Revelation 9:15- So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
The rapid waters of the Euphrates grow sluggish. Then the current comes to a complete halt. There is no flow and there are no ripples. The water is motionless.
A lone bubble surfaces and pops when reaching the top of the waters. Another comes. Another and another follow until the water bubbles in an exact circle. As the bubbles grow in number and burst upon reaching the air, smoke releases with each rupture.
Animals freeze as they stare with uncertainty. The source that grants refreshing water to hundreds of species mesmerizes every critter within sight. All eyes watch the river begin to boil. Silence is the only language coming from the spectators.
The circle of churning waters radiates light from an unknown source. Golds and reds turn the once green waters into an unimaginable visual.
The water gurgles and retches unnatural noises and odors. Most animals begin to flee.
A wild boar and a water buffalo, two species that rarely care about the other, scream and fight to reach the bank. The boar tries to use the buffalo as a springboard to reach land. The water buffalo kicks and panics as it desperately tries anything to reach dry earth. They hinder each other's frantic efforts to survive.
The boar does not make it to the bank. It floats belly-up, spinning in a death circle after the buffalo's last kick.
The water buffalo reaches the bank and collapses with half of its body still submerged. The hide and muscle start peeling from its frame. The creature's back half is stripped to the bone in seconds.
Sulfur and rotten aromas fill the air. A fish surfaces, and then another. Soon hundreds of fish are floating dead. A putrid, burnt fishy smell wafts its way in the breeze and catches the attention of two shepherds. They rush past a parade of frightened animals scurrying to safety. Their flock's livelihood is this very river. They hurry to find out what is causing the disgusting odors and the reason all animals are running in fear.
The shepherds force their camels to stop, skidding their hooves in the sand. They stare at the unholy scene. Thousands of dead animals litter their sight. Fish, boar, buffalo, birds, and many others unfortunate enough to be close to the heated waters line the river and banks.
As they stare in disbelief at the unholy water boiling and churning, the larger of the shepherds speaks. "Shnu hatha al-manzar al-mal'oun?!" (What is this cursed sight)
The second shepherd replies. "Hatha amal al-Shaytan!" (It is the work of the Devil)
The water begins to defy physics. A deep tearing sound echoes from the depths. The water's surface parts, ripping and folding into itself. A terrifying chorus of screams, agonizing pleas, and sheer horror slips and escapes from the pits of hell.
Ear-piercing, inhuman decibels of celebration come from the parted waterway. Four creatures fly out of the river. They do not just land. They collide with the earth. Two slam down on the east bank and two on the west, cracking the dry mud beneath them.
They scream to one another with a dissonant hum. A death rattle of chatter using a blasphemous language of brimstone sends a mortifying chill through each onlooking shepherd.
One of the shepherds yells, "Urkudh!" (Run)
The Bone Angel, Ostentus, intercepts the shepherds running for their lives. He lands hard. The impact shakes the ground and causes sand to erupt in a blinding spray.
The shepherds pull frantically on their camels' leads. They force the beasts to skid to a halt. They look down in terror upon a nightmare they could never have imagined.
Ostentus is massive. Bones from unknown rib cages, skulls, and spines are fused together by some sort of unholy mortar. They cannot tell if it is armor or if the monster is constructed entirely of the dead.
The Bone Angel has no face. Its skull is recognizable, but the bone is smooth. It has no holes for eyes, nose, or mouth. Yet it glares. It extends wings made of thousands of sharpened, elongated finger bones. There is no skin and there are no feathers. It is just a skeletal span of death. It throws its head back and screams a powerful, grinding summons.
The Angel of Rot, Pestilenius, lands behind the petrified men. The stench hits them instantly. It is a putrid wall of odor that causes both shepherds to gag.
Pestilenius is draped in gray, ancient spiderweb rags that float as if underwater. His green, rotting skin sloughs off in wet chunks. It is completely necrotic. The horrific being is clouded in a living swarm of spores and flies. Both men cry out in vain.
To their left, The Blood Angel, Sanguintus, lands with a disgusting, wet slap. It is a humanoid shape made of coagulated, thick blood. He slithers in a tight circle. He restlessly vibrates with hunger. The monster's texture looks like wet, flayed muscle. It constantly drips, yet the unholy angel never loses mass.
Finally, the Angel of Brimstone, Ignisius, lands opposite Sanguintus. The shepherds are pinned. They scream prayers to a silent sky. Ignisius is a statue of cracked, volcanic rock. Visible veins pump blinding white magma throughout its body. Ignisius sounds like grinding stones with every movement.
The Angel of Brimstone expands his enormous wings. They are not feathers but trailing sheets of heat distortion and flame. Lava drips from the tips and hisses as it hits the sand. The fallen angel twitches repeatedly. The ancient form is adjusting to the physics of a world it has not walked in for millennia.
The released angels communicate briefly in an unknown language. The shepherds are terrified and confused, but it will all be over soon.
The angels have been locked away for thousands of years. They are released for one reason only. Killing. Simultaneously all four lunge at their prey. They ravenously devour the two men and camels.
The feeding four do not bother killing them first. They taste better if they are screaming. Driven by malevolent hunger, they force the men to watch as their own limbs are devoured. The angels keep their meal alive as long as possible, saving the heart of each food source as dessert.