Cold sweat poured down the man's face as he prostrated himself before the throne's occupant, a youth with a face of such unearthly beauty that it seemed to have been sculpted by the hands of the divine.
This was Young Lord Bai, the 5th Layer True Sovereign whose casual words could shake the foundations of the cosmos. Flanking him on either side were royal guards clad in armor of gleaming silver, each of them radiating a palpable aura of power that dwarfed the kneeling 7th Layer True Sovereign like a mountain would a molehill.
"Young Lord Bai, please, I beg your understanding," the man stammered, his voice quavering with barely repressed terror. "I have adhered to every rule, followed every custom. Surely these lesser territories are ours to guide as we see fit."