The evening went by in the sa soothing way that Damon had grown used to when he got ho.
He left his gym bag at the door and then sat down with his mom for a quiet dinner.
They told each other about their days.
After dinner, Damon went to his room to clean up.
But he talked on the phone with Svetlana for a while before the day ended.
Recently, their conversations had taken on a new tone, full of the excitent and curiosity of a pair still figuring out how to be together.
"Goodnight," she said softly.
"Goodnight," Damon replied, his voice was low and warm.
Both of them stayed on the line for a mont before hanging up..
Now that the day was over, Damon focused on the most important part of his nightti routine: the simulation.
He slowly and carefully made his way to his bed. He took a deep breath in and out and then laid back down.
He closed his eyes and felt the simulation start up in his head. It was like a light switch flickering.
The world around him began to shift.
The soft glow of his bedroom light went out, and the harsh neon glare of the overhead lights took its place.
He could sll the familiar sll of sweat and clean cloth.
When Damon opened his eyes, he saw himself in the middle of an eight-sided cage.
The cold steel of the fencing surrounding him.
Ahead of him, a figure materialized, taking shape as a fighter.
"Alright," Damon muttered under his breath, his voice steady. "Let's do this."
The simulation began.
Damon's focus was on the spinning thigh kick Edward had demonstrated earlier.
It wasn't the hardest kick, but it had utility, a way to disrupt his opponent's stance and create opportunities for follow-ups.
Damon squared up, planting his feet and rolling his shoulders loose.
He took a breath and launched into the spinning thigh kick.
His shin connected with the simulated opponent's leg, the impact reverberating up his own.
It landed clean, but that wasn't enough for him.
He wanted to experint, to innovate. Damon envisioned using the spinning thigh kick as a setup for sothing bigger.
His idea? Propel himself off his opponent's thigh to deliver a second, airborne kick.
He reset his stance, focusing on the sequence.
Spinning into the thigh kick, he tried to use the recoil to leap upward, aiming for a spinning kick to the gut.
The result? A ss.
The second kick was poorly tid, awkwardly angled, and completely missed its mark. Damon stumbled on the landing, his balance faltering.
"Okay… not that," he muttered, shaking his head in frustration.
He took a step back and ran his hand through his hair as he thought about what happen.
As He sat down on the mat, Damon visualized the sequence again.
The soulless opponent stood motionless across the cage, its expressionless face a blank canvas for his ideas.
.
.
.
Damon sighed as he sat on the mat, sweat dripping down his temple.
He had spent the last hour trying to perfect an airborne kick, sothing quick and devastating.
But every attempt so far had been clunky, riddled with unnecessary spins and transitions that slowed him down or threw him off balance.
"There's too much going on," Damon muttered to himself. "Too many unnecessary moves. I'm wasting energy before I even land a clean hit."
The goal was clear, an airborne kick that wasn't just flashy but practical, fluid, and capable of catching an opponent completely off guard.
He rubbed the back of his neck, replaying the failed attempts in his head.
Each ti, he felt like he was overcomplicating the motion.
He didn't need extra spins or excessive flair. He needed sothing clean and direct.
"Alright," he said under his breath, standing up. "What if I use the kick I've already got and build on it?"
His thoughts turned to Edward's spinning thigh kick.
It was simple, effective, and disruptive.
It forced an opponent to react, creating openings.
But Damon wanted to take it a step further.
Instead of just connecting and resetting, what if he used the montum to propel himself into sothing unexpected?
Damon paced the mat, visualizing the sequence.
The spinning thigh kick would be the setup, but instead of planting his foot firmly on the ground after the kick, he'd use the recoil to spring upward.
The planted leg would act as a base, pushing him off like a coiled spring into a jumping crescent kick aid at the opponent's head.
"Thigh kick… plant… springboard…" he murmured, his eyes narrowing. "That might actually work."
He squared up with the simulated opponent, rolling his shoulders loose.
Damon inhaled deeply, steadying his nerves.
"Alright, let's try this."
He shifted into his stance, his movents sharp and deliberate.
With a quick pivot, he launched into the spinning thigh kick, his shin connecting solidly with the opponent's thigh.
But instead of following through and resetting, Damon planted his foot firmly and used the montum to leap upward.
Damon landed lightly on the mat, canceling his movent mid-leap.
His brows furrowed as he steadied himself, frustration bubbling beneath the surface.
It wasn't the power or speed, it was the positioning.
Sothing about the chanics of the follow-up crescent kick felt awkward, almost unnatural.
The angles didn't align, the fluidity wasn't there, and Damon couldn't shake the sense that he was forcing sothing that wasn't ant to be.
He took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck, exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from his brow, and opened the System Panel.
A familiar nu materialized in front of him, the sleek interface glowing faintly in the dim light of the simulated cage.
His eyes scanned the options, zeroing in on the System Shop.
There, under the martial arts section, two styles imdiately caught his attention: Karate and Taekwondo.
Both disciplines stood out for their mastery of kicks.
Taekwondo, known for its explosive and spinning techniques, could offer Damon the precision and aerial control he craved.
Karate, on the other hand, excelled in sharp, disciplined strikes with an emphasis on timing and efficiency.
Either one could unlock new dinsions in his striking ga.
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