A Flash of Light Angel was tired. The battle with the dragon ending with him being burned to death, having a funeral with his remains being burned again in a viking funeral pyre on a boat, and then the powers that be finally making him human was truly a pain. He was still covered with burns when the tugboat found him, and it took weeks of recuperating in a hospital.
He had forgotten how to be human. The physical therapy and learning to walk again. The slow healing of his body. It was faster then human normal of course- he was still a champion. But it wasn't like when he was undead. He needed to eat, sleep, drink, and he felt his vision and mind constrained with all of the boundaries that hemmed in human beings. The powerful emotions and drives like the need for companionship, food, fulfillment, emotions, sleep, it was so limiting. In the past when he was undead- whether good or evil- he no longer felt limited by all of this human limitations. It was so freeing. When he was undead he could be ending the world or saving it but he didn't care what other people thought of him, about food, about sufficient sleep, about finding 'meaning' in what he did. He just did.
Now it was different. Now he needed all of these human things. His friends tried to understand, and empathize. In a way he had won the good fight- they had defeated the local branch of evil there in Los Angeles. He had receive the gift of humanity, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the Shanshu. He just felt so god damned empty all of the time. This humanity would take awhile to get used to. He had his friends over and would talk about the old days, but he felt something was missing. They would go on patrol and stop evil, but it wasn't the same.
He had rented a new apartment in a nicer part of Los Angeles. He had colorful South American panchos on the wall, an assortment of demon related and magical artifacts and weapons on the walls, a backyard, with a grill and even a vertical wooden fence around the backyard lawn. He had his friends over for one last party, but even underneath the sad night sky with suspended lights giving an ethereal glow over their party and libations he still felt a great sense of loss. The next morning he said his quiet goodbyes to his friends and felt something pulling him beyond...
He loaded up his car with just the necessities and just drove. He drove out through the Los Angeles highways, and drove towards the north east. He picked up a magical map outside of a gas station that few humans knew about and followed the winding two lane desert roads that lead elsewhere and elsewhen. The dust and grit blew into the car and the sun was too hot and the sky began to change colors. He kept driving. He felt good. A vibration of an electric emotion like he was walking into his destiny.
A flash of light.
After finding himself in the park, and the meet and greet he was somewhat confused.
He kept going and through a series of events too complex to narrate her, he found himself owning several skeleton keys and title to what could be best described as a large, well built, but quite dusty residence that had seen better days but had plenty of room for new day.
He walked in.
It was dimly lit inside, with barren wood floors and dust and cobwebs. Intricate chandeliers and a double staircase. Old portraits on the walls and massive entrances to other rooms. It was like a mansion, and if his gut feeling was right about this it was a Haunted Mansion.
It was still dirty and would need a lot of cleaning. But it was a start. He now had a place to live, in a place he never thought he might end up in. He still had a mission to complete, a responsibility to be a champion. It wasn't an isolated mountain top, but the exact opposite. He could no longer flee his purpose, but he had to embrace it. He walked outside the doorway, and leaned against the edge of the door frame. Home owner he thought. It was the start of something.