"Prostrate for the great rite! Pay homage to the Divine King!"
Priest Elder Acap cried the chant aloud, then threw himself flat on the ground, bowing at the Divine King's feet. At that chant, the surrounding priest elders and the Divine King's trusted men all knelt and saluted at the same time. Then, throughout the entire three-tiered Divine King's Palace, the sounds of kneeling homage rang out. The only one still standing was Xolotl before the Divine King.
On the divine throne, Avet wore an elaborate Sun Feather Garment and an Eagle Feather Crown that almost veiled his face. No expression could be seen on his face, only a pair of eyes that looked down on all beneath heaven. Seeing everyone prostrate in salute, he only nodded lightly. Then his cold, merciless gaze fell on Xolotl, who remained standing.
"Xolotl... I haven't seen him in more than three years... He does look different now..."
Avet watched in silence, watching the student before him whose appearance was familiar, yet whose bearing was even more changed—his son-in-law, and the heir he had once personally designated. But the other man's pace of growth had truly been too fast! Three and a half years had passed since they parted, and on that mature, resolute young face there was already the calm and self-possessed bearing of a king. And the illustrious achievement of conquering a thousand li of the Coastal Lands in three years also made it hard for him to look away for a long time...
At this moment, his gaze was deep, as if he meant to see through the student before him completely, through his own son-in-law, through the one person who could threaten him: "His Highness of Divine Inspiration of the Mexica People," "the sun rising within the Alliance," "the King