In the command tent, Commander Salam stood with his back straight, reviewing the reports of the recent battle with gravity, while Firas stood before him, listening to the final analysis of the situation.
Firas said in a low voice, "Sir, as you said, it was indeed a trap. An attempt was made to injure Shams in order to affect Aws's mental state."
Salam nodded calmly, as if he had read the enemy's movements before they happened. "Well, we had no actual losses. Zahra did not die... To gain the maximum result, we had to pretend to fall into their trap. In doing so, we drew them to us and harvested many heads."
Firas furrowed his brows in question. "How did you know Zilal leaked the information?"
Salam looked at him with the gaze of an experienced commander. "That is the prerogative of a leader... Do only what is dictated to you. The enemy knows we are in a position that does not allow us to continue the war, so I will secretly prepare the army for an all-out attack with all our might."
Salam took a step closer to Firas, casting the new mission upon him with a tone of significance. "Therefore, your new mission for now is to attempt to lure Aws and Shams under the guise of training, and to extract as many potions of healing and cleansing attributes as possible to support the army in continuous combat by removing curses and healing wounds."
Firas bowed in obedience. "At your command, Commander."
In the field hospital, the nurse was finishing changing the bandages on Zahra's deep wounds. Hilal stood outside, leaning against the wall, the moments when she leapt in front of him to take the fatal blow instead of him flashing through his memory. The nurse exited after finishing, and Hilal entered the room with heavy steps, sitting on the chair as he looked at the sleeping patient with features filled with sorrow and gratitude.
Shams entered the room quietly and greeted Master Hilal in a faint voice. She approached the bed and began to channel her warm green aura, which started to wrap around Zahra's body, entering her pores to repair what had been shattered.
After several minutes, Shams finished and sat on a chair near Hilal, looking at him hesitantly before saying: "...Mm... Master... Zahra respected you greatly."
She fell silent for a moment, then continued, as if revealing a secret that had to be told. "Your teaching of us was easy and smooth. Whenever someone made a mistake, you advised them calmly and repeated what we didn't understand many times. You didn't favor anyone over the other, especially since Aws and I are your direct students, but you didn't distinguish us in teaching; rather, you exerted all your effort with everyone..."
She took a deep breath and added, "So... Zahra had begun to admire you little by little. You had started to occupy a place in her heart, but it is different from your place in all of our hearts."
Shams stood up and left quietly, leaving Hilal astonished, drowning in his thoughts, rearranging the situations of the past with a new eye.
In the training grounds, Aws was training seriously, wielding his sword and moving with agility. "Hey, buddy!" Firas approached Aws, nudging him with his elbow in feigned cheerfulness. "Where is your sweetheart? Aren't you two entertaining yourselves together?"
A broad smile appeared on Firas's face, but Aws pushed his face away gently and said with clear seriousness: "What do you think I am... a tree stump?!... I realize we are in a war and our colleague is injured."
Firas laughed lightly. "Oh... so only because we are in a war... haha."
Aws turned away in annoyance to leave him, but Firas grabbed his arm, and quickly changed his tone to seriousness. "I have an idea instead of wasting time waving the sword."
Aws turned his face toward him. "What?"
Firas said in a convincing tone, "You saw the importance of extracting sacred potions in neutralizing magic. What do you think if we are attacked again by magic or curses?"
Aws stopped to think, so Firas continued, striking a sensitive chord with Aws. "And this will be better training for us to try and understand the Divine Texts, and to increase our closeness to God to increase our abilities."
Aws recalled his situation when he used the holy water, then nodded in agreement. "But where will we do that?"
Firas replied quickly, "I borrowed some texts and a large pot from the Commander for us to use in training. We will put the product in bottles... Let's go to my room."
They began to move, and on their way, they found Zilal sitting in a shady spot, looking at the horizon, completely absent-minded. Aws made to call out to him, but Firas stopped him with quiet firmness. "Don't you see he is burdened with worry? Leave him to recover so he can be in his best state for the battle."
They continued on their way until they reached Firas's room. They started training, reading the texts and then discussing them. They even brought some books and looked at their explanations. It was a long and interesting day, in which Aws enjoyed discussing the "Divine Path," especially since it wasn't a teacher-student instruction, but an open discussion and diligent research with his companion.
At the end of the day, Aws had made up his mind and said with enthusiasm, "I will invite Shams to accompany me in this enjoyable training." He asked Firas's permission to bring her next time. Firas agreed quickly, and a broad smile was on his face that he couldn't suppress—a smile that gave Aws goosebumps and hesitation for a moment, but he ignored it with good intentions. And of course, let us not overlook the fact that Aws is currently learning, so he maintained his prayers to God during the training.
After Aws left, Firas began to gather the books and arrange them, and he bottled the water in which the sanctity had been extracted into vials. He was proud of his great progress in the mission entrusted to him by the Commander.