Sadly, for her, there was no light beyond what her hoverboard provided. It made navigating the tunnel a tad more difficult than most riders would be comfortable with. It'd force them to slow down for fear of running headfirst into the tunnel walls.
Kira didn't have that option, relying instead on instinct and skill to find her way through.
She broke out of the tunnel in the next second.
None of her movements were particularly flashy, but an onlooker would be able to tell she knew what she was doing. There was no gesture wasted as she zipped through the various ramps and the harsh twists and turns, picking up speed rather than shedding it.
"The front of the pack has begun their ascent of the tower," Jin warned.
Kira crouched lower as she fought for every bit of speed. The last half of the course before the tower passed in a blur.
"Starting my ascent," Kira informed them as she reached the base of the vertical obstacle not-so-fondly called the tower.
The obstacle didn't look like much, but it was more challenging than it appeared at first glance. Considered one of the most dangerous pieces of the course, it required a pilot to be absolutely perfect in every aspect. From the angle of ascent, to the speed of approach, to the positioning of your body.
Get any of it wrong and you courted death.
Most racers would tell you the tower was the obstacle they feared the most as it had claimed more than one victim over the years. Not Kira. It had always been her favorite. It was like a roller coaster ride. Slowly approaching the ascent, only to race breakneck for the ground once more.
"Remember that all the other racers need to be finished with their descent before you start yours," Jin advised.
"From the way you're nagging me, you'd think this was my first time," Kira said as she picked up speed.
She fixed her eyes on the red dot high above, the buoy that signaled the turnaround point.
That was her goal. Nothing was going to keep it from her. Not even gravity.
"Perhaps that's because you have a tendency to discard perfectly good plans at a whim."
"Hello, pot; meet kettle," Odin said dryly.
Kira grinned as gravity started to push on her chest.
"Who asked you? If not for your meddling, we wouldn't need to go to these lengths," Jin grumbled.
The sky spread in a wide expanse, its fluffy white clouds seeming to beckon her until it was all she could see. Kira kept her gaze trained forward. Racers, even experienced ones, occasionally experienced vertigo on this type of ascent. It was easy to get disorientated, the ground so far below and only a thin scrap of metal equipped with what amounted to little more than an antigrav engine between you and it.
Honestly, Kira considered people who did this a little crazy. That went for herself as well.
"How was I supposed to know you wouldn't check the board's maintenance log before you started tinkering?" Odin shot back.
"Of course, I didn't. I'm the only one with permission to touch that board. Even Kira knows better," Jin cried.
Kira ignored the two as she flew ever higher. She felt like Icarus as he flew too close to the sun—only her wings weren't the type to melt so easily.
"Heart rate and blood pressure still look good," Jin announced.
"I'm not reading any issues in the board's feedback either," Odin added.
The sensation of pressure on Kira grew, until it felt like external forces would try to rip her from the board.
Kira ignored the discomfort as the red of the buoy grew until it seemed to eclipse the sky. The buoy that had seemed so small when seen from the ground was suddenly as big as her ship.
"The last of the racers cleared the bottom. You're good to go whenever you're ready," Jin announced.
"You always know the way to my heart," Kira teased.
The sound of retching came. "Please. I've held ownership of that decayed muscle since the day we first met."
