scale—

…No, if “they” lend us their strength—

Then our truth can overwrite the world itself.

Not painting another world on top of this one—

But rewriting this world entirely.

“Haha… hahahahaha—HAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

The power of our souls—

The endless, overflowing gray light—

Burns the world away.

Everything to ash. Everything to dust.

The turf, the lanes, the inner rail, the stands—even the blue sky stretching above—

All of it reduced to ash, stripped of meaning.

Countless stars shine in the heavens.

But among them, only one can stand at the top.

For us to win means to mock all others, to trample them, to cast them aside—

To become the one absolute existence, accepting any sacrifice, using everything as a stepping stone.

In the end, that is my true form—

Our true form.

The very nature of the Uma Musume known as “Hoshino Wilm.”

And on top of that—

“Try and pass me, you Uma Musume!!”

Show me a light that surpasses even this brightest star—

Become the fuel that lets us shine even brighter—

That’s what we desire more than anything!!!

『Fourth corner—Hoshino Wilm in a solo breakaway! Hoshino Wilm still alone!!

Five hundred meters remaining—no one can close the gap! She maintains a massive lead!!

The pack is chasing—but she’s accelerating, accelerating—still accelerating!?

This is beyond reason! Beyond natural law!! The divine dragon stands here!!!』

Nakayama Racecourse, burned to gray.

This place has already been dyed by our souls.

In a world stripped of color, no new color can be born.

From behind, I sense them—

The presence of the other Uma Musume, entering the final phase, trying to expand their Domains.

One is a Domain of absolute freedom—the sky itself.

Leaping from cloud to cloud, destined to surpass even the heavens—the Domain of an absolute ruler.

Another is a Domain of seventeen lights that pierce the darkness.

A place where nothing should be visible, yet everything is controlled by will—the Domain of a fixer.

But those—

“Ahaha—!”

Lose their color, burned away by the gray light, reduced to meaningless dust.

No matter what you try to layer onto a world already scorched to ash, it too becomes colorless—valueless.

In this world, no one can impose their inner landscape anymore.

If Domains are terrifying—

Then all you have to do is make it impossible to use them.

A simple, brutally effective answer.

『—Heh.』

『Damn it…!』

In a world we’ve taken control of, even whispers are easy to hear.

Teio and Nature—neither of them have broken.

No… of course they haven’t.

Ahh, of course.

It goes without saying.

Just because they’ve been shown the deepest truth—the very essence—of an Uma Musume’s soul…

There’s no way Tokai Teio or Nice Nature would give up.

My greatest rivals would never fall to their knees.

They can’t deploy their Domains.

More than that—the turf beneath their feet no longer gives its usual rebound.

The air they breathe is thin, heavy with ash.

The wind cuts cold and sharp against their bodies.

Even standing here subjects them to the lethal heat of the gray light.

Everything in this world blocks their path to glory.

Meanwhile, we receive far greater support from this world than any Domain could provide.

The source of that brilliance—Hoshino Wilm—can run faster than anyone here.

Burning everything away—the racecourse, the runners behind, even the eyes and minds of the spectators—

No one can stop us.

The burden, the power—on a completely different level from any Domain.

They’re facing a threat utterly unknown… something beyond anything they’ve ever experienced.

…So what?

What about it?

Do you think that’s enough to make them give up?

No.

There’s no way it could be.

My greatest rivals—the ones I admire—

There’s no way they’d stop running over something like this!!

『The decisive moment—final corner, 300 meters!!

Hoshino Wilm in the lead! Still Hoshino Wilm in front!!

Charging from behind with explosive speed—Tokai Teio! And Nice Nature!!

The rest of the field surges as one, refusing to fall behind!!

Now the turf shines with a sky full of stars!!

Whose dream will come true!? Who will shine the brightest!?』

I won’t lose.

I will win.

I won’t fall here.

I won’t let it end like this.

I will defeat Hoshino Wilm.

Feelings—feelings—feelings.

Seventeen of them, like glittering stars—

Even in this ash-filled world, they still emit a faint warmth… a lingering light.

And that—

Makes me shine even brighter.

Makes Hoshino Wilm enjoy this even more.

The gray light swells, its radiance growing ever stronger.

“Ah—haha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Laughing as if I’ve lost my mind, we tear down the final stretch.

From behind, I can feel it—the rivals steadily closing in.

Not a single one has given up. Each and every one of them is fighting with their own strength.

Domains are nothing more than a means; they’ve all sworn to defeat the girl running ahead—using their own running, their own power.

But…

There isn’t a single Uma Musume in this world who can adapt to this—not when it’s revealed for the very first time.

At the very least, not within these final 800 meters.

This time—

This victory belongs to us.

『Goooaaal!!!

Hoshino Wilm crosses the line!! She finishes with an eight-length lead over the field!! Once again, she has proven her strength to all of Japan!!

First place—Hoshino Wilm! Hoshino Wilm has conquered the stage of the Arima at last!!

Second place—Tokai Teio! Followed by Nice Nature in third!!

In a Japan that has triumphed at the Arc, it is the generation of stars that shines the brightest!!』

---

A thunderous roar—loud enough to split the ears.

Amid that overwhelming noise, I gradually slow my pace… and bid farewell to the other me.

She hears it—

…and gently closes her eyes.

That sleepyhead only ever lends me her strength during races.

It seems using so much of our soul’s power means she needs to rest now.

Feeling a faint trace of loneliness, I turn back.

Now that she’s asleep, the gray world fades—returning to the ordinary scenery of Nakayama Racecourse.

And there—

Stand the seventeen Uma Musume.

Some stare wide-eyed in pure shock.

Some glare at me, as if to say, “So that’s what you pulled, huh?”

Some burn with determination, their eyes declaring they’ll win next time.

Others calmly analyze what just happened.

The race is over—

And yet, not a single one of them is satisfied. Of course, that includes me.

Every single one of us craves the next chance. The next race. Another opportunity to run.

At that, my lips curl into a grin.

Now then.

I’ve revealed my final card.

I’ve cracked open the shell and shown that this power exists.

I’ve given you all the chance to understand it, measure it, and find a way to counter it.

So please—

Corner me.

Show me a light that won’t fade, even within the ash.

Because that—

Is Hoshino Wilm’s greatest wish.

“Let’s run again, everyone.”

Our races—

Are far from over.