LEGACY OF THE FALLEN

LEGACY OF THE FALLEN

Chapter 23

"Trident? But I've never even seen a trident before. How am I supposed to create one here if I don't know what it looks like?" Aksh asked, stretching his sore limbs.

"Haha, don't worry about that," the voice chuckled confidently. "The Great Demon God shall bestow upon you a precious, divine memory—of himself wielding a trident. One glance is all you'll need to summon it."

Aksh paused mid-step. "Wait, you can share your memories with me?"

"Of course I can," the voice replied, almost smug. "Now close your eyes... and when the memory comes—summon the thing you see."

Aksh closed his eyes.

Red flames flickered around his right hand, and something began to materialize from thin air.

He opened his eyes and looked.

It was a jade-black colored trident, with the middle claw larger and the adjacent ones slightly smaller.

On the rod, something was engraved in ancient Sanskrit, a lost language that could not be understood by modern civilization.

"Is this the trident you used before becoming a ghost?" Aksh asked, swinging it around carelessly. "Shut up and don't disrespect it by swinging it so immaturely," the voice snapped.

"Straighten your back, hold it sideways, right foot forward, grip the front of the trident with your right hand and the end with your left hand. Your feet should be aligned at the same angle," the voice explained as Aksh tried to get into the stance.

"How is my stance?" Aksh asked, getting into position. The voice spoke in a light, calm tone. "Hmm, your stance is..." Then with a little pause it snapped. "It's absolutely pathetic. Are you trying to look like the most idiotic person in the world? Why is your ass sticking out and your back bent inward instead of straight? Your feet aren't even at the right angle, and the way you're holding it—absolutely disgraceful!"

After a few hours of continuous nagging, Aksh asked, sweating, "Is it alright now?" "Barely passable," the voice replied. "Now, you need to learn the four basic techniques of the trident."

"First is thrust—use all the muscles from your legs and arms to drive the trident forward with full force."

"Second is slam. The trident can also be used as a blunt weapon to slam your enemies into the ground."

"Third is swinging. You must be able to swing it fluidly around your entire body. Every angle, every direction. You should be able to cover and deflect any incoming attacks with it."

"And the last is slashing. Trident can also be used to slash the enemies with its sharp prongs.

 The trident's reach is longer than a sword, and it deals more damage than a spear thanks to its three claws. It can pierce, slash, and still function as a blunt weapon

That's why it is a weapon worthy of being wielded by a god."

"Now do each of these moves—ten thousand times," the voice ordered flatly.

"What the hell?! Four moves, ten thousand times each? That's forty thousand times! I'm a human, not some ghost like you, oldy!" Aksh shouted.

The voice didn't flinch. Instead, it replied coldly, "So you want to remain beneath that girl's feet forever? This is the bare minimum you must do if you even hope to force her to use more than half her power."

After an entire day of relentless training inside his mind world, Aksh finally completed his goal.

His body was drenched in sweat, his breaths was heavy. As he swung the trident one last time, his muscles gave out and he collapsed to the ground.

"Hahh... haah... I finally... completed it... without removing my fatigue even once..." Aksh muttered between laboured breaths.

But the voice offered no praise.

"Get up. Remove your fatigue, and begin the next phase—fight that girl's clone at 50% of her power. Implement everything you just trained... and survive through live experience."

Aksh rose into his stance, his body glowing faintly as the sweat from before vaporized into the air like steam. His grip tightened around the trident.

And then, an endless battle began.

The clone of Avni stood motionless at first—serene, unreadable—before erupting into a blur of motion. Branches burst forth from the ground, twisting and lashing out like vipers. Aksh deflected, dodged, and countered with everything he had learned. Thrust. Slam. Swing. Slash.

"Hahh... I'm about to win," he muttered, his voice a mix of pain and resolve.

His body was battered, covered in bruises and deep gashes. Several holes had been punched through him by razor-sharp branches. But in front of him—two of Avni's clone's branches lay shattered.

"I'll definitely land an attack on you this time!"

Aksh sprinted forward, heart pounding in his ears—but suddenly, it roared. A heartbeat louder than thunder.

THUMP.

He screamed holding his chest. His vision blurred.

And then—

He fell.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying flat on his room's wooden floor.

He wasn't at the training ground anymore.

The entire floor was drenched in sweat, and his clothes clung to him, soaked through.

He gasped, lifting a trembling arm to wipe his face.

"What the hell... happened...?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the voice replied, calm and slightly amused. "You were thrown out of your mind world because your mind couldn't endure any longer. You spent ten whole days in there, and for the last six, you were fighting that girl's clone—dying countless times."

Aksh blinked, rubbing his face with a groan as he pushed himself up from the wet floor.

"Oh, is that so?" he muttered. "Then why the hell didn't anyone come looking for me all these days?"

"Because," the voice replied, "it's only been a few hours in the real world."

Aksh frowned, stumbling toward the window. The air outside was still dark.

"Look for yourself. The sun isn't even out yet."

The voice fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

A normal human inside the mind world can't even last a single day. The moment they die—they're thrown out instantly. Even I… Even I was ejected after just seven days during my first time. But this child... he stayed there for ten full days... and died countless times.

How much pain must he have endured in life to forge a mind this unshakable?