Chapter 20: Coughing

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'What good are Gods', he thought, ignoring the pain that split his mind once again and just increased his anger, 'when the humans who worship them suffer in countless ways all throughout the world?' It seemed no matter the world, the higher powers couldn't seem to care about people who worshipped them.

Lelouch heard a small change in the old woman's breathing, taking him away from his cynical thoughts. "I see you're awake now." He spoke softly, drawing the father daughter pair's attention.

The two quickly ambled over and Lelouch moved slightly out of the way. He gave them a moment before coughing to draw the old man out of his conversation with his wife whose voice was straining with pain.

"If you want me to fulfill my Contract I will need a moment alone with her." He announced, directing them to leave the room.

'What am I going to do?' He had yet to come up with a way to fulfill his end of the bargain, going on pure instinct at this point.

After a moment where Lelouch felt a strange shift inside him, he clutched his head in pain.

It felt similar to when his Geass had gone out of control for the first time. As well as the time he had used his Geass in the World of C.

He opened his eyes, having closed them as the pain hit a peak before beginning to subside, and noticed a familiar sensation had returned in both of his eyes.

A sensation he hadn't felt since his first death. 'My Geass has returned?' Lelouch realized with surprise, before using one of the metal medical tools to take a look at his eyes in the reflection. 'Not quite.'

Lelouch noticed a few differences after looking into his eyes. 'This isn't Geass.' He noticed a different sigil in his eyes than the one that he was used to, it looked rather strange.

Still, he felt that he should know more about this than he did. Yet that knowledge was irritatingly out of reach for the moment.

'I can examine this more later.' Lelouch decided before turning to the old woman who was staring at him curiously.

He didn't have time to examine his powers right now, he had a Contract to fulfill. He wondered if this power functioned similar to Geass in the respect he needed it to right now.

"Hello, my name is Lelouch vi Britannia." He announced quietly, knowing that she would soon pass on to the next life.

"Your husband made a deal with me to end your suffering and I plan to uphold my end of the bargain. Will you accept?" He would not use Geass, or whatever this new power was, on this woman without her acceptance of her husband's Contract.

She could speak for herself, though the first thing she did when he asked her his question was chuckle.

"You are a kind young man." She said tiredly. "I have no objections to easing my pain, I can tell my time is near.

" She smiled, it wasn't entirely toothless, but she clearly had some teeth removed during her long life. "I thank you for this last act of kindness before this old woman leaves this world." She looked very happy at the thought of resting after living her life and, as Lelouch made his way towards her, he wondered something.

'Is that how I looked as I awaited my own death?' He ignored the thought and spoke to the woman who had a husband willing to give up half his remaining lifeforce for her sake.

"Look into my eyes." He whispered, as she did so he flared the power he'd held inside his being that felt so similar to the one that had once helped him conquer the world.

"You will no longer feel any pain, you will no longer feel any suffering during your life." He Commanded the woman who had no ability to resist his powers, feeling a dip in his small pool of energy, cutting the tiny reserve by about a quarter.

The power of Command faded from his eyes as he wondered if he could deactivate it unlike his Geass.

'Huh, I guess it responds to my will unlike a Runaway Geass.' Lelouch considered while watching the woman to see the reaction she'd have to his actions.

The elderly woman gasped as, after looking into the young man's eyes, she could no longer feel even the dull ache that she had come to live with as her cancer progressed. In an instant, a second she couldn't recall, she had been freed from her pain.

Tears of joy filled her eyes. "Bless you, young man." She sobbed happily. "Bless you." She repeated, crying in happiness. "My pain, it's gone." She whispered in wonder. "It's gone!" She repeated to herself a few times, uncontrollable joyous laughter fleeing her frail body.

Lelouch hid his pain from her 'blessing' and let the family back in to reunite, with the father, daughter, and mother all crying tears of joy.

He felt his power grow as the Contract was fulfilled, sensing the elderly man would likely join his wife if she passed on soon by the end of the year.

'Three months.' Lelouch realized that was how much energy the old man had left to live, after their Contract.

He had gained three months' worth of lifeforce as a payment after using his power to ease the woman's suffering for a little while longer. 'How unfair.' Lelouch mused, feeling slightly bad for the old man even though he could sense the old man's fate was sealed by this Contract.

Still, his first Contract had completed and he could feel his base energy levels had more than doubled thanks to the high-level wish he had granted.

It wasn't saying much considering they were rather low to begin with, but it was a surprising jump for his first Contract. He felt rejuvenated despite the chunk of energy that ended up being used to fulfill the Contract.

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