Boaz rose, still shaken by what he had just experienced. His eyes scanned the space around him, confused.
Boaz:
"What… Where am I? And you, Erasa… You're alive? That's impossible. I killed you. I… violently annihilated you. Yet, I no longer felt your presence. Your energy had vanished, as if blown away."
Sitting calmly, almost mockingly, Erasa smiled faintly.
Erasa:
"I only needed a few fragments of my blood. A few members of my lineage… And here I am again."
Boaz froze, caught off guard.
Boaz:
"How?…"
She did not answer. Her eyes, shining with a new fire, fixed on his, seemed to pierce his soul. Boaz perceived in her what he had never seen before: a calm strength, relentless tenacity, an almost divine mastery. He burst out laughing in disbelief.
Boaz:
"Hahaha… Erasa. What have you become? You're no longer the one I faced. There is… something else in you. Tell me, what transformed you?"
Erasa slowly stood, taking the sleeping Zémira in her arms.
Boaz, surprised, stepped back.
Boaz:
"Zémira?…"
Erasa:
"You still remember her, it seems."
Boaz frowned.
Boaz:
"How did you find her? Lord Gilead killed her. I saw it with my own eyes."
Jérôme, silent until then, stepped forward, intrigued.
Jérôme:
"Lord… what?"
But Boaz ignored him, focused on Erasa.
Boaz:
"No matter. Erasa, if you still stand in my way… I will face you. Again and again, if necessary."
He raised his hand, ready to strike. But Jérôme leapt forward and grabbed his wrist firmly.
In Jérôme's dark gaze, Boaz thought he saw something… a spark he had only known in one person: the former Erasa.
Jérôme:
"If you want to reach Lord Erasa… you'll have to go through me."
Boaz narrowed his eyes.
Boaz:
"A mere human… stop me? You must be joking, Jérôme."
But Erasa stepped in, placing a hand on Jérôme's shoulder.
Erasa:
"This is neither the place nor the time. Jérôme, let it go."
Reluctantly, Jérôme released Boaz. Erasa, still holding Zémira, approached.
Boaz, eyes fixed on the little girl, asked softly:
Boaz:
"Is she… your daughter?"
Erasa shook her head.
Erasa:
"No. My best friend."
Boaz smiled, almost fascinated.
Boaz:
"You're even more beautiful than before, Erasa… I wonder what I feel. Maybe… love? Hahaha…"
But she stared at him with disarming seriousness.
Erasa:
"Boaz. Look at me. Do you really want to kill me? Is that truly your wish?"
Boaz lowered his eyes, voice softer.
Boaz:
"No. I… I never wanted that. But I have no choice."
Mr. Ben, who had been standing back, opened his eyes wide.
Mr. Ben:
"What?"
Boaz:
"It's… a long story."
Erasa then raised her hand. A dreamlike light shot forth and Nehemi appeared in a mystical halo.
Boaz, astonished:
"Nehemi?"
Nehemi, confused:
"Where am I? Master Boaz?"
Boaz nodded slowly.
Erasa:
"Boaz… We have no reason to be enemies. Gilead is the only danger. Let's help each other instead of destroying one another."
Nehemi:
"Erasa…? The Erasa?"
Erasa:
"The very same. Pleased to meet you."
Nehemi hesitated, then smiled.
Nehemi:
"Well… pleased to meet you."
A brief, almost peaceful silence preceded Boaz's solemn declaration.
Boaz:
"Gilead… He must be stopped. I know I won't make it out alive. But I have to fix my mother's mistake."
Nehemi:
"Your mother? What mistake?"
Jérôme, mockingly:
"Shh. Listen, instead of chatting."
A loud smack: Nehemi hit Jérôme, leaving him with a bump.
Jérôme:
"Ow! But why?!"
Nehemi:
"Don't give me orders, idiot!"
Their bickering made the group smile, lightening the mood for a moment.
Boaz continued, serious:
Boaz:
"We have to destroy the gods' access routes. If everyone connected to Gilead gets here… we'll be annihilated."
Erasa, tense:
"Do you know how?"
Boaz:
"Yes. These paths are like a cosmic ocean, infinitely vaster than our universe. The north has countless layers, the west has fifty million, and the east between five hundred thousand and a hundred thousand."
Everyone pictured the enormity of the task.
Nehemi:
"You want to go alone?"
Boaz:
"It's my duty."
Mr. Ben:
"We have to hurry. A god could appear at any moment."
Boaz:
"Jérôme will help me. He's reached the required level."
Jérôme, stunned:
"Me? Really?"
Erasa:
"You can do it. You've proven it."
Jérôme:
"Okay… But what if I run into a god?"
Erasa:
"We'll improvise."
Boaz:
"Nehemi will come too."
Nehemi:
"Understood."
Boaz:
"Jérôme: west. Nehemi: south. Me: north. Let's go."
The three vanished, leaving a void of hope behind them.
In a dimension of nothingness, Boaz opened three portals.
Boaz:
"Here, only a will of iron can transcend time and space. Be ready."
Each went to their area. Jérôme, in the west, faced a strange, vast world covered in viscous matter. Divine castles dotted the horizon. He threw an aura sphere. A wave of destruction engulfed the entire region.
They met later at Erasa's castle.
Nehemi:
"Finally. You're slow, Jérôme."
Erasa:
"The paths are destroyed. What will happen now, Boaz?"
Boaz, grave:
"Gilead will find us. He knows everything. He will come."
Zémira arrived with a steaming dish.
Zémira:
"Erasa, look! I cooked for you!"
Erasa tasted it. A shiver ran through her. She blushed.
Erasa:
"It's… delicious. Too good, even…"
The others burst out laughing.
Boaz, admiring:
"Erasa… You intrigue me. Who have you become?"
Erasa:
"A demonarch. And maybe soon a primordial demon."
Boaz:
"I don't know those titles… but I have a request."
A silence. Everyone listened.
Boaz:
"I won't survive the fight against Gilead. But Nehemi… she's like Zémira is to you. Protect her, I beg you."
Erasa hesitated. Madame Élodie spoke up.
Madame Élodie:
"You're asking a lot, Boaz. But she'll do it."
Erasa:
"I'll watch over Nehemi. You have my word."
Boaz:
"Thank you. You're an angel in a demon's body."
Erasa:
"Angels live in hell too, sometimes."
Jérôme, grumbling:
"Alright, are you done? And Gilead?!"
Boaz, thoughtful, smiled faintly.
Boaz:
"By destroying the routes… maybe we've trapped him in an astral place…"