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Aws felt something being placed in his hand. He turned toward Master Hilal and saw in his eyes that warm reassurance that feels like a hand gently patting the heart. Hilal spoke in his familiar calm voice:
"One of the divine customs is that a husband offers a gift to his wife. Its value may be modest, yes, but its meaning is higher than gold. It is to soothe her heart… for she leaves her family to come into your home. It does not have to be a specific object, but people have come to choose gold."
Aws nodded, feeling that the favors of his teacher were increasing day after day, as if the man were watering a garden inside him—one Aws had no idea how to repay.
They finally arrived, and the wedding ceremonies proceeded according to the traditions of crafting the marriage contract. Aws placed the golden ring on Shams' finger… and the rest of the rituals flowed like a beautiful dream lit by steady, peaceful breaths.
When the celebration ended, they all walked back: Aws and Shams holding hands with shy warmth, and Master Hilal and his wife walking ahead with quiet steps.
But that peace was not destined to last.
The ground trembled with a sudden roar… then an explosion thundered to the left.Hilal turned to see what was happening, and in the next heartbeat a violent impact shook the earth, splattering warm droplets across his face.
The sound of fire rose… its light stretching across the ruined square as if tragedy itself wanted to be seen clearly.
Hilal raised his fingers to the blood on his cheek, and something inside him refused to understand… until he turned.
A massive creature—a boar mutated with half-human features—stood beside him.
At its feet lay a pool of blood.
And in its hand… only the arm of his wife.
Shreds of her were scattered around him. The world collapsed away from Hilal, and time froze.
His eyes dimmed, as if life were slowly retreating from him.
The boar lifted its fist to crush him.
Shams' scream tore across the square:
"Master!"
Aws seized the hilt of his sword and leapt, even though he barely knew how to use it, even though he knew the distance was too great for him to reach in time before the fatal blow.
At Shams' terror… the ring on her hand lit up.
The ring she had brought from her old world.
A green, translucent dome formed around Hilal, and the boar's fist slammed into it.
Hilal was stunned… and collapsed to the ground, clutching his wife's severed arm as if it were the last remaining piece of his soul.
The dome began to crack…
And the boar raised its arm again.
Aws was closing in fast, his eyes sharpening… filling with fear… and a dread of losing the man who had been like a father to him.
His sword began to glow… and his eyes shone with something he had never felt before.
The dome shattered completely under the next punch.
And in the instant Hilal's life should have ended… Aws arrived.
He raised his sword and intercepted the blow.
But his skill was weak.
His body frail.
And the strike colossal.
The clash was not merely physical; the air itself exploded around the blade. A metallic spark arced like a line of light, and the earth compressed beneath his feet as though trying to swallow the violence of the impact.
Aws heard nothing except a sharp ringing, like a bell tapping inside his skull.
The boar lunged again, its strikes far too fast for a creature that size. Each punch sent a pressure wave crashing into Aws' chest, driving the air from his lungs. It felt as if he were suffocating every second.
With each blow… part of his soul wanted to flee.Another part, stronger and deeper, clung to this moment as if it were his only destiny.
Still… he did not retreat.
Then… he felt a strange power seep into his limbs.
A faint golden aura wrapped around him.
He pushed the sword with everything he had left, and the light pierced through iron and flesh, severing the boar's massive arm.
He did not cut it with skill.
He cut it with the resolve of someone fighting while knowing he might die… but must strike before the man who raised him was destroyed.
The creature's scream was loud enough to unsettle the sky.
Enraged, it swung its remaining arm.
Aws tried to block it, but his body could not endure.
The muscles in his arms burst; his legs numbed; he nearly collapsed.
A sharp metallic shriek sliced through the air.
The boar fell in two halves.
And between the severed pieces, amid the blood and smoke… stood a man with long crimson hair.
Aws' vision dimmed… and he lost consciousness.
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As for Shams… the moment the shield shattered, she felt a fierce stab in her chest.
Her body weakened suddenly, as if her life were draining away, as if she had not eaten for days.
She watched everything crumble around her: the town, the fire, the blood…
Her husband—whom she had married only moments ago—fighting until he tore himself apart.
Master Hilal collapsing… and his wife reduced to remnants.
A limb she recognized…
The woman who had been like a mother, a sister, a friend.The one who had prepared her wedding dress with loving hands… the one who had embraced her with warmth and joy.Now crushed and torn before her eyes, without even a chance to scream or plead.
Now she was nothing but scattered remains… voiceless, farewell-less.
Shams' tears blurred the world.
She stretched her trembling hand toward Aws, whose body was ravaged, his hands swollen, his blood flowing.
She raised her head and saw the crimson-haired man glance at them from the corner of his eye.
He said:
"Take care of them… you're the only one still conscious."
Then he turned… and vanished into the chaos.
And silence began swallowing the place… bit by bit.