How could she describe it?
Standing once again on this racetrack, Gotham Song found her mories of that rainy day surprisingly blurred.
All she rembered clearly was desperately fighting to claim victory, burning every ounce of herself with each stride, falling, and roaring furiously as she stood back up.
Then ca the leap through agony, the sudden collapse, skidding and carving a deep trail into the earth.
Finally, soone hurriedly caught up, lifting her gently onto their lap. But who was it that held her at that mont, and what had Gotham Song said?
Well, even though she’d reincarnated now, the truth was she had genuinely died back then—so those mories were completely lost.
Only afterward, driven by curiosity, had she watched footage of her final monts. That’s when she discovered she’d been lying in jiro Ramonu’s lap, smiling faintly as she closed her eyes for the last ti.
Hmm... Sohow, it felt slightly off compared to her vague, personal impressions of that day.
But that wasn’t important right now. The real issue was—how should she face jiro Ardan in this mont?
They’d already walked silently most of the way to the track. Now, as they stepped onto the turf and approached the Arc’s finish line marker, jiro Ardan’s silence only grew heavier with every step.
Gotham Song could clearly sense it. The mood of the person beside her sank lower and lower as they drew closer. But right now...
She was powerless to change anything. All she could do was keep moving forward, step by step...
In truth, contrary to popular belief, Twilight Song wasn’t buried exactly at the finish line of the Arc.
The actual spot was a bit further back, at the exact place she’d finally co to a stop after skidding along the turf.
Because it wasn’t aligned with the finish line, a small plaque had been erected there, close to the track.
What did it say?
["Here rests a great Uma Musu. May the world forever rember the miracle brought by that rainy day."]
"Storming Through the Rain"—this was how people rembered what happened that fateful day at the Arc.
As one of the world’s most prestigious events, the Arc naturally carried imnse honor. Yet, there had always been one profound regret:
A runaway Uma Musu had never before claid victory there.
There were countless reasons for this, and back then people joked, "If a runaway ever wins the Arc, she’ll surely beco the most dazzling goddess of her era."
So even claid that an Uma Musu capable of securing the Arc through runaway tactics would be a dominant force in any other race.
Simply put: "The Uma Musu who wins the Arc as a runaway will usher in a new era."
Sadly, no one ever witnessed that future; everyone mourned the ending instead.
Ultimately, Twilight Song beca, in so sense, the greatest "Phantom Uma Musu" of all ti.
She’d conquered two of Europe’s highest honors with ease, yet so many other events—even premier races beyond the Classic year—remained forever beyond her reach.
Twilight Song had long proven her strength. But what the world truly regretted was never witnessing the even brighter glory that might have followed.
Thus, starting from the very next Arc, an additional ceremony was added to the event’s opening:
"Paying respects to the great Uma Musu who ca before us."
Yet the actual gravesite before Gotham Song was entirely different from the packed museum they’d visited earlier.
That museum, displaying a re autograph, had been as crowded as a church on a holy day, bustling with pilgrims.
But here, at the actual grave of the Uma Musu herself, the scene was startlingly clean and simple.
There was only a lonely plaque behind the track railing, a small burial mound, and a modest black tombstone.
Nothing else.
Yet this made sense. After all, this was Longchamp Racecourse, a venue for competitions—not a tourist attraction.
If entry had been unrestricted, the site would surely be flooded with offerings and crowded admirers.
Perhaps it was best this way.
Still, actually seeing her own grave felt incredibly surreal—especially given she was currently clutching flowers ant as a morial offering for herself.
Hello there, Twilight Song. Nice to et you. My na is, uh... Gotham Song? Anyway, here I am, visiting your grave.
Not funny at all, friend.
jiro Ardan remained silent. She gently knelt down, softly placing the violets she’d brought onto the grave. She stayed like that, head bowed, lost in her own thoughts.
How did Gotham Song feel seeing Ardan like this?
It was as though her own heart had been pierced.
After all, she herself was the ultimate source of all this sadness—Twilight Song, Gotham Song, one and the sa.
Yet the heavier the mont beca, the calr Gotham Song grew. She took deep breaths, trying to steady herself, and finally...
She bent down and placed her own bouquet of lavender carefully beside Ardan’s violets.
"Could you... tell about your story with her, Ardan-neesan?"
"If you wish to hear it? Our ti together was both so long and yet terribly short."
jiro Ardan remained partly imrsed in her private mories, yet as always, her innate kindness prevented her from neglecting the person beside her.
She began softly recounting their past—from the initial cautious encounters and misunderstandings, to the first tentative connection after Twilight Song’s debut, then their shared daily life...
Gotham Song could sense Ardan struggling to keep her tone light despite her confusion and pain.
She was trying to fra these mories as happy ones, filled with warmth and gentle nostalgia, not as tragic recollections that brought only tears.
Except for the ending, wasn’t it truly beautiful?
Gotham Song even noticed Ardan proudly ntioning the special bond they had shared:
They had been family—and "partners in cri."
Ardan kept speaking quietly, as though she’d finally found an outlet to share details she’d kept hidden for so long.
For instance, Ardan had suspected sothing was wrong very early on. Or why, exactly, she’d ultimately left jiro Manor.
The conflict between Ardan and Ramonu was simple: one supported Twilight Song’s resolve to burn herself brightly, while the other desperately wanted to protect and save her family mber at any cost.
The sisters, once so close, had completely fractured after the Arc. Everything was openly laid bare.
Ardan unwaveringly supported Twilight Song’s resolve, refusing to yield—even though apologizing then would’ve allowed reconciliation with Ramonu...
Yet she would never bow her head!
She firmly believed she’d done nothing wrong—not even a little. Because how could she ever consider Twilight Song’s determined, passionate choice wrong?
Ardan seed both relieved and sorrowful, filled with nostalgia and a quiet acceptance.
She’d never regretted her choice then—not then, not now, not ever.
"I feel sorry toward Ramonu-neesan for saying this, but you know, Song-chan... In those final monts, when Twilight Song was lifted from the ground, barely conscious..."
Gotham Song clearly saw pride shining in Ardan’s eyes.
She was purposefully bringing forth sothing beautiful to spare Gotham Song from sadness.
"In her final monts, Twilight Song first called out my na."
As Ardan said this, a gentle smile blossod on her lips.
She genuinely cherished this mory, even though it might hurt Ramonu. But just watching, Gotham Song understood clearly—Ardan treasured this mory above all else.
And yet, the more clearly Ardan expressed these emotions, the deeper Gotham Song’s guilt and sorrow grew.
"I should apologize to you as well, Song-chan. Though I kept telling myself she was gone, the resemblance between you two is just so strong."
It was precisely that strong resemblance that allowed their bond to grow quickly at first—not because of so sudden, miraculous closeness.
These words had obviously been buried deep in Ardan’s heart for a very long ti—so long that it was the first thing she shared upon arriving in Paris.
Gotham Song quietly shook her head, showing she didn’t mind.
How could she ever care about sothing like that?
"It’s alright. I really don’t mind."
Gotham Song said softly, desperately trying to think of words that could pull Ardan out of this sadness. But without revealing her true identity, wasn’t comforting Ardan simply impossible?
Should she really just give up here, watching Ardan drown in grief, trapped in mories of a rainy day and her departure?
Could she possibly live with herself?
Gotham Song!
Absolutely not.
"I don’t know if it’s right for to say this, but... wouldn’t Twilight Song-san herself hate seeing you trapped in this sorrow?"
How could she possibly sit by and do nothing at all...?
If she could do that, why would she have returned to Japan at all after reincarnating?
"I’ve heard many say the sa, Song-chan. I know..."
"Or rather, wouldn’t she demand you never be this sad?!"
Gotham Song’s sudden outburst jolted jiro Ardan out of her sorrow, lifting her gaze to the figure beside her.
Under sunlight so different from that rainy day, Gotham Song stood silhouetted against the sky. Small as she was, right now she seed towering and radiant.
Ardan felt a faint glimr of hope rise inside her, wondering...
What sort of comforting words would you offer , Song-chan?
The feeling was complicated. Comfort might be useless, yet soone drowning in grief, desperately gasping for air, always reached hopefully for the hand extending toward them.
That was simply the instinctive struggle to survive.
"After all, didn’t you and Twilight Song both firmly believe you were doing the right thing?!"
"Yes..."
Then why... Why did sorrow matter here...?
"In that case, would Twilight Song ever want the people she loved to suffer like this because of her—because of sothing she couldn’t control?!"
Words like these depended greatly on who spoke them. Especially standing here at Longchamp, silhouetted by the sun, with the exact sa face and mannerisms as soone dearly loved—
Ardan stared dazedly as Gotham Song’s black-and-white figure gradually overlapped with another beloved figure from her mories.
"If she saw you hurting yourself like this, she’d bla herself too! She’d cry for you...! Absolutely not! Don’t! Please, stop!"
Stop tornting yourself because of !
Gotham Song’s voice echoed powerfully across the empty racetrack, no rain drowning out her words this ti. Though she’d started intending to hide her true identity, now Gotham Song found it impossible.
Watching soone important to her suffer like this and doing nothing?
If things reached that point, she’d rather reveal herself entirely—
If openly confronting jiro Manor could bring back smiles to those she cherished, she’d do it ten, a hundred, a thousand tis more!
Gotham Song would never retreat.
Speechless, Ardan suddenly understood sothing.
Right now, the tears of grief streaming down Gotham Song’s face...
Just who exactly were they falling for?
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