"Lord Overlord"

No Starting Gate, no spectators, no Trainer.

Only the gradually brightening sky, the murmuring river, and the steady rhythm of footsteps.

Four thousand meters—a distance even longer than the Tenno Sho Spring.

Running like this outside of a race was an entirely different experience.

There was none of the tension of tactical mind games, none of the anxiety of pressure to win or lose.

There was only a direct conversation between body and will against the very idea of "distance."

Once the initial excitement faded, there came the search for rhythm, the muscles adapting to sustained strain, and the steady, powerful beating of heart and lungs.

The first turn, then the second, and then the third—

After the third turn came the return trip.

Their stride remained steady.

The familiar starting point on the riverbank came into view again. The two of them naturally began slowing down almost at the same time, eventually stopping with tacit understanding near where they had started.

There was no fierce final sprint, only the refreshing breaths after a run and bodies faintly warmed by exertion.

Kitasan Black did not feel tired. What she felt was exhilaration, as though the excitement and longing that had built up inside her had finally found an outlet.

She looked at Gold Ship beside her and found that the other girl was looking at her too, smiling. Unable to help herself, she smiled as well.

The smiles lingered for a while before Gold Ship suddenly said out of nowhere, "I can't find it."

Kitasan Black froze. "—Can't find what?"

As if performing a magic trick, Gold Ship flipped her hand over, and a Rubik's Cube appeared in her palm.

All six sides of the cube were perfectly uniform in color, restored neatly and completely.

Looking at the flawless cube,