The sky blazed with black and red fire as it drowned out the cool, ocean blue. The ground rumbled violently as though the earth itself were trembling with fright. The towering mountain of Pompeii exploded in gusts of ashy clouds and crimson molten lava and they sunk like a wave off the ocean upon the people below. And oh, how they majestically burst into chaos!
A creature, easy to mistake for a bird, burst forth from the volcano's center and hovered mere feet above the mountain's orifice continuously spilling the fiery waters. Bearing strong black wings with red adorning the marginal covert feathers, the woman of scarlet hair and cyan eyes surveyed the scene of man's struggle against nature. She took a deep breath, practically smelling the fear radiating from the citizens who made to flee for the beach. Eireka tsked, disappointed... Humans truly are fucking hopeless.
She glided downward and gazed down gleefully at the product of her work as she hovered over the rooftops of the small city. Many caught sight of her and their fear escalated; some grew clumsy and frantic while others mercilessly tossed others aside to clear the way to salvation. Merchants attempted to save their spoils, families retreated to their homes for heirlooms, and the dead were left carelessly in the streets. This, in times of dire life and death consequences, was the true nature of the human race. Their caring and peaceful facade now lay wasted and what arose in its place was nothing but raw, mere greed. No matter how much they convinced themselves pure and evolved... deep down they were no better than demons born from the depths of Hell.
Eireka slowed to a descent, the red of her stola stained with the thick ash that plagued the air. She approached a dying man she had spotted, holding his throat with both hands as he choked on the filth consuming the skies. Eireka came into his line of sight and she bore a facade of apathy as the citizen's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. He attempted to swallow, a difficult task when his mouth and throat were coated with soot.
"Are you..." rasped the old man. He swallowed again. "... an angel of death?"
Eireka said nothing, surveying the man surely left behind to die in the advancing lava. Old as he was, it was no surprise he'd been abandoned. He was past his prime, his life already wilting away by the sight of his protruding ribs... Gradually, a slow and wicked smile crossed the demon's lips, eliciting wonderful whimpers of terror from her elderly victim.
"Oh, if only you were so lucky..." she purred maliciously.
There was something about the flow and color of blood that truly captured the beauty and essence of life. Cries of mercy filled the dark sky as it played like a symphony of music to Eireka's ears. She dragged the torture out, wishing to hear the screams and witness the dancing blood for as long as the man's life would allow, which was not long. Licking the blood covering her hand with satisfaction and gazing fiendishly at the man's mutilated remains, Eireka leapt back to the dark, burning skies in search of more prey to entertain herself with.
