Beautiful Ugliness

The fallen angels did not know of the severance of the domains. 

But Alistair felt it when an angel fell on his turf. 

Since his fall, Alistair had marked the earth as his own. As the Son of the Dawn, he hated when he lost his light, and his wings became as black as midnight. It was discomfiting to be in unfamiliar terrain. 

But over time, he found he liked Earth more than Heaven. 

Humans were interesting and not bland like the angels in heaven before his fall.

At first, he disdained them. 

He intended to eliminate them to create a paradise for himself, but he did not want them to have it easy before their extinction. So, he sent his followers to wreak havoc in all corners of the world through war, disease and general strife. 

It was entertaining for a long time, but more and more of his minions started to enjoy the human way of life. Instead of causing trouble, they chose to blend in with humans and be normal, at least their version of it. 

Alistair did not wish to follow His ways. He did not force his followers to keep doing what they did not wish. So, he did not pursue or punish those who left his service. Instead, he tried to understand their choice.

He still found humans to be lower creatures, unworthy of his attention. 

However, he did not consider them disgusting worms anymore. He did not desire to trample them underneath his foot as he had when he first fell. During those days, the death of humans caused him great amusement.

He still did not think much of the humans.

But now, he thought of people as they did of the animals they kept as pets like cats or dogs. They amused him in a different way now. He watched their little lives with the same interest as they did cat videos. 

It was the reason he lived in New York. 

Alistair believed that it presented the rawest nature of the human spirit. It was easy for humans to be who they wanted to be when they had space, clean air, fresh food and free time to relax.

They could be good and control their baser instincts in the best conditions.

New York did not offer these comforts to most people. 

It was a pressure cooker of the worst parts of humanity. Greed, hate, indifference, competition and other countless problems reduced humans into feral animals. Yet, they kept coming to the city they considered great to chase their dreams.

People were always on top of each other in their small apartments, congested roads and filthy subways. The ambient noise was always high from the vehicles, machinery, and the voices of people shouting curses. 

The air was filthy, and most did not respect their surroundings. People tossed trash on the roads, spat without care, and even relieved themselves like animals on the roadsides, making an already bad city worse. 

Of course, there was the beautiful and affluent side of New York. 

Alistair loved it too because it showed a different side of human nature. Despite its outward magnificence, it concealed an ugliness born from millennia of classism, oppression, and discrimination.

While those in low-end places suffered from scarcity, the wealthy flaunted their excess. The consumerism mixed with detached pleasure was a magnificent display that humans did not act badly due to lacking material possessions. 

There was a beautiful ugliness in it.

Alistair found it interesting since he was a part of it.

Alistair lived in a penthouse on Madison Avenue to enjoy watching the people while avoiding true contact with them. After all, he was not a pet person. He had no interest in having real contact with lower creatures. 

Well, it was more accurate to say he did not desire to have contact with all creatures. Even the few friends he kept through the years were a burden. He only saw them once in a while on their insistence. 

He liked to be alone. 

But that was all about to change. 

When Alistair felt an angel fall, he intended to ignore it. It had been centuries since new angels fell. However, as the First Fallen, he did not have an interest in the others who followed in his steps. 

He ignored them as long as they did not cause him trouble. 

But this time, he could not ignore it. 

There was something different about the new fallen angel. Even from a distance, Alistair could feel something he had not felt in a long time. There was an energy from the fallen that called to him with nostalgia. 

Alistair left his bed and walked to his large balcony. His muscles rippled as he stretched to eliminate the stiffness from his sleep. Sleeping was one of the habits he picked from humans despite not truly needing it. 

He discovered it was quite refreshing. 

His dark eyes turned a strange silver grey as he looked to the sky, looking for the remaining trace of the fallen angel. It only took a few moments to find the residue of the angel's energy invading earth. 

Alistair was surprised to find it was a single angel. 

Usually, the Fallen often made a pact to descend because it was difficult to bear the punishment of His wrath alone. The single angel piqued his interest even further. He could not imagine the reason they had chosen to fall. 

Alistair did not return to the apartment to put on a shirt. He directly took flight through the harsh winter night and headed to the Mohawk State Forest in Connecticut, where the weakening angelic energy could be felt. 

The flight was quick and smooth despite the cold winds. 

However, Alistair was still too late. 

It seemed that the angel had not only fallen. He had crash-landed a little too close to a ranger station. When Alistair arrived, the unconscious angel was surrounded by five rangers, pointing their guns at him. 

Alistair's grey eyes brushed over the rangers with disinterest. They were ants in his eyes and of no consequence to him. But when his eyes rested on the angel, he felt both confusion and awe. 

It was like his breath was suspended.

He could not look away.