The morning was still foggy.
Water droplets were sliding down the glass of the hall as if the city had not yet decided to wake up. Saba entered with his usual silence. Tengo was already there, hitting the bag with that special silence that only experienced fighters have.
- I was waiting for you - Tengo said without even turning his back.
- Here I am - Saba answered briefly and put on his gloves.
Tengo took a step back, glanced at Saba's posture, and smiled to himself:
- You know, only one man stood like that with his legs.
- Ilia Blenderadze - Saba stopped.
Tengo continued:
- He used to train here. Right on this court.
He was breathing with the same heaviness, looking at the bag with the same attention.
- But Ilia was different, as if he didn't share anything with anyone.
Saba didn't make a sound. He clenched his gloves tightly and delivered blows.
The first blow, he caught his balance exactly as yesterday. The second was stronger.
The third, too precise. Tengo tilted his head slightly, and recognition flashed in his gaze.
- You hit exactly like him.
Saba stopped, took a deep breath, and didn't say anything. For a moment, blue text flashed before his eyes:
[Adaptation Level Increased]
[Combo Accuracy: 93%]
Tengo took off his glove and touched the bag's handle. Ilia had something that the others didn't have. No one could figure out what it was. Some said instinct, some madness. At the time, I thought he just felt time differently. For a moment before the blow. Saba sighed, and for a moment, he thought in his mind:
"Stops... time..."
And it was as if the words resonated in reality at that very moment. The bag seemed to really stop moving for a moment, slightly, but enough for Saba to notice. Tengo didn't say anything. He just slowly approached and put his hand on his shoulder:
- I see the same thing in you.
The rest of the training continued in silence. Tengo occasionally observed Saba's movements, as if searching for something he himself no longer knew. When the training was over, Tengo said:
- Ilia's story ended badly, Baramidze.
- Why?
- Because when everyone else saw only victory in his eyes, I saw emptiness. The kind of emptiness that will break you if you can't fill it.
Saba picked up his bag, but before he went out the door, he turned around:
- Before that, I only watched Ilia's videos and tried to copy his moves. Do you think I'll end up like him if I win matches with his style? - Tengo looked at him thoughtfully.
- No. I think you've found the thing he didn't have. Now it's up to you not to lose it.
Saba went out into the street. The sky was dark outside, but the air was clean. He saw his own reflection in the window glass, wet with sweat, but something alive in his eyes.
[Level Up: 3 → 4]
[Skill Unlocked: "Inner Rhythm"]
[Hint: 'Every Shadow Was Once a Light']
He smiled strangely in his heart. Ilia's shadow seemed to be following him, but for the first time, he wasn't afraid of it.