"A voice similar to yours… T.M. Opera O, are you saying that another 'you' has appeared in your mind?"
As T.M. Opera O was worried about the state she was in, she specifically sought out Symboli Rudolf, the 'Seven-Crown' Uma Musume, to see if she, as the 'Emperor,' could give the answers to her current predicament. However, after she explained everything to Symboli Rudolf, Symboli Rudolf was uncharacteristically surprised, and after a long while, a faint smile appeared on her face as she said:
"If that's the case, then perhaps I should congratulate you, T.M. Opera O. You are even more talented than I thought. No wonder Trainer Wada went to such lengths to personally recruit and guide you."
"You have already reached the required strength to transcend your physical flesh and enter the spiritual realm. T.M. Opera O, do you know what this means?"
Symboli Rudolf slowly stood up and walked to T.M. Opera O's side, looking at T.M. Opera O with a slightly complex gaze. She couldn't help but sigh; these bunch of Trainers truly were people capable of creating miracles. If it were in the past, even Symboli Rudolf could never have imagined that an Uma Musume who had to rerun her Debut Race three times and who had difficulty even finding a team, could reach such a level so quickly.
"This means that you already have the potential to become a Hall of Fame Uma Musume—and such an opportunity is not even something every Hall of Fame Uma Musume can experience. It takes a certain amount of luck and also talent, T.M. Opera O, do you understand now?"
"Only the luckiest and most capable of Uma Musume can possibly even touch this realm. What every Uma Musume who reaches this level encounters is a case-by-case basis, but it seems your manifestation is in the form of a split personality or what you call another 'you', right?"
"Yes… It was only after the Satsuki Sho that I discovered the existence of this other 'me', but its personality is vastly different from mine to the point I don't even want to admit that it's me."
As she spoke, T.M. Opera O also involuntarily looked at her illusory 'self' not far away. At this moment, even T.M. Opera O didn't have the energy to maintain her chuunibyou persona and returned to her 'normal' self, asking Symboli Rudolf:
"But her running posture, her acceleration points, everything is almost identical to my methods and techniques—no, I should say, she is even more experienced than I am. Her techniques, her points of exertion, are much more practiced than mine."
"It's like… a me from the future."
T.M. Opera O didn't know how to describe this feeling, but this other self was indeed stronger, more skilled, and allowed T.M. Opera O to intuitively feel her own progress. Whenever T.M. Opera O felt she progressed far enough and she was about to catch up to her other self, her other self would suddenly surge in strength again, like the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise—always getting closer, yet never catching up.
"You can't see her, can you, President? The other me."
"I'm sorry, T.M. Opera O, but your other self is a manifestation of your inner self. Besides yourself, there should be no one else who understands you better than you do—I imagine that even Trainer Wada wouldn't be able to see the truest thoughts deep within your heart, right?"
Symboli Rudolf shook her head upon hearing this, indicating she was powerless to help. Very few Uma Musume had encountered a situation like this and she had met even fewer of them; the circumstances always varied, but one thing was constant: this stage could be called a barrier. As long as one could cross it, that Uma Musume would achieve a breakthrough, almost like being reborn.
At that time, an Uma Musume who didn't reach this level would have almost no chance of competing with them on the same racetrack. But if one couldn't cross it, this hurdle would be like a watershed, forever dividing the Uma Musume back to the world of the mundane. They might still be very strong, strong enough to win many GIs, but they would never cross this hurdle, forever trapped within a 'cap,' unable to truly break through their own upper limit.
But overall, being able to reach the level of 'surpassing one's inner self' this early was still very useful for T.M. Opera O. Her rapid rise in progress the past few weeks was undoubtedly due to this as well.
"However, remember, this is a trial, T.M. Opera O. Try to surpass her, surpass yourself. I believe that when you reach the limit of that so-called other you, and successfully surpass her, she will dissipate on her own."
"And at that time, you will no longer need anyone to guide you. When you have surpassed the strongest, you will find that you are already standing at the peak, and you will become a true Overlord."
"...I understand."
T.M. Opera O nodded silently upon hearing this, then looked at the illusory figure of herself beside her, but still felt a sense of powerlessness. Surpass herself? Was this really herself? To this day, T.M. Opera O still had some doubts…
"There's no need for you to be so suspicious of me. At your current level, it'll still be difficult for you to surpass me, but if it's just winning the Japanese Derby, there should be absolutely no problem."
And at this moment, "T.M. Opera O" smiled at her and said, "The current you is undoubtedly stronger than 'me' at that time. With the help of that Wada kid this time, you have undoubtedly reached greater heights."
"—You know Ryuji?"
However, the other self's way of addressing Wada made T.M. Opera O unconsciously vigilant. She subconsciously asked, "How do you know Ryuji? Yo-you don't share memories with me, do you?"
"No worries, I don't. Though I do know what you're currently thinking in your mind, when I met that Wada kid, you weren't even born yet."
"T.M. Opera O" had a mysterious smile on her face. As if provoking, she raised an eyebrow at T.M. Opera O, constantly stirring T.M. Opera O's nerves, and said word by word, "I've known him for much longer than you have~"
"Impossible, you only appeared in my mind two weeks ago!"
Sure enough, T.M. Opera O's face showed a hint of anger for the first time upon hearing this. T.M. Opera O, who usually took any words as praise, was now flushed and agitated in her argument with herself. Should it be said, as expected of T.M. Opera O? After all, she herself was the one who knew her sore spot best, and how to break her defenses.
"You, don't have any ulterior motives towards Ryuji. I'm warning you, otherwise, I will definitely drive you out of my mind no matter what it takes."
"Then you can rest assured; just as that Symboli Rudolf said, if you surpass me, I will disappear on my own," "T.M. Opera O" said dismissively, as if already coming to terms with her fate. "Besides, that Wada kid doesn't belong to you alone. I am you, and I also like Wada. Shouldn't we two be best buds?"
"No way!"
T.M. Opera O was also flushed by her own words and hurriedly said, "Ryuji is this Overlord's best retainer! Loyal and honest! As the Overlord, I hold only gratitude and trust for him, not such shallow feelings driven by lust!"
"Mhm, mhm, right, right, right, still being stubborn, huh."
"T.M. Opera O" was quite disdainful of her own reaction, pouting and saying, "Then prepare to win in races but lose in life. That Meisho Doto brat is way more honest than you. Although that child hasn't realized she likes Wada either, after some time, when you leave her in the dust in terms of racing skills, she will definitely go to Wada for comfort."
"At that time, with that Wada kid's good-natured personality, if nothing unexpected happens… you know what will happen, right?"
"…" T.M. Opera O opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to refute, but she also belatedly realized that what her other self said seemed very plausible… "It… it shouldn't be, right? Ha, haha, after all, he is my most loyal subject, how could he and my other most beloved subject—"
"—T.M. Opera O? What are you doing here?"
And at this moment, Wada Ryuji's voice slowly came from not far away, and in that instant, both T.M. Opera Os simultaneously turned in response. At this moment, no matter how much they had been at odds before, facing Wada, they instinctively smiled and spoke in unison:
"Ah, Ryuji/Wada." x2
"T.M. Opera O, I want to talk to you about how you're acting recently."
However, at this moment, Wada, who had actually noticed T.M. Opera O talking to herself not far away like an insane person, was now gradually realizing that T.M. Opera O's condition was definitely not right. Who was T.M. Opera O talking to? At this moment, Wada looked around and did not find the other "T.M. Opera O" who had now disappeared back into T.M. Opera O's mind.
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This is starting to get ridiculous, T.M. Opera O is now getting NTR'ed by herself!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.