Boundary Bay. Waves lapped at the beach, lit by the sun setting behind us. Thea was there, a few Echoes standing by her side, overlooking the water. From down on the beach, it was peaceful. A gentle breeze blew in from the ocean. I’m sure it would’ve felt nice through my hair, but I was in my Imago.

From up in the sky, it was terrifying.

The ocean opened washed over a vast pit, black and bubbling. It was a sinkhole kilometres wide, that seemed to drop endlessly into the depths of the earth, where the water met its entrance, reality cracked and bent, a tear in spacetime. The ships sailing over it were blissfully unaware of its presence, but for me, it was unbearable. I couldn’t look at it for more than a few seconds before my temples ached and eyes closed of their own accord. It didn’t belong here. It couldn’t belong here.

“What is that?”

“That’s where Echoes are born,” she said. “A nursery. The heart of Ecto’s plan. Of our plan. You see? The entrance is open because I am here. It hears my call as a demon. Inside, they’re still growing, but the time is coming soon for them to emerge.” She gently stroked the Echoes beside her. “Not like my little friends, either. A real Echo. Something big.”

Big? “Wait, so these aren’t—”

“You didn’t think that these were what Echoes are, did you? These little things?” She picked up a rock off the beach and tried to skip it. “Well, I haven’t seen any real ones yet, but the stories they tell me, Quinn. Enormous creatures that shaped the world. The power to accomplish what was needed. To liberate you humans. Bring you to paradise.”

“The Echoes do that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Liberation from the shackles of Gaia. These vessels and dirt and dust that you occupy. Freeing your spirits.” She grabbed my wrist. “Your bodies will crumble away to dust, see. Your spirits will be free to join Elysium in the skies above.”

What? “Wait, so you are going to kill everyone. I thought you disagreed with the other demons. That you—”

“I do. They have these grand plans of war against the angels. Endless battles, endless fighting for revenge, payback for grudges in ages long, long past. The angels are the same. They only seek to fight, to keep you humans shackled to Gaia, complacent and servile, throwing away your lives in service for their stupid cause.” She threw another stone, bouncing twenty or so times off the waves before sinking into the depths.

“Our power... it’s Gaia’s power,” I muttered. That’s what Vespa had said. “We’re protecting the earth, aren’t we?”

Thea smiled. “You still don’t understand at all, do you? It’s Gaia’s power you have, earthlings. Not your own. Not the earth’s. And as the angels and demons continue to fight, more Echoes will arise, more pain, more suffering. Why do the demons want that?” She sighed. “Why do the angels want that? Why not simply accept your liberation from this place? Why fight? It’s inevitable. We can wait out your pathetic lifespans, or we can bring you to paradise. It should be an easy choice.”

“The way to paradise is by dying?”

“It’s not death,” she chided. “it’s freedom. You don’t understand. You’re too limited by that body made of dirt. I hoped you’d get it. We don’t have to fight. Let the liberation come. Let go of your body and wake up in Elysium.” She looked away. “Well, it wouldn’t work for you. Not for angels. Those stupid rocks implanted in your necks, keeping you anchored to the dirt and dust that you’re made of.”

“In my neck?”

“Didn’t you feel it? When you became Vespa’s host? The crystal embedded in your spine, to make you an angel, to bind you to the earth, forever, to destroy any possibility of freedom or immortality or paradise. Oh my, they’re getting really bad at showing you the fine print, aren’t they?”

I felt the back of my neck, again. Was that really true? I remembered the sharp pain. Vespa sting, perhaps?

“You see? You can trust me. I only want to bring your salvation from this rock. And I want to do it without all this fighting. Ecto wants to just destroy you. Torture angels. Lots of angels. Especially... what’s her name, again? Heidi?”

Waves crashed over the pit. Something huge and black stretched out, like a vast tentacle, prehensile muscles of rock and glowing blood grasping at the air. It must have been twenty metres long. The air seemed to dissolve its matter, though, and it quickly recoiled back beneath the waves.

“You’re threatening them?”

“I’m stating what will happen, Quinn. The real Echoes are coming. You saw that, right? That’s not even the least of things. You guys don’t stand a chance if you fight. I don’t want any of you to get hurt. Unlike all the demons out there.”

“I...” I should tell Nep, right? I should tell them about this place. That a big Echo was coming. Or even more than one. “I need to go think about this.”

“Don’t tell them,” said Thea, as if reading my mind. “You tell them that this is coming, and Ecto will attack for real. If you just accept this is coming, let it come as a surprise, I’ll bargain. Nobody will get hurt. I’ll make sure to remove the crystals, let you all join the rest of the people here in Elysium.”

“What do you want me to do? Just take your word that we won’t just cease to exist?”

“Well...” she bit her lip. “I could always show you Elysium in person. But we’d need to go to Ecto’s office.”

Go back? Why was I even considering this? Such an obvious trap. And yet... “Give me more time.”

“There isn’t much time, Quinn. I need to know that you won’t fight me. That you’ll let me liberate this place. I—”

“Just give me more time.” The muscles in my chest roared to life, wings carrying me up over the water and north back towards the city centre. I saw her look up at me, staring for a good few minutes before calling the echoes to her and walking up the beach. As the left, the deep pit in the ocean closed up slowly, the myriad red eyes within blinking out one by one.