"He isn't going to kill him."
The words hung in the void between stars, heavy with accusation and contempt. The words' target did not respond, so the speaker spoke once more.
"As long as he lives he is a threat to us, and now you have made another. Are you so blind? How did you walk this far upon the road with such flawed judgement?"
The void shifted, and the spirits of departed warriors flew from across the universe to a single point. Assembled in the spectral form most resembling their former selves, the assemblage 'sat', none among them willing to miss this coming conflict.
For in conflict lay chaos, and in chaos lay opportunity, and in opportunity lay power.
The old man sat silently. His accuser, a burly man of great personal aura, laid into him once more. "We warned you about his kind, but you did not listen! Your ambitions will lead to our ruin!"
Finally, the old man spoke. "Earth is my business. Not yours, Mentheus."
This only served to aggravate him more. "When you expose us, you affect us all. That makes it our business."
Imperceptibly the spirits shifted, throwing their weight of numbers behind Mentheus.
"Very well, if that's how you all feel. I made Corletti one of us. I opened his eyes and showed him the energy. But something changed along the way, and he lost his perspective. He took the moral path. He's chosen a path of guilt and absolutism. I could not have forseen this, he was truly grey."
"And so, fresh from this failure, you made another."
"Yes, Mentheus, I did. Eventually Corletti would destroy us. I took steps to ensure this wasn't the case."
"And acting in haste, you made another mistake, and chose someone who wouldn't kill Corletti."
"This isn't Chrace, Mentheus! This is Earth! My domain! Who here hasn't made mistakes? I seek to change them. I don't wall them away."
Mentheus' eyes burned. "Don't try to change the subject. You know why I made the storm. It was the only way. That is irrelevant."
But the numbers had shifted, become more equal.
Another spirit stepped forward, so deep in power it awed the rest. "The darkness will come, eventually. The clone's spawn has not the spine."
"The second is not intended to face the darkness, merely to destroy the first," the old man countered.
Mentheus laughed. "So he becomes as much a threat as the first. Will you create a third to destroy the second? A fourth to destroy the third?"
"No. I will destroy him myself."
Mentheus's laughter cut off. He regarded the old one warily. "You will manifest?"
"Yes," the old man nodded. "The second is too inexperienced to face me."
The powerful one spoke. "I will take the Earth. I have plans for it."
The old man 'stood' and bowed. "Very well. I hope your guardianship will prove fruitful."
Mentheus backed down. "If that is how you intend to play it, I will let it go. You make the ultimate sacrifice and I will not tarnish that." He faced the powerful one. "But be warned. Step over the line and you will face my wrath."
The powerful one smirked from beneath his black robe. "Say what you will, little one. In the end, I will do what I must."