I couldn’t believe my eyes.

City hall was encased in ice, creeping up the sheer walls in vast, glassy tendrils. Around it was built a castle, towering above the city, sparkling with the light of ten million stars. I had to look away. At the top, a tiny figure stood, his voice amplified so that it echoed clearly through the howling winds. “Do not be afraid,” he said. “For I bring tidings of great joy. This city has been chosen to be liberated from this wretched world. Even now, the agents of your salvation walk the streets, freeing you, whether you accept it or not. The time of humanity has come to an end. Now embrace it.”

Ecto’s voice faded. “You see?” asked Thea. “The time of liberation is at hand. You could join in this, lead the angels in our cause. Free humanity from its earthen shackles.”

“I will stop Ecto first. And then...”

“It’ll never end, you know,” said Thea. “You’ll never have enough information to know who is right. We or them. Not until every last demon lies slain, or you take a leap of faith and trust that I want what’s best for you.”

“You’re only looking out for yourself, too.”

“Perhaps,” she looked away. By now, the cars had stopped in the streets. The blizzard had only grown worse, snowdrifts piling high above my head far faster than had been forecast. Makeshift roads and trails were carved haphazardly through the snow, not by human hands or even machinery, but by some great and terrible creature.

So we walked along the winding paths, hand in hand. Though I heard the sounds of breaking glass, distant cries, and the rumbling of the Echoes, we encountered none of them. Only silence, the whistling of the wind.

Shuffling ahead.

An enormous Echo barred the way. A mountain of black, crumbling flesh with burning coals for eyes, bearing two horns on its head. The smaller of the two sat between its eyes, the greater towered above us, a huge plow to till the snow and ice that had the misfortune to enter its path. It rumbled, but Thea held out her hand, and it bowed, docile. She climbed onto its back, helping me up behind her.

The creature was warm. Gossamer black hairs covered its rocky flesh, which oozed hot ichor with every movement. It had been injured. Perhaps by someone struggling against it, perhaps simply by crashing into something sharp that lay hidden beneath the snow.

I held Thea’s hips as we moved forward. The Echo marched onward, clearing a path through the snow, towards city hall, towards the castle that towered above it. On its shoulders, only the soles of my feet touched the top of the snowdrifts, a comfortable vantage to watch the chaos around.

“Is this really what you want?” I asked.

“What?”

“You really want the world to end for these people? For them to freeze to death, cold, and isolated, or be torn apart by Echoes in the streets?”

“No,” said Thea. “I... we... want peaceful absolution. But because of the angels, because you would stop any action otherwise, the demons have grown cold and ruthless as well. Even Ecto is already so determined to use the bitter cold against you. To make the angels helpless as he liberates the people. They do not care anymore about the suffering they inflict upon the humans, though. It’s only collateral in their schemes.”

“So that’s why you want me to...”

“You’re prophesied among the angels. To be the one that fights against the demons, until her final breath, giving all her strength to banish us forever. But you know, the prophecy has been fulfilled before. This is not the first Calamity.”

“Calamity?”

“We struggle forever. Against the angels. Six times before, we’ve come this close, and closer. A new sphere of demons. A new attempt to bring the liberation to the earth. And six times, the angels brought forth their ‘saviour’. Their host of Vespa. Who averted our Calamity, but never fully ended us. And we have our own prophecy. That someday, the saviour of the angels will turn against them and finally liberate the people of this earth.”

“What, you think that’s me?”

“well, it’s a prophecy. You just have to live by them, right?”

“Shut it.”

Arriving at the entrance to the castle, it became clear just how magnificent it was. The light from here was nearly blinding, casting bold shadows onto the snow. The gates rose in front, towering over the icy ground, the castle proper expanding above like an upside-down mountain just kissing the earth. There were demons at the gate, flanked by swirling, shadowy Echoes. “Halt.”

“She is my prisoner,” said Thea. The demons standing at the gate seemed to buy it, nodding as we passed inside. So far, so good.

She helped me off the Echo we were riding, caressing the creature as it knelt in the antechamber. The room was surprisingly warm, sheltered from the blowing snow outside. Icy walls stretched up for hundreds of metres, a set of stairs carved into the material. Instead of doing that, though, Thea, ran her hands through the creature’s fur, dipping her hands in the hot ichor and pressing it against my back to warm my wings. In no time at all, they were in working order. I wrapped my arms around Thea and flew up to the top.

The inside was very busy. So many demons walking and talking through the halls, all in their pristine suits and ties. Some of them eyed me flying, but it seemed there was an understanding between them and Thea.

“They aren’t attacking,” I noted. “I can’t believe it worked.”

“They think that I have already convinced you of the truth. That is all. As soon as it becomes clear that you haven’t...”

“Is that what you told Ecto, too?”

“...maybe.”

“What happens when they find out that I don’t?”

“Just play along. You’ll get your opportunity.”

Above the stairwell, the castle spread out, branching like a tree into myriad crystalline spires. But we were heading towards the central one. Back outside, the wind and snow felt even colder. My wings quickly shuddered to a halt and we walked the remaining way, up the stairs leading up to the central spire where Ecto was.

Eyeing the rest of the castle, I felt a pang of uncertainty. So many demons. Who knew that so many had been right here among us this whole time. Between them, moved the shadowy, glitchy shapes of Echoes in all myriad of forms and functions, from tiny insects to enormous beasts that I couldn’t recognize. To try to kill them all would be... impossible. What was I even doing? Following some fatalistic prophecy as if I believed it?

“You still want to do this?” Thea asked.

“I... I need to try, at least.”

She sighed. “Okay.”

It was too late to turn back now, so I just kept following in Thea’s footsteps up the icy stairs. After an eternity, we reached the top, an icy, windswept platform overlooking the whole city. And standing at the very apex was Ecto.

He looked gorgeous. The white suit glittered, not in a tacky way, but with a gleam of sophistication and brilliance. The Echoed mammoth he was sitting on knelt, reaching up with its trunk to carry him down onto the ground. He smiled at me, chuckling to himself as he approached the two of us. “You brought her. Lovely.”

“Yes.” Thea roughly grabbed me and shoved me towards him. “She has accepted the truth of our message. She wishes to lead the angels into harmony with us. Now... stop this storm. We will liberate the earthlings peacefully.”

“Don’t make demands of me, Thea. Is this true, Quinn?” Close. So close. His icy breath was on my face. I was glad for my Imago’s helmet-like shell. I wouldn’t want to breathe it in.

“I... accept that you are correct,” I lied.

His eyes narrowed. “Okay, then. I have a test for you.”

“First, stop the storm,” said Thea. “Then you can test her all you want. That was her condition.”

“The test first,” he said, bringing forth two cages. I didn’t have to guess was what inside.

“Sarah. Heidi.” Both were in their Imagos. Sarah seemed calm, legs and arms folded in her lap. Heidi was the opposite, bashing furiously against the icy bars. Clearly there was more than just ice involved.

“They went looking for you, but they found us instead,” said Ecto. “Now, prove that you believe in this cause. Strike them down, Quinn. They refuse to accept it. They refuse to accept your choices. They refuse to let you be free. So liberate them yourself.”

The glaive materialized in my hands blade-first, icy-cold. I stepped towards Heidi’s cage. Heidi stared down the blade with apprehension. As expected, Ecto came close behind me. Deep breaths. Just a little bit closer and...

I thrust back, hard., hitting him straight in the stomach. As he staggered, I swivelled, the blade coming down in a high arc toward.. the cloud of birds when his body had been seconds ago.

“Okay, game’s up, Quinn.” He chuckled nervously. “I win.”

“You’re afraid of me.”

“Yes. I am. But I’m not the only one here, am I?” The pigeons carried him far up into the sky away from me. My own wings were nearly frozen, practically useless. Countless footsteps thundered up the stairs. Demons and Echoes and... so much. My glaive was ready. My body was ready. But I... probably wasn’t ready. As the amorphous wave of black and sickly scarlet raced towards me, I set my feet against the ice, steadied my arms, and braced myself for an impact that never came.

Because the clouds were split, and the winds were silenced, and the sun cut through the darkness. The sun! The light shone so brightly that the glimmering castle may as well have been asphalt. And from the light, I heard a voice.

Nep’s voice.

“Sorry for the delay. It’s a long flight from Mali.”