At the Moment Light and Shadow Intertwined

September 23, 2029, Oi Racecourse.

The sky visible between the high-rises had been completely dyed by night, and the wind brushing against their faces carried the scent of dead leaves.

Oi Racecourse, neither hosting a graded race day nor fielding any standout horses, welcomed over fifty thousand visitors that day.

The season when breath turned white was close at hand.

By the time they reached the racecourse, everything around them was shrouded in darkness.

The neon lights of the city behind them had already come on. On the way to the track where the retirement ceremony would be held, only scattered streetlights illuminated the path ahead.

Strangely, Majima, usually so boisterous, merely walked forward in silence. Only after an NAR staff member guided him onto the stage did he quietly say, "Thank you."

The cold wind sweeping across the open ground grew ever more biting. As they waited for the star of the evening to appear, their lips began to tremble.

They unconsciously stomped their feet.

At last, a figure in white silks with green sleeves and a single green hoop appeared on the white sand beneath the lights.

The man who had shared hardship and joy with Atalanta, who had lived through this unforgettable stretch of time with her from beginning to end.

Bathed in the faint applause drifting down from the stands, Sasagawa stepped onto the stage with his lips tightly pressed together.

Then he slightly raised his head, as though gazing toward the neon glow of the L-WING grandstand in the distance.

"Jockey Sasagawa is crying, isn't he—"

"He really is crying."

As the racing fans beyond the railings whispered among themselves, a sniffle reached their ears, so faint it almost seemed imagined.

Then came a clearer one from somewhere else.

A moment later, the star the