LEGACY OF THE FALLEN
Chapter 7:
Aksh tightened his grip on the worn-out bag. The weight of 8000 mudras—everything he had, every shred of hope—pressed against his palm.
"I can't give you the money," he said, with the same dead eyes and no expression on his face. "I need it for my mother's treatment. But I'll do whatever you want… just let me go."
The sword-wielding man tilted his head. A cruel smirk came to his face.
"I can't do that," he said mockingly. "Rules are rules. We can't bend them according to your wish."
He took a step forward, reached Aksh's face.
The man's grin widened.
"But now my mood's changed. Leave the bag here… and scram back to the dirty slum you crawled from. Maybe then I'll let you leave."
Aksh slowly bent to put the bag down—but in a flash, he grabbed a fistful of dirt and threw it into the black-haired man's eyes. The man screamed, rubbing his face, blinded.
"You're dead, you brat!" he roared. "Catch him and bring him to me!"
The two officers behind him sprang into action, charging toward Aksh.
As one of them nearly caught up, Aksh suddenly leapt, planted a foot on the man's face, and used him as a springboard—blasting forward with renewed speed.
A sudden kick came from the side—but in a split second, Aksh ducked low, narrowly dodging the blow. Planting one hand on the ground, he spun his body upside down, using the momentum to land a sharp kick to the attacker's side. The force sent the man flying nearly two feet through the air.
The other officer caught his leg as he was spinning, but Aksh immediately grabbed the officer's leg with his hand and bit into it. The officer screamed and lost his grip. Aksh seized the moment—he pulled one leg forward with his hands and pushed the other back with his feet, sending the man crashing down. Without wasting a single second, Aksh jumped and landed his knee on the officer's face, breaking his nose and knocking out two of his teeth.
The first officer, while holding his side where Aksh had kicked him, ran towards Aksh, attempting to catch him. Aksh turned and stared at the officer, his eyes started glowing crimson red and his hair started turning up, a red aura began to form around his body. His voice, now deep and chilling, sounded like that of a demon.
"Stop it, or I will kill you."
The officer froze in place, paralyzed with fear, sweat poured down across his face.
Suddenly, a sword hilt slammed into the back of Aksh's head, and he collapsed, unconscious.
"Hah, we finally found him."
A dull ache throbbed at the back of Aksh's head. The scent of antiseptic filled his nose. White walls. A bed. He opened his eyes and jumped out of the bed and immediately scanned his surroundings. He was in a hospital room. The man with black hair was sitting in a chair beside him.
"So, you're finally awake," the man said, with a mockery in his voice.
Aksh instinctively get into a fighting stance, his eyes narrowed as he demanded, "Where is the money?"
The man grinned, clearly amused. "Oh, that? We used it for the treatment of the officers you injured. Don't blame me—it's your fault, after all."
"Give me the money! I need it to treat my mother before dawn!". Aksh replied loudly.
The man rolled his eyes, his annoyance clear. "What are you talking about? It's already noon. You fought us about 16 hours ago."
Aksh stood frozen, his eyes wide in shock. A storm of thoughts raged inside his head.
No… no, no, no… What about Mother? Is she—? No, that's not possible. It can't be. After everything… after all that struggle… am I still powerless? What's the point of it all? Maybe… maybe I should just die.
His breathing grew shallow. His vision blurred—not from injury, but from despair.
Then there was the sound of a sudden hit. Aksh turned. A woman in her early twenties, with short brown hair of ear length, a piercing in one of her ears, wearing a loose jacket over a sports bra and shorts with long boots, had hit the black-haired man on the head. Aksh hadn't noticed her before—maybe due to the chaos in his mind.
"You shouldn't joke about things like these, Arihant. Just look at the kid's face—how terrified he is."
"Ouch!! I was just messing around with him, Jasmine. Why do you have to be so cruel?" Arihant replied while rubbing his head.
Jasmine, with an annoyed expression, said, "Because you deserved it, you jerk." Then, with a louder voice, she said, "Bring them inside."
Then the door opened.
A wheelchair rolled into the room.
It was his mother.
She looked weak, pale, but alive. Her eyes softened the moment they met his. And his little sister was peeping from behind the wheelchair.
"Are you alright, son?" she asked gently.
Aksh didn't speak. His body moved on its own. He ran—no, crashed—toward her and dropped to his knees, throwing his arms around her legs.
And then… he broke.
A dam burst inside him. He started crying uncontrollably. Tears poured down from his face—everything he had bottled up, all of his trauma, spilled out. For the first time, there was an expression on his face—an expression of overwhelming relief.
His mother, with teary eyes, patted his head. "I am really sorry for making you worry, son," she whispered with a trembling voice.
Aksh, still crying, held her knees tightly. "It was so scary, Mother. I was scared that I might lose you forever."
Tejasvi slowly came and hugged Aksh from behind and started crying as well.
Aksh finally felt relieved, and the exhaustion from the past two days came crashing down on him. Still crying, he drifted into sleep on his mother's lap.
Arihant sighed and gently picked him up, placing him on the bed. "He's still just a kid after all... I think I went a little overboard."
Then, turning to Reena, he said, "I think we need to talk. Let's go to another room and let him rest."
In the other room, with the previous officer standing guard outside and Jasmine taking care of Tejasvi, Arihant and Reena began their conversation.
Reena, her face shadowed with sorrow, asked, "What are you doing here, Arihant? Weren't you always at war?"
Arihant, his expression calm and unbothered, replied, "I left the military that day—twelve years ago. Now, I do my own thing."
Reena looked at him, confusion and sorrow in her eyes, and asked, "Then why are you here? Why did you help us?"
Arihant scoffed. "The reason we're helping you is… that kid, Aksh. He's special, isn't he?"
She paused for a moment, then spoke with a serious look on her face. "Why him? Isn't he just a normal kid? He was already tested for Tejas—his core is broken. He's useless to you people."
Arihant smirked. "We're not that stupid. We already know that he successfully awakened his Tejas. As for why Dhruva couldn't sense it, there's a reason behind that too. And don't worry—we won't just take advantage of him. We'll provide you with a proper house in Trigarta and take care of all living expenses for the three of you."
"We don't need anything like that," Reena said firmly. "Rajit is dead, and for the first time, I've seen real emotion on Aksh's face. I can't throw him into a war now. We just want to live a normal life."
Arihant's expression darkened as he folded his arms. "Do you really think Aksh can live normally after everything that has happened to him? And do you really believe we wouldn't find out the little secret you're trying to hide?"
Reena stiffened for a second. "What secret are you talking about?"
Arihant leaned in, his voice turning dangerously soft. "So, you won't admit it, huh? Then let me be clear—we know that Rajit's death wasn't an accident."
A wide grin spread across his face as he stepped even closer, whispering, "He was murdered… by Aksh."