The woman entered her home, gently placing her baby on a cloth. Then she took some bandages and covered the large wounds inflicted by the dogs. She put on an old garment of her husband's, hood included, covering her head. Her entire body, from hands to feet, was wrapped in bandages. Slowly, she closed her eyes, reopened them, and stared long at her sleeping child before leaving the house.
Erasa, intrigued, scratched her chin.
"I wonder what she's thinking," she murmured.
Without looking away, Lilith replied,
"Watch closely, you'll understand by yourself."
Boaz's mother entered an old library. Her strange appearance, almost like a witch from a fairy tale, drew all eyes. But she remained indifferent, focused on her goal. She took a mysterious book, little regarded by others because it told stories of mythical creatures. After assuring the owner she would return it the next day, she wrote her name on a paper and left. Back home, she read the book carefully, discovering drawings, strange symbols, and invocation words for metaphysical creatures.
"I think I understand," she murmured, scrutinizing the book.
She placed it on the table, took a knife, and cut her arm, letting her blood flow. With it, she drew a circle, arranged candles which she lit, then placed her son before the circle. Inside, triangular patterns surrounded a stylized eye at the center.
Boaz's mother stood behind her son, knelt, and began reciting prayers in a low voice before proclaiming:
"deus dolorum, deus bestiarum, deus scelerum, deus sanguineis, deus spei, deus vitae, deus mortis, deus neutralitatis, deus boni, deus mali amen dico tibi, veni, veni, veni, veni. Come, come Gilead, and Gilead, and come down Gilead."
The first time, nothing happened except a slight chill in the room. Unfazed, she repeated the incantation. The second time, grains of salt fell from the sky like rain over the village, sowing confusion. Inside, the baby began to cry, as if threatened by an invisible force.
At the third recitation, a powerful wind distorted the clouds, visible even from space. The village animals died instantly, their bodies decomposing visibly, while terrified villagers collapsed into a deep sleep under a rain of salt.
Baby Boaz screamed, his mother too. She then added the last words to her ritual:
"Ho dominates Gilead, per fluxum sanguineis mei te invoco ad fluxum lacrimarum mearum, ut ad me venias exoro."
At these words, a mysterious wind blew out all the candles, plunging the hut into darkness. A glow appeared at the center of the blood circle, revealing a male figure levitating, face and body entirely hidden under a white sheet.
Boaz's mother, nose bleeding but face lit with satisfaction, addressed the apparition:
"Are you the god Gilead?"
The silhouette replied coldly:
"Yes, I am Gilead. You dared to break the laws separating spiritual beings from physical beings. What you have done will cause irreparable anomalies in the future..."
Boaz's mother frowned, determined:
"I know, but I need a divine being to fulfill my greatest wish. I want my son to lack nothing, to become a god through you, to discover the world that will be his. I beg you, grant my wish!"
Gilead, impassive, answered loudly:
"You have transgressed the laws for a mere wish? Isn't that selfish?"
She looked away but replied firmly:
"Call me what you want, but I want to get what I desire, no matter the cost."
Gilead observed her silently, then resumed:
"Do you know that your act will now allow demons to possess you, that beings from the other world will come here because of your selfishness?"
She hesitated, then, eyes closed, answered confidently:
"Yes, I know and I don't care. I only want you to fulfill my wish. This world has caused me too much suffering; my son will compensate for what's missing later."
Convinced of her sincerity, Gilead declared:
"Very well, I will grant your wish, but I will need sacrifices."
Full of enthusiasm, Boaz's mother accepted:
"Take me as a sacrifice, and if that's not enough, take also the stranger who hurt me and his accomplices, except the one who saved me from the red ants. My son will pay the rest later."
Gilead smiled, intrigued by her determination, then concluded:
"Very well, you may say goodbye to life."
Boaz's mother's body slowly evaporated like smoke. Before disappearing completely, she cast one last look at her son:
"Be strong, my baby. You will do great things. I name you Boaz. You will be like a giant serpent above the universe..."
At the same time, the stranger and his men vanished, erased from existence except the one who helped her. Gilead, having completed the sacrifice, disappeared too, leaving Boaz alone.
After Boaz's mother's disappearance, Erasa, still beside Lilith, was nervous.
"Mom, why doesn't Gilead take care of the baby as agreed? He destroyed the mother, caused so much chaos... He only has one thing left to do..."
Lilith, without looking away, calmly replied:
"Watch closely what happens."
Lilith sped through memories. Erasa saw that Gilead regularly watched over the baby, meeting his every need without appearing directly. He protected him and provided everything, invisible but omnipresent. Little Boaz lacked nothing, neither food nor care. Gilead, as a god, perceived even the subtlest desires, even unspoken.
Years passed. Boaz was now four. He wandered the village streets, wearing a simple worn old cloth, which villagers watched with curiosity mixed with indifference. He saw children playing ball in tall grass. When the ball rolled to him, he picked it up and silently handed it to one child.
"Thank you very much, that's kind," said the child, surprised.
Boaz didn't answer, looked down, blushing slightly.
"You don't speak? What's your name?" asked another child.
But a companion immediately intervened:
"Stay away from this boy, Gilan! He's a spirit, no one knows where he comes from, he's mysterious and dangerous."
A murmur of fear ran through the group. Yet Gilan, the child facing Boaz, doubted. He saw more humanity than mystery in him.
"Are you sure he's a spirit?" he asked his friend.
Without a word, Boaz returned to the tall grass. The children watched him leave, intrigued.
Boaz settled under a tree in the forest. Leaves gently rose around him, plunging the place into a familiar gloom. He seemed used to this phenomenon.
Suddenly, a luminous mass darkened the clearing. Gilead appeared.
"Boaz, you are already four. Your mother entrusted me with a mission. It is time for you to begin your journey through the world."
Without much emotion, Boaz replied:
"All right, Lord Gilead."
Gilead disappeared immediately.
Boaz walked south, heart heavy. He wondered why other children feared and rejected him. He addressed Gilead in his mind.
"Lord Gilead, why are the other children afraid of me? Why can't I play with them?"
The divine voice resonated within him:
"Because you are not like them. At four, I gave you the wisdom of an adult. You are more mature than many humans because your mother saw in you what no one else could."
Boaz's eyes glowed faintly.
"My mother? She's dead... Why does she want me to do these things even after her death?"
"Because she cursed this world," answered Gilead. "This world deeply disappointed her. She wanted to give you a prince's life, but she was almost destroyed. Through you, the world will know misery, but you will lack nothing."
Boaz lowered his head, sad.
"Yet, I have no friends."
Gilead chuckled softly.
"To slow you down? You must fulfill your mother's will. She endured much more than you can imagine."
Boaz clenched his fist.
"I will do what she wants. It is my goal."
Despite his maturity, he kept the soul of a child, motivated by love for a mother he barely knew. He walked all day, barely a tenth of the country traveled. Exhausted, he asked Gilead:
"Tell me I've already done half the journey, please."
Gilead appeared.
"No, you are still far from traveling the whole country."
Boaz opened wide eyes.
"What? That's too long! No one can do that on foot!"
Gilead calmly replied:
"If you are tired, rest. Tomorrow, you'll resume the road."
Boaz yawned.
"All right, Lord Gilead."
The god gathered dead leaves by telekinesis, made a bed for Boaz, and covered him so he wouldn't catch cold. Boaz smiled, closed his eyes, and fell asleep peacefully.
Upon waking, he found around him unknown fruits, grilled fish, and various small dishes. Happy, he thanked the sun and Gilead before eating eagerly.
Erasa, still observant, wondered if Gilead was truly evil. Lilith, seeing her think, said:
"It's good to ask questions, but you will choose what you believe."
Erasa nodded.
Boaz drank from a stream then resumed his journey, walking hours, days, months. One evening, leaning against a tree, he said:
"Lord Gilead, I've walked a lot already, maybe half the world, no?"
Gilead appeared.
"You have traveled four-tenths of the country in eight months. Congratulations."
Boaz exclaimed:
"What? Just the country? That's impossible, no one can do that on foot!"
Gilead smiled.
"Keep walking. I am here, you will succeed, no matter how long it takes. Don't forget I am a god, and your mother believes in you, little rascal!"
Blushing, Boaz resumed his run, so joyful he bumped into a huge bear. Fear seized him, but he closed his eyes and protected himself. When he reopened them, the bear was dead, gutted, its entrails spread around.
"Lord Gilead? Did you kill the bear?"
Gilead appeared.
"Yes. Don't worry, focus on your path. If you're tired, rest."
Boaz burst into tears and hugged Gilead.
"Thank you, thank you! I thought it was the end!"
Gilead, without apparent emotion, felt Boaz's sincerity.
"You had a shock. Rest."
Boaz begged:
"Stay with me, Lord Gilead."
Gilead answered softly:
"I am always here, even when you don't see me."
Boaz, tears in his eyes, wanted to feel the divine presence like a child seeks that of his parents.
"Don't leave, stay close to me, please..."
Then he fell into a deep sleep. Gilead covered him with his white cloak and meditated, holding him close.
The next day, Boaz pretended to sleep to prolong this feeling of safety. Gilead guessed.
"Stop pretending. Your journey won't make itself. It's time to leave again."
Then he disappeared abruptly, causing Boaz to fall, rubbing his head.
"Ouch... Lord Gilead, that was sudden."
Boaz got up, noticed no food was left, but he wasn't hungry. Maybe an effect of Gilead, who knew what he needed.
He resumed walking, crossing seasons. At eighteen, he arrived in a wealthy neighborhood where well-dressed children looked down on him.
A rich man dropped money. Boaz picked it up and went to return it.
"Sir, you dropped this."
The man looked at him with disgust.
"What do you want, dirty wild kid? Keep your money to buy decent clothes, ha ha!"
He walked away, leaving Boaz perplexed.
"But... I just wanted to return what's yours."
Gilead's voice echoed in his head.
"He doesn't want it. Keep going, your path is long."
Boaz threw the bill on the ground and continued.
Years passed. He crossed a frozen continent despite biting cold and insufficient clothes.
"Do I really have to go through here?" he shivered.
Gilead replied:
"No place is avoidable. I will keep your body temperature constant and create a warm aura around you."
Thanks to this, Boaz no longer suffered from cold. Six years were enough to cross this continent.
At nineteen, tall and handsome, he arrived in a town where a group of youths was mistreating a little girl.
Boaz rushed in, separating the attackers.
"Why are you hitting this child? It's inhuman!"
The youths thought he was crazy.
"You, in rags, get lost or you'll end up like her!"
Boaz frowned.
"Why hurt her so much? Think of her parents!"
The boys laughed.
"She started by throwing stones at us."
"No matter, you'll taste our anger!"
They beat him relentlessly, leaving him exhausted.
"Too bad for him," they laughed. "He'll die."
They left, leaving Boaz bloody, with a broken arm.
He approached the girl, touched her neck, seeking her pulse.
"She has a fever, but she's alive. Lord Gilead, why didn't you intervene?"
The divine voice answered:
"You should have called me. I didn't see the need to eliminate those men personally, but if you had deemed it necessary, I would have."
Boaz looked at the girl, then asked:
"Can you heal her, please?"
"If that is your wish," replied Gilead.
Instantly, their wounds disappeared. Boaz stood up, ready to continue his journey.
"Keep going," said Gilead.
Boaz looked at the sleeping girl.
"I can't leave her here. If the others come back, she'll be killed."
"That's not your problem."
"I know, but let's wait for her to wake up, please."
Gilead appeared, nodded, then disappeared.
Alone, Boaz and the girl remained, while he gazed at the horizon, thinking of his mother.