"In closing, human nature is of course, by its very design, one that has developed to ensure its continued existence at any cost,"

The professor continued speaking in his lecture, his crisply worn button down shirt and red business tie straight and neat, professional as always. His voice carried throughout the auditorium, there were a few students in the back, up the rows of wooden seating and he made a point of trying to enunciate so that they could absorb the information he was providing. The room was shaped in a standard, “U,” format, giving the entire class a clear and unobstructed look at the instructor who now spoke with enthusiasm on their psychology lesson for the day.

Anthony tried to sit up straight for the fifth time in the lecture, he was having trouble focusing. The topic, while interesting, wasn't holding his attention well at all so close to the end of class and he allowed his thoughts to wander away from his education. As he glanced up and away from the college instructor, his eyes scanning around the room for anything of interest, but inevitably found an attractive girl he'd noticed for a few weeks now as he came every Wednesday and Friday to the class.

Anthony was sitting in the left flank of the curved U in the amphitheater style seating arrangement, the girl he had an eye for sat about fifteen meters away in the center most portion of the class. She was alone for the most part, no one was seated anywhere near her and she appeared to be writing in one of her notebooks, though it was clear what she scribbled down wasn't related to the lecture, she never actually stopped to look up and listen. Anthony thought back to earlier in the month when he had exchanged a small conversation with her after he hadn't caught the details of an assignment. As he gazed over at her now, and remembering the light-hearted encounter that had taken place between them, he reflected on how attractive she was.

As Anthony rolled his pen in between his fingers, he'd forgotten he had began to stare over and away towards her, then seemingly reading his thoughts, or perhaps just because she could feel someone was watching her, the young female brunette glanced up from her notebook and her eyes shot over instantly to meet Anthony's. Her iris' were brown and perfectly sized, matching the same dark shade of her long, slightly curled hair, and at that instant were fixated on him in what could almost be considered a threatening leer. She wore what seemed to be a decorative, yet simple white t-shirt, the arms of which were long sleeved and stitched with black trim and designs of shapes reminiscent of diamonds or jewels. Though concealed well, it was abundantly apparent to Anthony, his base male desires inevitably taking a reflexive glance towards her chest, that she was curved pleasantly in all the typically appealing parts of her figure.

Her eyes though were still locked in his direction, and as they narrowed to display open displeasure, Anthony looked away hurriedly. It was obvious to the pair of them both that he had been staring, and the fact that he'd been caught doing something that evidently displeased her made him involuntarily swallow hard in discomfort as he quietly cursed himself. Anthony looked down and stared at his own notebook paper for a moment, trying to gather and control his thoughts as they promised to haunt him without remorse.

The girl who'd caught him staring, Mira, kept looking at him despite his clearly fearful aversion. He was about her age, mid twenties, and he was at least somewhat attractive, short hair the same shade of color as her own, and a slender but noble face. The brown haired woman had noticed him as well over the previous few weeks they'd spent in psychology together, though she knew her attention wasn't eyeing him for the same reason she had just caught him looking over at her.

Mira could tell he had a, "thing," for her, boys were always so easy to see right through when it came to their little hearts and desires. She pondered this for a moment as she examined him, her thoughts began to swirl, starting out as just teasing possibilities of entertainment, like the waves and wind of a cycling ocean storm before it developed into a full blown hurricane. As she thought and reflected to herself what she craved most of all from him, she decided to plan how she might go about getting it. The young man seemed like a fairly decent choice, nothing about him screamed he would be a problem for her to handle should she give him a try. For like the hurricane, her darkest, most private desires involved one thing and one thing only; absolute destruction.

"So, last thing before everyone heads out for the evening!" The professor said in a louder voice, pulling Mira's attention away in an instant from her silent scheming.

"This weeks assignment will require a partner, you'll need to set about 30 minutes aside to meet up with one another and answer this list of questions on the board."

As he nearly finished speaking, the instructor pulled one side of his dry erase surface away and revealed a series of about five psychological queries, clearly designed to not just test everyone on their knowledge, but illuminate the students to the finer machinations of the human mind. As Mira read them, she couldn't help but feel a delicious wash of pleasure roll over her at the thought of using this conveniently assigned project to enhance her plans. A smile that to anyone else might have been attractive, fractionally raised the right side of her mouth in a smirk, if anyone else had known however why she smiled, they'd have been horrified.

"So pair up ladies and gents, and I'll see you all next week to discuss your answers, make them interesting! And honest! I promise it'll be much more fun that way!"

The professor turned away and headed back towards his desk at the corner of the room to gather his things, all the students in the auditorium were standing and collecting their possessions as well, most were in pairs or in groups already, discussing with each other who had found a partner and who hadn't. Anthony placed his notebook in a single zipper, black backpack as he stood, looking up and around he tried to find an available partner himself.

To the young man's alarm, Mira had already packed up and was making her way straight over to him, she had over her right shoulder the strap of a book bag of some kind, and he could see now that she wore plain blue jeans and regular blue tennis'.

"M-Mira," stammered Anthony as she approached to within speaking distance, he was nervous beyond comprehension, was she about to publicly make a scene due to his ogling? Would she scream or shout at him, call him a creep or any number of other insults that might scar him for life? As Anthony's heart began to rush and his mind panic, he tried to continue as best as he could. He pleaded wordlessly with her to remain calm and allow him to make his excuses for the offense, this situation easily becoming the most uncomfortable instant of inappropriate behavior he'd ever been a part of.

"H-Hey, if this is about earlier I-"

"Its not," she said flatly, arriving a few arms reaches away from him and resting her weight to one side of her body on her left leg. A bit of her long, flowing brown hair trailed down and before her face, accentuating the menacing look in her eyes which hadn't seemed to soften in the slightest.

Anthony shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. He visibly tried to regain control of his breath as she continued.

"I don't have a partner, and by the looks of it neither do you. If you help me do well with this question thing, we can call it even," she pauses for a brief second, tactfully using her posture, feminine charm, and the situation to curve her prey's answer and steer him towards the direction of her web.

"Unless of course, you don't want to be my partner?"

"Ah no, no, that's fine!" Anthony recovered, quickly seizing his chance to hopefully make things right with the beauty standing before him.

"No, yeah, that's fine. I'm sorry about earlier, really. I... I just couldn't help but notice your very pretty."

Mira's eyes narrowed but she allowed a tiny smile to break her lips,

"Thanks," she said, trying to sprinkle an additional tone just a bit higher than neutral, "Anthony was it?"

"Yeah," the young man said nodding and trying to act nonchalant, he was a little at ease knowing she wasn't going to cause an embarrassing scene, and now he might have even started to enjoy the conversation. He was hoping for a lot more time with her, and maybe even if things went well enough they could look back on this whole situation and laugh that the awkward memory.

Holding out a piece of folded notebook paper in between her fingers, the tips of which were a polished shade of black, she handed him her cell phone number already prepared for Anthony to use, he took it and looked at it with a slight blush before placing it in his pant's pocket.

"Text me and I'll send you my address, my apartment isn't very far from here and I don't feel like spending any more of my night here at school. I'm only free for the next day, so let's try and knock this out tonight."

The boy who was just slightly turning red nodded obediently as she concluded issuing her terms with him. Anthony knew he was indebted to her for his inappropriate actions earlier, so he understood she was going to dictate how this whole temporary partnership was going to transpire and he decided to try and avoid conflict by simply going along with it and complying.

"Yeah, sure, sounds good," the young man said without resisting.

Mira took one last silent look at him, her eyes sharp like razors and her utter physical stillness seemingly inhuman in a strange way he couldn't quite put his finger on as he stared back.

Then, she took a few steps away and went around him without speaking a word more, as she passed him Anthony saw her eyebrow raise and a smirk appear on her face. He didn't turn and follow her with his eyes as she walked down the steps and towards the nearest exit, he honestly was too afraid to even look at her again, and he wondered to himself how he'd survive an hour or two more with her, alone in her own apartment no less. As his worries for the future, unbeknownst to him, found themselves on an oddly, somewhat prophetic path, he began to walk out of the room himself.

Up in the highest corner of the auditorium, sitting beneath the shadows of the ceiling where lights from the roof were burned out and dead, a figure wreathed in the blackness of un-light tossed another potato chip from its small bag into its mouth, the canine teeth of the humanoid being's smile curiously pronounced and sharp.

Its eyes narrowed and the smile on its face grew as the dark encompassed the area around the thing's chosen vantage point to sit and observe. The evening was beginning now, the sunset of the day was burning out slowly as the night crept ever forward without pause, and by all accounts the poor boy had only a few hours to live.

Another salty chip crunched between its teeth as it watched Anthony Drewgann leave the hall with the last of the students in the lecture, the human teacher following close behind with his business bag and coat. The instructor held the door open and paused, looking around the classroom briefly and seeing no remaining pupils of his charge within the building. Without a second thought, the man clicked the lights off and headed out the door and home like most of his students, the heavy metal of the exit slamming shut with a loud, echoing thud. The creature high above remained as if nothing had changed, taking another bite of his completely unnecessary snack.

The humanoid form stared with yellow, glowing eyes into the empty air, as if watching a film or an event of great importance playing out before his unblinking gaze, and as it stared, it began to laugh.

+ + + +

Anthony finally knocked after what seemed like hours of mental preparation, the cool chill of the evening weather piercing through gaps beneath his sweater and brushing his hand as it came out of his pocket to strike the wood of the door. He had his backpack on thrown over one shoulder, his eyes cast around nervously as he felt apprehension prickle its way up his spine for what felt like the thousandth time today.

It was windy outside, adding to the bone brittling cold of the night, he hoped Mira answered soon, the short walk from his own apartment had worn down on him and he was eager to be indoors again. The gusts of air crackled the branches of nearby trees and brushed the grass as it blew to and fro, other than that however, the night was ominously silent.

Suddenly feeling like he hadn't prepared himself nearly enough for the encounter, the deadbolt of the apartment entrance clunked over and the door opened, revealing the simple one bedroom home's interior, along with its sole occupant.

Mira stood in the doorway, blue cotton sweatpants and a matching sweater concealing most of her body. Anthony saw that under the light jacket, she had on a clean white tank top, exposed by the garment covering it being purposefully left unzipped.

"Uhm, hey?" Anthony said, unable to hide the widening of his eyes and the warm wash over red coming over his face.

"I-I, I um," the overwhelmed young man swallowed anxiously as he tried and failed to formulate a complete sentence.

Mira simply smiled in response, closed her eyes, and shook her head slowly back and forth, not hiding the fact that she found the poor sod's heart and mind so easily manipulated.

Standing to one side, holding the door open, Mira finally broke the new moment of silence, beckoning him inside with a single extended index finger.

"Come on lover-boy, I'm sure its cold out there."

Anthony almost physically had to shake himself back to reality as he heard Mira talk, her voice was a little deeper than the typical high pitch of girls her age, but it was still very attractive, and faintly held the tone of a sensual, alluring tease.

The stiffened boy came inside quickly and stood the side of his host as she shut the door and locked it, this wasn't something that bothered him of course, she obviously lived alone and the action probably just reflected her habitual caution, so he thought nothing of it.

Now inside the apartment, Anthony could see it had a small living room with a pair of two dark green fabric couches facing a flat screen television, and a kitchen that was behind that, straight ahead of the front door about ten meters away. The tile of the kitchen was shined white and the counter tops appeared the same. The only other thing besides the obvious refrigerator and microwave was a small black dining table with four chairs of the same set.

A nice little place, as he reflected to himself, the only thing he couldn't see was down a single hallway near where the plain brown carpet met the tile of the kitchen, he imagined the bedroom and bathroom were not far that way somewhere. The most exciting observation he made however, was the magnificent scent that was currently wafting through the air and caressing his sense of smell. The unmistakable smell of warm, sugary sweet, hot chocolate.

Mira caught his nostrils flare and witnessed the moment his heart soared at the prospect of a soothingly warm cup of cocoa after his time outside in the frigid air, he must have walked a short distance because she hadn't anticipated he'd be so eager and willing to go for what she had figured was obvious bait.

Mira began to get excited herself, he was easier than any other guy she'd done this to. He was naive and soft, something like a newborn calf headed straight for her veal factory without having a chance to ever understand it was doomed.

The young woman began to plan what she would do with him, his fate was certain, that was sure, so she allowed the joy of her potential pleasures to flood her head as she forced a fake smile one last time. Would he beg? Anthony definitely seemed like a begger. Would he scream upon seeing her for the first time? She chuckled silently in her thoughts knowing full well that he would. He was so nice, so frail in the soul, and she could see he liked her, maybe even in some small way already genuinely cared for her. Every drop of what he was would make the end of his life mercilessly more intoxicating for Mira.

"I made you some hot chocolate, its just in the kitchen on the table, go ahead and help yourself. I'm gonna go grab my notes and we can get started."

Mira sidestepped around Anthony as she headed around the corner of the hallway, he watched her for a second, allowing his curiosity to get the better of him. As she disappeared from sight, he walked over towards the direction of the brightly lit kitchen, the blue cup of hot chocolate coming into view, vapor trails of hot steam rising from its freshly-made liquid contents.

Mira was pretty cool, thought Anthony, she was also extremely pretty, and seeing as how she was in one of the same classes he was, she was probably smart and even about his age. Things really were becoming exciting in more ways than one, and as he allowed his mood to bounce and take flight, he took a careless step into the kitchen, his right foot touching the tile and with its contact, sending an electric shock of pain exploding through his entire body in an instant.

Unnatural red electric discharge cracked and fired all around the unsuspecting man's frame as his shoe touched the difference in floor material, arcs of the quick flashing static burned and stabbed needles of pain wherever they met his clothes or his bare, less protected, flesh. The agony of the sudden assault forced him to the ground rolling over in an instant, then onto his side and brought a cry of horrible anguish to his lips as he collapsed, falling to a broken pile onto the cold tile of the kitchen. The strange jolts of crimson electricity danced and rebounded off surfaces nearby in the kitchen, the floor and table burnished in one or two places as the scorching temperature of the charged air kissed their surfaces in millisecond bursts of violent snaps and scorches.

After what must have been an eternity, the blood lightning ceased, Anthony lie on the floor smoldering as if freshly baked from the ovens of hell. His eyes were tightly closed and tears ran down his face as every centimeter of his skin felt as if though it had been seared by coals from a blasting furnace. Anthony shivered as if cold, his breath catching and his esophagus clenching and releasing in spasms without cause or explanation. The young adult tried to breath as his airway went on to clear, he inhaled great lung fulls of precious oxygen as every muscle felt as though it ached from a thousand year slumber. At last he slowly opened his eyes, his body in a feeble heap and occasionally still twitching in response to the shock of the unexplained violence.

His breathing soon returned to normal, the pain as well, rushed away as his eyes focused on his surroundings, an explainable moment of clarity and calm encompassing his body and the area. As Anthony began to lift his head from the ground, he could immediately see something that he did not understand. The man pushed himself up to rise, a small trickle of blood rolling out of his right nostril as he sat shakily up into a seated position. The counter. The fridge. The table and the walls. Everything was proportioned wrong.

Anthony's breathing rasped as his mouth opened in confusion, the lower half of his jaw falling of its own accord. Everything he could lay his eyes on was huge, beyond description in its size, he couldn't believe what he was seeing in the slightest and he thought for a moment that maybe he'd been injured to the point of delirium. A moment ago, he was walking towards the table to retrieve his cup of cocoa, and then after what he knew was the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life, he found himself looking up, instead of levelly at everything within his previous view.

Anthony shook his head and collected his fleeting thoughts, he stood, very carefully, and before he could complete his full height, he dropped back to his knees and expelled a stomach full of bile onto the pristine white tile, marring its surface with a pouring of ghastly fluids. On his hands and knees now, he gritted his teeth at a pain that tore within his stomach as his muscles convulsed with shock, and as he did so a voice boomed from high above, the tone from a woman, but just barely lower typically than a girl of his own age.

"Its always a little rough right after," Mira said, looking almost straight down at him from what seemed like miles away in the air, the vast expanse of her beautiful figure extending on and on, "But you'll feel better in a few minutes... That, I promise."

Anthony rolled onto the side of his body, still propped up and looking skyward, his head snapping to the direction from whence the titanic voice echoed.

Mira...? The tiny man's eyes were wide, as a result of which emotion however, he could not be sure. She wore the attire Anthony had seen her in a few moments ago, except now her sweater had been curiously discarded. She was directly behind where he come to lay collapsed and abused, towards the very middle of the kitchen floor transition, and she towered over his entire world.

"...Mira?" the man below gasped out hesitantly, fear and uncertainty lacing his speech.

The enormous woman simply smiled down at him in response, she always used the kitchen as the setting for her cruel trap, because when victims were unknowingly shrunk to about the size of a dime, they were easy to spot on the bright contrast of the clean tile floor.

The insignificant man at Mira's feet started to stand, he was pathetically small compared to her, and she always loved the first few minutes of shock and awe her toys went through when they were changed forever. She loved when they came to terms with it, and then looked to her for hope or rescue, she reviled in the delight of destroying their hope utterly, and then, in the most disturbing ways possible, destroying them however she saw fit.

"W-what... I mean... How did-"

She cut him off as he began to predictably speak in a daze.

"I did this to you, Anthony. And no, don't ask the obvious, you're not dreaming."

He didn't, he couldn't understand. The man on the tile floor dropped his eyes and looked around again, now facing towards the rest of the apartment, looking passed Mira's uncovered feet and black painted toenails looming nearby. What was this all about? Why? How?

A million questions ran through Anthony's mind as his night spun faster and faster out of control, all the while his new female friend stood casually against her shoulder on the wall of the apartment, smiling down at him with a look he was becoming more uncomfortable with by the moment.

"But, but Mira? Why did you do this to me?" the humanoid insect on the floor stammered at last.

"Well, little ant, it seemed like you wanted to get to know me a little better, so I thought we'd have a little date. Just you and I."

"A... date?" The young man said clearly bewildered.

"That's right, I need you to satisfy a little urge I have, the best kind of urge, really..."

The man's heart began to quicken and his breathing started to rise with each thump of his nervous chest. This wasn't natural, it was beyond comprehension really, the whole situation, but something about Mira's tone and especially her answer made him uneasy. And that look she was giving him...

"An, an urge you have?"

"Yes, my little tiny, an urge I have, one that only you can satisfy believe it or not."

Anthony didn't like her particular choice of words, she'd ceased calling him by his name, instead choosing to relabel him as less than human, and that was something that scared him, so much in fact, he was close to losing control of his bladder while he looked up at her. She stood before him impossibly huge, like a goddess who stepped over mountains as if they were sand castles, and he truly was, now at her feet, an insect to her and it horrified him each second she reminded him of that.

"Its simple really, I just want you to die!"

A terrifying chord like the strum of a sinister violin shrieked in Anthony's soul as his eyes glossed over as wide as dinner plates. His stomach lurched and his heart threatened to detonate from his chest at the words Mira had just spoken down to him. The lower half of his mouth fell again in mortified disbelief as his lip trembled at the thought of what the giant girl had just announced to him.

Mira could see it now, that delicious look on his face, that sudden inescapable fear piercing into his marrow and driving out the insect's purest, most unadulterated, horror. She smiled wider down at him, and she even allowed a laugh to part her gums as she fractionally tilted her head back closing her eyes in amusement at his sheer distress. Her lower lip curled, her teeth squeezing it down with minute pressure as the circumstances of the situation overflowed her sense of pleasure. She brought her eyes back to her tiny prey down on the floor and opened them menacingly, her gaze looking passed the perfect curve of her breasts as they sat idly within her low cut tank.

"That's all bug... That's all you're good for...That's all you have to offer me... and that's all I want from you." She said excitedly as if it were a small price to pay.

"But hey, you're pretty sweet and kinda cute, you also don't strike me as a jerk or as someone only interested in sex like literally every other guy that I've killed." She paused for an instant, allowing her eyes to drift over and a way for a moment as if contemplating something.

"So...I know! I'll let you choose! I personally prefer to use my own body, but I'll do whatever you ask, I swear!"

"W-what? You can't be serious!" Anthony shouted up to her in disbelief, noticing for the first time his hands were shaking .

"I am," Mira said replacing her excited enthusiasm, lowering her voice to a frighteningly low tone and narrowing her eyes, clearly attempting to intimidate him.

"And if you don't choose quickly, I'll lose my patience with you."

The tiny man stared up at her, the attractive face he'd been daydreaming about earlier now pinning his body to the tile floor, with only its assurance it could end him, alone.

The giant woman tilts her head back and gives a devious smile, keeping her eyes locked on the in tall human silhouette.

"I've put one in the microwave before, you know..." She almost whispers down to him.

"I've eaten some... I crush most, usually... And I actually really enjoy you little things with cereal, its always so fun to just eat and then be surprised at some point by a tiny pop...It's sometimes hard to even tell you're dead, you're all so insignificant."

Anthony lost his voice along with his nerve, they were gone now, both never to return.

"So come on Anthony, sweetheart, what's it gonna be?"

She didn't think he would answer, and he of course didn't make a sound. He could no more respond to the question than he could go back to his normal size. The tiny insect of a man far below was beaten, his hope ground to nothing, like he himself was about to be beneath Mira's foot. There was, this microscopic part of the woman's heart that wanted to keep him, he was sweet, he was kind, he'd make for an adorable pet she thought, but she loved the way insects died much more than they lived. She'd make the same decision to kill him a hundred times out of a hundred times, and never feel a drop of guilt for the choice that was made.

Shame, really, but oh well.

Mira rolled her eyes down at him and didn't plan to say another word as he stayed speechless before her right foot, the black painted nails promising that they were now to be the bearers of his execution in his final breaths of life.

Without another thought she lifted her foot and brought it over Anthony, he collapsed backwards beneath it and fell onto his back looking up at the bottom of her bare, unblemished sole in complete and utter horror. She stretched her arch teasingly and wiggled her toes slowly, allowing the fear to build up in the tiny insect that was now Anthony. With a quick flick of her ankle she took one last glance down at him, moving her foot aside to give herself a clear, unimpeded look at her victim, helpless and at her non-existent mercy. Like they almost always did, he was holding one of his arms up in hilarious vanity, as if he could halt the incalculable weight of her foot, let alone her whole body.

With a smile and a wink, she flicked her foot back directly over him, and brought it down without pausing to impact the floor, his body offering no resistance whatsoever. Anthony was destroyed utterly with an earth shattering earthquake to him, and a small thud to Mira, apparently without even enough time to let out a cry of absolute terror. The body of the former man was pulverized in an instant, his bones shattering and the meat and blood of his life squishing to a grizzly paste beneath the cold stare of the woman who had crushed out his life.

Mira felt the warm skin of her sole contact with the floor, the tile was chilly and it was a pleasant feeling as she held her foot down, the glorious, microscopic little crunch a second ago accompanied by a barely noticeable spot of warmth from her prey's final demise. Her toes flexed and took in the pleasure of the cold touch the kitchen floor offered as a reward for her decision to go bare foot tonight.

She exhaled and closed her eyes. He was better than the rest, really he was. Maybe it was because he liked Mira, or maybe she had just immensely enjoyed the build up to the whole night. No matter.

As the feeling of momentary pleasure climaxed and faded away, something odd began to occur. She started to...feel something... Like the air around her had changed somehow. Confused, Mira looked over her shoulder and cast her gaze about the apartment. Suddenly, down the hall, she saw the light of her bedroom begin to fade slowly, as if a small sun was going down, and not just on, then off, like the switch would cause.

It faded, until it went black, casting the opening of her room in darkness. Then, the hallway light began to fade. And the living room. And the kitchen. Every light in Mira's home was slowly dimming with unrelenting certitude until in just a few heartbeats, she was shrouded in darkness.

Mira's heart raced and her breath was quick, she was afraid and she didn't of what, nor did she know what was going on. The air in the room was warm now, uncomfortably warm despite the frigid cold outside.

A voice. A voice came from the blackness. There was a distinct lack of light sources within view, but somehow, Mira could still see just barely the outlines of her furniture, her table, the hallway, she could not however, see anyone or anything that could be talking. She jumped and her heart thudded in her rib cage as the voice said her name.

"Miiirrra..."

She wheeled around in place, the speech sounding like it was coming from the living room. The voice was male, a deep pitch like thunder, like bedrock grinding on iron. And It was not entirely human. The tone from whatever it was seemed to perpetually echo, like whenever it spoke it was sourced from multiple voices not quite in perfect harmony. A bead of sweat rolled down Mira's temple, from both the heat and the genuine unease she was feeling.

"W-who's there," she finally called out to the lightless air.

The room did not respond at first, she instead could almost feel the quiet shadows coiling and curling around despite the complete lack of sound, like snakes preparing strike with their fangs brandished and ready to deliver toxic paralysis. Whatever was happening, Mira knew behind her minds eye, it was because of her actions. The total noiselessness was the promise that more was to come, and that whatever the thing now occupying her home was, it would be sure to make itself known in time.

"Your bloodline is tainted...Mira Lamia... But you..."

The voice halts for a contemptuous pause, its change in tone betraying its obvious anger at uttering the following words.

"You were always doomed to be corrupt..."

With that, all the lights in the house, from the bulb in the microwave, to the ones in the purpose built light fixtures, snapped alive together as if bringing the sun into the small apartment. Temporarily blinded, Mira shielded her eyes with her arms and hands, protecting them from the sudden blast of illumination, the heat inside the room was now something like a hot summer day at the beach and it felt like it wasn't going to stop increasing.

When her eyes regained focused and adjusted to the vibrancy of the bulbs, they subsided a measured amount to allow for a more comfortable level of light, and there before her, was a humanoid figure, left delivered by the dazzling rays.

It was a he, as far as Mira could tell and he was tall, inhumanly tall at that, nearly touching the ceiling with the top of his head that was covered in long, jet black hair that looked more like the unkempt mane of a great beast. She gasped out as her eyes were wide with surprise and fear, the being wore all black, but he was not entirely covered in clothes. It wore a ragged black vest, reminiscent of the attire stereotypical biker gangs were always seen wearing in movies, but his looked ancient by comparison, as if it were the the first one to establish the trend in all deviants to follow through the ages. His arms were bare, as was the layer beneath the vest, and Mira could clearly make out straight steel-like ridges of musculature and brawn. His legs had black, fur inspired trousers on that went all the way down to his ankles, bits of chain mail rings decorating them here and there. On him wasn't an ounce of fat, his body as she beheld him in shock, was bulging with firm and toned musculature wherever she looked, his physique as well as his overall appearance made him seem cast from the mold of some ancient, forgotten, barbaric god.

"But I am here to offer you the chance, to correct that," the barbarian said, eyes gleaming in a wide, unblinking stare of brilliant, shining yellow. His hair was knotted in places with fetishes of bone and something like animal teeth in other select groups of strands. The skin of the intruder was a fair white, marred in random spots with deep scars of savage tears and vicious wounds that all left reminders of those who had tried, and failed, to deliver a killing blow.

"You are corrupt Mira Lamia, from your very inception it has been so. You and your adoptive mother were in league with dark creations whom you could not possibly begin to understand."

Mira spoke back, her eyes daring, finding the spark of her life's defiant fire and producing it before the judgmental invader.

"My mother saved me!"

The man before her remained completely motionless as his right eyebrow raised and his mouth split in what could only be described as the most genuine of diabolical smiles, a dark understanding passing between the two that whispered with absolute sincerity that she was lying. The canines of the man in black speared out, being revealed as his lips parted, showing Mira for the first time, if his height, voice, and general demeanor had not been sufficient enough, that he was inhuman.

Slowly, and with a deliberate pace to emphasize the severity of the conversation, the newcomer started to take steps forward and towards the girl standing at the edge of the kitchen, she flinched and in turn stepped back in building apprehension. It only took a couple of strides, his stature closing the relative short distance in no time at all, his heavy black boots resounding on the carpet regardless of its soft consistency.

He stopped, just before Mira and stared down at her, the glow of his eyes peering into her soul.

"You are half human, and half devil because of your guardian's ignorance. Normally this wouldn't matter, the world is full of monsters such as yourself. But you however, you have abused your inhuman abilities just a little to much tonight."

Mira couldn't respond, she knew that she had been the spawning of a dark covenant that her mother had bartered with in secret over the years. And the being was right, the world was full of monsters, demons, creatures... Things that even myth and legends created by the stories of men around crackling campfires on the eeriest moonlit nights didn't compare to. Monsters, such as herself.

"Normally you'd be dead for such an abuse of your undeserved gifts, but I'm a sentimental thing. And your mother, well, I must say she sacrificed generously over the years."

Mira trembled as she understood what the man was saying, his low, tempered voice wasn't more than a whisper, yet it carried power and palpable strength that vibrated her skin as it left his lips.

"S-so, you're some type of god?"

The man smiled and narrowed his eyes.

"I am to you, what a passing stranger is to a worm in a field."

He allowed himself to bend down and over, carefully placing his oversized mouth to the side of Mira's head as she resisted the urge to recoil. He spoke into her ear without any doubt of truth or fragment of humor. As the words left his mouth, the half-breed human could feel the contained energy of unknown fury in its voice.

"You have no idea... What I am..." Mira shut her eyes as she trembled, he remained there for a few breaths next to her skull, the drawing and exhalation of oxygen from his nostrils accompanied by the rolling grumble of a a beast like a lion when at comparative rest.

"So," he said with a sudden casual nature, standing back up full and straight, "I'm here to offer you a chance to avoid a fate worse than hell itself."

The black beast took steps away and back into the living room, turning his back on Mira to her honest relief.

"Taking into account the contributions of your mother's fealty over the years, and the constant worship of your ancestors in general, I think you'll find what I'm about offer you is, fair enough."

"Wait," the young woman replied, embolden by the creature's altered demeanor,
"I don't understand, why haven't you come before? I've done shitty things in the past and you came tonight? Why? Why tonight?"

The man kept silent after the question, Mira didn't ask again or continue for fear of provoking the beast, understanding as he spoke why this night had been so special, indeed.

"He was kind, Mira. That one was different from the others you toyed with in your depraved pleasures. But it wasn't just his death at your hands that resulted in this transgression,"

His tone was soft, actually soft, as he continued on lowly and clearly laced with remorse, as if somehow he had lost a friend in the situation.

"It was that you took such joy in his light being extinguished, half-breed."

The girl swallowed and pursed her lips crossing her arms over her chest, awkwardly looking away, like a child understanding too late that she was caught in the wrong.

"I wonder if he'll beg," recited the man in black, "he seems like a begger."

Mira's eyes displayed clear and deep fright as they shot back to the man who's back was to her, the woman's inner most thoughts being given voice by some means she did not understand.

"I wonder, if he'll scream like all the rest..."

The man let his words hang in the air as he turned with a predator's grace back to face the sweating woman, the room's temperature was sweltering now, and it was definitely as a result of the intruder who had arrived just a few minutes ago, though he himself was not perspiring, nor did he appear to even notice it.

"So, Mira... You have one year to make a case for yourself. One year to convince him that what you did was wrong, that you are deserving of his forgiveness, and that he can trust you."

"H-he?" Mira said confused, stuttering at the impossible idea the other powerful monster seemed to be suggesting.

The giant smiled once more, decorative, black tribal tattoos crisscrossing most of his exposed skin not scarred by old, healed wounds. He continued to speak, disregarding the fact she didn't quite understand, and forced her eyes to stare into his.

"Should any harm come to him that displeases me, or should you take the life of another as pure as he...Should you fail in this Mira Lamia..."

He trailed off, keeping her eyes fixated within his own stare. In a moment that came and went in less time than it takes a dying heart to strain with its final beat, Mira had collapsed to the ground on her knees. Her hands were forced to her head, clutching and clawing with her fingertips at the fabric of her fragile mind. Her mouth exploded in the scream of a person given the vision of every death that took place in the cosmos for the last moment of the ticking clock. Agony flooded her eyes, every lie of every man ever spoken bombarded her ears. The scourge of un-life raked at her flesh and tore at all nerves within her existence capable of feeling pain. The feeling clawed at her without mercy, brought her to tears instantly, sending her into uncontrollable sobs and wordless cries left her throat as the man in black simply looked down at her with indifference. She shuddered violently. She prayed for it to stop, breaking instantly under the pressure of such a promise for repentance. She screamed for it to stop, she begged on her knees.

Then, only after she begged, did he stop the madness plaguing her. It was only for a moment, but what he had done to her would remind her of the torment she would endure at the prospect of failing. It truly didn't matter, to the creature who caused her the torture, what she decided to do in the end, he was simply offering the half-breed the choice to control her own destiny.

Mira shook despite the subsiding heat of the room, she could feel the presence of the other monster gone now, his metaphysical torment concluded, his message delivered. Reassuringly all the lights that had been off before were off now, confirming the apartment had returned to normal. The young girl got up and leaned her back against the back of her couch, the black devil was gone, whoever or whatever it was, and she was alone again. The young demonette panted and felt liquid still running from her eyes onto her face.

Mira wiped tears from her cheeks and sighed heavily. She knew exactly what she was in truth, she'd never try to deny it or make excuses to anyone despite what she was inside. Lives had ended in terrible ways at her behest, solely to serve her own twisted desires and for not a single reason more. Those desires however were due directly in part to the demon side of her heart that she evidently could not control. She wanted to believe that she could, she wanted to believe she would one day be a good person, but there had been nothing in her short life that suggested that would ever come to pass. The pretty young girl of only twenty-six, was truly, irreversibly, detached from humanity. The worst of it, was that her other, before she had died had warned her of this, when she was still a little girl, and she had listened... For a while...

As Mira reflected on her life and the horrors she'd wrought throughout it, she brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as if needing to embrace a lover. When she did so however, something caught her eye on the floor. It was small, but the shape was familiar to her, Mira realized. Her throat tensed, and ominous anxiety returned to her heart despite the devil who had brought her suffering had already vacated the home.

On the floor, lying face down next to her, unconscious, but definitely breathing, was a man the size of a dime in a jacket and with hair the same shade of brown as her own.

It was Anthony Drewgann.