Suddenly...
The world around King began to fade.
The dorm. The classroom. The sound of rain. Even the warmth surrounding her.
One by one, they dissolved into darkness as an unseen force pulled her farther and farther away from the silhouette before her.
"Urara!"
King reached out desperately.
"Urara...! Wait!"
But when she blinked...
The silhouette was no longer Urara.
Instead, a familiar smile greeted her, and King's eyes widened.
"A-Asaji...? W-What's happening?!"
The darkness continued to spread, swallowing every last trace of light.
Yet just before the figure disappeared completely... Asaji smiled.
"You can do it, Halo!"
"I believe in you!"
"Like how I believed in you from the very first day we met!"
"It's okay now, Halo."
"Wait!" King protested, but before she could.
"Everything will be alright! As long as you keep your promises, Halo!"
"And..."
"You don't need me anymore."
"After all..."
"You've found your own circle."
"You built it with your own hands."
"And now, they're waiting for you."
"Just like she's waiting for you, Halo."
"Find her... Save her!"
"And..."
"...save yourself too, Halo!"
"But... what if I'm afraid..." King replied as the darkness slowly engulfed her.
"It's okay to be afraid, Halo."
"We're all afraid."
"Afraid of something."
"Afraid of everything."
"Even of fate itself."
"But..."
"It's okay to keep moving despite that fear."
"After all..."
"Fear is what pushes us beyond our limits."
"So let it drive you forward."
"And..." She paused.
"Thrive from within."
After a quiet moment, she spoke again.
"Farewell, Halo."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss the day we met..."
"And every moment we shared together."
"Wait!"
King reached toward her once more.
"Asaji!"
"What about us?!"
"What about all the promises we made?!"
"The promises we were going to—!"
Asaji gently shook her head, cutting her off.
"You don't need those promises anymore, Halo."
"You've already fulfilled them!"
"You found a new family!"
"A bond..."
"Even deeper than the one we once shared."
"But...!"
Before King could protest again, Asaji simply waved.
"Bye-bye, Halo."
"I'm glad we met."
"And..."
"Until we meet again..."
"...if fate allows our paths to cross once more."
Instead of letting go, King struggled against the darkness, forcing herself forward with everything she had.
"Asaji...!"
"No...!"
"Wait...!"
Again and again, she reached toward her.
But no matter how desperately she fought...
She couldn't move an inch as the darkness simply swallowed her whole, leaving only her voice remaining.
"Asaji...!"
"Wait!"
"WAIT!"
Before she knew it—
King jolted upright from her desk.
"Asaji!"
She gasped for breath as her eyes darted around the room.
The classroom.
The rain.
Asaji.
They were all gone.
Instead, she found herself back in her dorm room.
Her revision books were still spread across the desk.
Only then did she realize she had fallen asleep while studying.
Instinctively, King reached for her phone and turned on the screen.
5:00 AM.
Only then did she calm down and lower the phone.
"So..." She muttered to herself.
"It was all just a dream..."
Then...
Someone suddenly came to mind, and her eyes widened.
"Urara!"
She immediately turned toward the other side of the room, expecting to find that pink menace sleeping peacefully in her bed.
Instead...
There was nothing.
"Huh...?"
Urara's bed was perfectly made.
There wasn't the slightest sign that she had returned.
Clearly, she hadn't come back since yesterday.
There, a knot tightened in King's chest.
Without thinking, she hurried over to Urara's side of the room, desperately searching for anything that might hint at where she had gone.
But the moment she put weight on her leg—
A sharp pain shot through her knee.
"Ah...!"
She winced and stumbled, nearly losing her balance before instinctively catching herself on the edge of the desk.
As the pain subsided... Everything happened the day before came rushing back.
The race with Sei.
Her fall, her scraped knee.
And...
The words she had said to Urara.
The words she never should have spoken.
King's face instantly went pale.
"C-Could it be...?"
"Did Urara..."
"...run away?"
The thought lingered for only a moment before King quickly shook her head.
"No...!"
"Urara wouldn't do that."
Running away was never who she was.
Besides...
All of Urara's belongings were still in the dorm.
Even her favorite manga collection remained neatly lined up on the shelf.
There was no way she would simply abandon them.
Only then did King let out a quiet sigh, her shoulders slumping.
"Then..."
"Where are you...?" she murmured, beginning to pace back and forth across the room.
"Maybe she stayed in Grass's dorm..."
"Or El's..."
"Or perhaps Sei's..."
She stopped.
"W-What if..."
"What if she was hit by a car?!"
King's eyes widened.
Then she quickly shook her head.
"No."
"That's impossible."
"If something like that had happened..."
"The whole academy would've known by now."
She then forced herself to dismiss the thought as another possibility surfaced.
And once again, she rejected it.
Then another.
And another.
One after another, each possibility grew more absurd than the last.
Before she realized it...
The minutes quietly slipped away.
She continued pacing across the room despite the throbbing pain in her knee, unable to stop herself from imagining every possible outcome.
Until...
She finally let out a long sigh.
"Enough..."
Slowly, she walked back to her bed and sat down.
"I-I shouldn't worry this much..."
"I'll probably see her in class this morning."
She gave herself a small nod.
"Yeah..."
"That's the most likely explanation."
"Then I'll just ask her where she's been..."
"...Or maybe I should..." She hesitated.
"...apologize, too."
At last, the thought eased her restless mind, and King dropped onto her back on her bed.
"W-Whatever..." She muttered.
"I should just get some sleep before school."
As her eyelids grew heavier, the countless worries weighing on her mind slowly drifted away.
She finally surrendered to the sleep she still needed before school.
Or rather...
Before today truly began.
Slowly...
Surely...
She drifted...
Back to sleep...
But, suddenly—
Both alarm clocks blared in unison, and King's eyes snapped open.
She bolted upright and looked at the clock.
Then...
Her face went pale.
"W-What?!"
"It's...?! 7 already?!"
Only then did she realize she had spent the last two hours worrying about Urara.
Thinking, speculating, and pacing around the room.
And before she even realized it...
She had wasted the last two hours of sleep she could have gotten.
King buried her face in her hands.
"Ugh..."
"Now I have to get ready for school..."
Without wasting another second, she silenced the alarms, dragged herself out of bed, and began her usual morning routine...
...
...
...
Before she could fully shake off her drowsiness...
She found herself already standing at the academy gate.
As always...
Tazuna stood there, greeting the arriving students while keeping a watchful eye on everyone.
"Good morning, King Halo," Tazuna greeted as King walked past.
"G-Good morning, Tazuna." King returned the greeting with a small nod before continuing toward the school building.
By now, she had convinced herself that Urara had probably spent the night with one of her friends.
So instead of worrying any further...
She headed straight for her classroom, taking a small detour along the way.
Toward the classroom next door.
The one where El, Grass, and Sei studied.
As soon as she stepped into the familiar corridor, her gaze instinctively drifted toward the desks where the four of them usually gathered.
She expected to find the usual sight.
The four of them huddled around the same desk.
But the moment she did...
Instead... Only one person was there.
Seiun Sky.
She was sprawled across her desk, fast asleep, softly snoring.
King blinked.
"Wait..."
Only then did she glance at the clock and remember.
Grass and El probably hadn't arrived yet.
Ever since her daily routine had changed because of Urara...
King had started her school preparation much earlier than before, since waking that pink menace always took up most of her time.
And today, just like every morning without Urara beside her...
She had arrived well before most of the other students.
And the classroom was still nearly empty.
Beyond that, King simply nodded to herself, returning her attention to Urara's whereabouts.
"I-I see..."
"So Urara didn't stay with Sei."
At least...
That answered one of the countless questions racing through her mind.
She lingered at the classroom entrance for another moment.
Then—
"Why don't you just come in, King?"
A sleepy voice interrupted her thoughts.
"You know..."
"Standing there is a lot more suspicious than whatever you're trying to do."
"Besides..."
"You're blocking the doorway."
King blinked and quickly turned around.
Only then did she realize several students were awkwardly waiting behind her, unable to enter the classroom.
"A-Ah!"
She hurriedly stepped aside, letting them pass.
"M-My apologies."
Once the doorway was clear, she turned back toward Sei.
"W-Wait."
"I thought you were asleep!"
"Considering the utterly obnoxious snoring you were making!"
Sei didn't even bother lifting her head.
"Yeah..."
"But I trained myself to stay aware of my surroundings while napping."
"So I don't miss anything important."
She slowly cracked one eye open.
"Like you walking over here..."
"...and poisoning me."
"I mean, you looked pretty bitter yesterday."
"So I figured I should be careful."
"Whaaaat?!" King gasped dramatically.
"How dare you accuse me of such a felonious act!"
She crossed her arms with a huff.
"Besides, a first-rate Umamusume like me would never get worked up over something so trivial!"
"And you didn't even beat me yesterday!"
"And besides!"
"I got injured, remember?!" She then dramatically pointed at the bandage wrapped around her knee.
Meanwhile, Sei barely reacted.
"Whatever you say, King..."
"Welp... I'm going back to sleep."
"Unless you actually have something to say."
"Otherwise... I'm dozing off."
"Wait!"
King immediately called after her.
Before she could say another word—
"Excuse me..."
King froze, and she slowly turned around.
Once again, several students were waiting patiently behind her, unable to get through the doorway.
"Ah..."
"M-My apologies."
She hurriedly stepped aside and let them pass before finally entering the classroom herself.
Then she made a beeline for Sei's desk.
"Wait!"
"Don't you dare fall asleep yet!"
"I'm not done talking!"
Sei let out another weary sigh.
"Why don't you lower your voice first, King?"
"You're scaring everyone."
King blinked.
Only then did she notice several classmates had been quietly staring at her.
And a blush immediately spread across her face.
She had just proudly declared she wasn't worked up...
Yet she'd been shouting this entire time.
She then awkwardly cleared her throat, "Ahem..." before leaning closer to Sei.
"I-I said..."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"I'm not done talking."
Sei sighed once more before slowly lifting her head from the desk.
"I'm listening..."
And King opened her mouth.
"It's just..."
Yet... The words caught in her throat.
After everything she'd said yesterday...
After everything that happened yesterday...
Even mentioning Urara's name felt strangely difficult.
Before she could force the words out, Sei already noticed the hesitation in her eyes.
And a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
"It's about Urara, isn't it?"
"W-Well...!"
King's cheeks flushed as she stumbled over her words.
She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.
Only after steadying herself did she finally speak.
"Well... It's just...!"
"D-Do you happen to know..."
"...where Urara is?"