Genesis of Apotheosis

[Strazio Rockwell]

Strazio frowned as he turned Tearen’s question over in his mind. He glanced over at Gamzee, scanning the troll’s dimly lit face. After a few moments of contemplation, Strazio stepped forward.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” Strazio said, locking his eyes with Tearen’s, “partly because I think you’d see right through any attempts at dishonesty, and well, I suck at lying anyways. Up until now my every action has hinged on a single solitary purpose -- revenge. Every decision I have made, every battle I have fought, and everything I have learned has been leading up to this purpose. Damien Alabaster killed my family, friends, and left me buried beneath my kin. I aim to be his reckoning. I aim to annihilate him.”

He let the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. He thumbed at the crest of Darkshire that hung around his neck.

“However, I am not so blind as to be oblivious to the fact that my revenge would be, and is, quite small in the grand scheme of things,” he admitted, though it pained him to do so, “and I’m not so blind to see that those tenants you’ve listed on the dataverse run counter to my general disposition, but since I’ve come to the Omniverse I’ve seen a great many atrocities. I’ve seen innocent people driven to slaughter as if they were nothing more than livestock, and if what you say about the Underverse is true everything I’ve seen so far is child’s play. I can’t lie and say that any power or knowledge you invest in me won’t be used for vengeance, because it will. I can say that it will also be used as a bulwark against beings like Damien and anyone that would neglect basic human dignity. So I ask for this power, not just for myself, but for the benefit of the entire Omniverse.”