A man stood at a large window in a luxury hotel building. He had long, flowing black hair and pitch-black eyes. He wore a black suit and a white button-up shirt, the jacket unbuttoned to reveal it. A white bandanna was wrapped around his head, and he held a black book in his hand.
As the window lowered, he stretched his arms out.
"Let's begin."
As he spoke those words, a sonata began to play on a piano—though the pianist could not be seen. The window continued to lower, and the breeze rushed in, blowing his jacket and the curtains upward.
He moved his hands as if directing an orchestra.
Huge floating creatures appeared outside the window. They looked like giant whales—four in total. Two on the right faced left, and two on the left faced right. As the man waved his hand up and down, the creatures swam through the air: one forward, another upward, another downward, circling in slow arcs.
As this performance commenced, the city below fell into chaos. Explosions, fires, and screams erupted. Crowds of people stared up into the sky as they pulled out their own hearts and ate them, smiling as they collapsed to the streets below.
The piano quickened—faster and faster—while the creatures above slowed. The cries of the city grew louder, then abruptly, everything stopped.
"My friend, was this a good send-off?"
The man set his shoes beside him, took two steps closer to the window, and jumped. As he fell, the creatures disappeared. He closed his eyes, shed what seemed to be a tear, then smiled.
When he reached the ground floor of the hundred-story building, he crashed into a car. Inside, he was greeted by a group of ten people.
"Let's go, Centipedes. We've given our old friend a proper send-off. We'll see him in hell in due time."
As the car drove off, a large bag lay in the trunk. The wind blew it open, revealing its contents: severed heads of politicians, businessmen and women, children, government officials, journalists, and historians. Among those heads sat a small clear tube—inside, five fingers belonging to someone, or something.