LEGACY OF THE FALLEN

LEGACY OF THE FALLEN

Chapter 21

"Do you think he'll forgive me? What if he never talks to me again? What if... what if he hates me now? No... no..." Avni spun around Jasmine on her floating hat, her voice trembling with doubt. Her emerald eyes were glittering with tears, and her green hair flowed with the wind as she swung.

"I don't think he even cares about that," Arihant interrupted. They were already standing in the training area behind the Dog House. As the conversation went on, Aksh arrived.

"So, the man of presence has finally graced us with his arrival and given us unworthy peasants a chance to lay eyes upon him," Arihant mocked with playful sarcasm.

"I'm not late. You three just arrived early," Aksh replied with a straight face.

"Umm… Aksh, I'm sorry about yesterday. I… I called you a monster," Avni said softly, leaning close to him on the floating hat, her teary emerald eyes looking up at his.

"It doesn't matter to me. I don't care what people call me," Aksh replied flatly, turning around and walking to the opposite side of the field to take his position for battle.

"Is he still mad at me?" Avni whispered, turning to Jasmine.

Jasmine patted her head gently. "No, he isn't mad at you."

"But… he said it doesn't matter," Avni murmured, her eyes brimming again.

"Th-that… he only said that because it was you who called him a monster. It doesn't matter to him because… yeah, because he thinks of you as a friend! So you can call him whatever you like!" Jasmine said quickly, looking away nervously.

"Ooooh! Is that so? Does that mean… he likes me?" Her teary expression vanished, replaced by a wide smile.

Seeing how happy she suddenly became, Jasmine sighed internally.

She decided to let her keep the misunderstanding.

"Now, shall we start the training today?" Arihant shouted, clapping his hands to gather everyone's attention. "Here, take this," he tossed a shield toward Aksh.

Aksh caught it effortlessly and threw it back. "I don't need this. I want another weapon." Arihant caught the shield with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? So, what does our little prince want?"

 Aksh took a deep breath, then said calmly,

 "A trident."

"A trident, you say?" Arihant raised an eyebrow. "It's a tough weapon to wield. Are you sure you can handle it?" "You don't have to worry about that," Aksh replied, his face unwavering. "Fine then, here. Take it." Arihant reached into his pouch and pulled out a massive trident, tossing it towards Aksh. The trident was forged from steel, towering over Aksh at twice his height.

Aksh caught it with one hand, spinning it effortlessly before gripping the forward end with his upper hand. He then took a single step forward, his left foot planted firmly behind him, and pointed the trident toward Avni.

"Woo, when did this kid learn how to wield a trident?" Arihant commented, a smile of amusement tugging at his lips. "And look at that stance. Not bad at all." Aksh remained silent, his eyes locked on his target. "Alright, begin now!" Arihant shouted, his voice carrying authority. In an instant, both he and Jasmine leapt toward the nearest tree.

Avni closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. The playful sparkle and innocence in her expression had vanished. She glared directly at her target—Aksh. Raising both hands, she extended two fingers from each. In response, two branches from a tree behind her slithered forward like serpents aiming their sharp points toward Aksh.

She flicked her fingers toward Aksh, and the branches jolted forward, aiming straight at him.

As they closed in, Aksh shifted the trident, catching one of the branches between its prongs like a beast snapping its jaw. With a smooth motion, he twisted and slammed the trapped branch to the ground, pinning it in place.

The second branch came sweeping low, targeting his feet—but Aksh pushed down on the embedded trident, launching himself upward. He landed in a perfect one-finger handstand atop the trident's shaft. "Wow, he is really good with trident" Jasmine exclaimed.

Then, with a sudden spin on that single finger, he propelled himself into the air, pulling the trident free. In the same motion, he spun mid-air and brought the weapon crashing down on the second branch, breaking it into two.

"Wow! If he's always that good with a trident, why didn't he use it yesterday?" Jasmine asked, her hands clenched into excited little fists as she bounced slightly with curiosity.

"Because he wasn't," Arihant replied with a chuckle. "This brat definitely did some solo training last night and reflected on his battle."

What really happened last night wasn't some dedicated solo training— It was a one-sided beating from Avni's clone in his own mind world.

"Cough, cough—damn it… this stings," Aksh muttered, clutching one side of his bleeding abdomen with one hand, a battered shield in the other.

"She's using only half her actual power… and you're still this weak." The voice echoed in his mind, laced with sharp disappointment.

"I'm trying my best here!" Aksh shouted, leaping to the side as a branch lashed out at him from the front.

"You've already died thirty-four times at her full power… and seventeen times at half. You haven't even landed a single hit. Pathetic—even if you can resurrect infinitely in this world. I can't bear to watch the inheritor of demonic Tejas in such a lowly state. Tsk tsk." The voice grumbled, its tone thick with disdain.

"Just shut up, old fossil—agh!" Before he could finish, another strike slammed into his back, sending him skidding violently across the dirt.

Aksh groaned, blood trailing beneath him as he clawed at the ground, trying to stand. "I... I'm fighting... for my life here..." he gasped, his voice weak but stubborn.

"Stop deluding yourself." The voice snapped, colder now. "You don't even have the courage to fight her. You're just trying to survive. If you really wanted to defeat her—you would've chosen an oppressive weapon. A shield?" The voice scoffed. "That's for pussies."

"I've never held... haa... haa... a weapon in my life," Aksh panted, his voice cracking between breaths. "H-How do you expect me... to use an oppressive weapon now?"

There was a pause.

"Stop the battle," the voice commanded.

Instantly, the assault ceased. Aksh collapsed flat onto the ground, his chest heaving, limbs trembling from exhaustion.

"I will teach you," the voice finally said, quieter this time—but laced with a dangerous promise. "I will teach you how to wield a weapon."

"Which weapon are you going to teach me to wield?" Aksh asked, pushing himself off the ground. His wounds knit themselves together, the blood vanishing as his body regenerated.

The voice answered, proud and thunderous:

"A weapon that perfectly reflects the dignity of the Great Demon God."

"A weapon worthy of being wielded by a power as immense as mine."

"And you, as the inheritor of that power..." "You shall wield it too."

A pause followed—then a single word dropped like a divine decree:

"Trident."