Countless believers, swept up in the atmosphere, began to shout with fervor. The sound was a tidal wave that swept across the land.
Amid the deafening cheers, the shadows behind the altar parted completely.
Saint Cyril Cardinal—no, he who should now be called Pope Ete I—slowly walked out, supported by two Cardinals.
He still wore his deep red Cardinal's Robe, but now a white Holy Belt, embroidered with Golden Holy Emblems and stellar patterns, was draped over it. In his hand, he held an ancient, jeweled Scepter.
His body seemed even more hunched and withered than usual, the wrinkles crisscrossing his face like knife-carved lines. But when he raised his head and his gaze swept across the entire assembly, the dignity and composure forged through countless trials could be clearly felt even by the spectators in the very front row.
