"You were incomplete!" Parker roared, his damaged soul somehow finding strength to interrupt his perfect predecessor. "You stood there with all your power, all your accumulated wisdom, and you were still missing the most crucial element. That's why there were always meant to be nine lives, not eight!"
"Explain to me," the Eighth Life Parker said, his voice carrying dangerous undertones that made reality itself flinch, "what I could possibly have been missing. What weakness could you identify in perfection?"
Parker wiped the blood from his mouth, his diminished form trembling but resolute.
"Understanding. True understanding of what it means to sacrifice for others. You had power, yes. You had knowledge, preparation, cosmic authority that could reshape existence itself. But you had never learned what it means to give up pieces of yourself for those weaker than you."
