Humanity has ultimately perished. In order to rectify the tragedies of the past, Lelouch, the inheritor of the title of King of Humanity, returns to the beginning of it all, coming back as a king, carrying the hopes and desires of all the lost souls! This time, he will correct all tragedies; this time, he will obtain everything, seize everything, and embrace all the girls, holding power over the world! Enveloped in the lap of beauty! "I am the King of Humanity. In this world, everything—money, beauties, and power—belongs to me. Those who defy me shall face death!"
"Brother... Brother! I know you're not dead!"
The one hundredth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, the only one to reign for fifty years, and the last Empress—Nunnally Lamperouge—lay frail on the sickbed, staring fondly at the familiar figure by her bedside.
"I'm sorry, Nunnally!"
Lelouch gazed sorrowfully at his sister, tightly holding her small hands, as tears of remorse fell one by one from the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the white bedsheet.
"I know, Brother! It's not your fault, it's mine, it's Suzaku's, it's Father's and Mother's, it's... this world's!"
Nunnally slowly shook her head. Now, to her, not only speaking but even shaking her head had become such a luxury and challenge.
"Brother, I'm so cold, so cold, don't leave me! Just having you is enough for me!"
"Yes, Brother will never leave you, ever!"
Lelouch embraced Nunnally and shouted loudly, his voice filled with indescribable sorrow.
"Brother, I wish, I wish to go back to the days when we lived together!"
"I see Sister Euphemia, Sister Shirley, Sister Milly, and Empress Cornelia li Britannia, Suzaku, Kallen, Sister C, so many people! We... we lived together happily!"
"Brother, I don't want to be an Emperor, just having you is enough!"
"I'm here, I'm by your side, Nunnally!"
"Brother, I regret not becoming your wife, Brother, until the end!"
Nunnally's voice was at the brink of fading, her gaze becoming slightly unfocused. Lelouch knew this was her final moment of clarity.
"You are my wife, Nunnally!"
"So happy, Brother, at last, I am your wife!"
"Yes, Nunnally, you are my wife, and in the future, we'll have lots of children, and then we'll live happily together forever!"
"How wonderful, kiss me, Brother!"
Lelouch gently held Nunnally's small face, aligned his lips with hers, and softly kissed her.
Nunnally's lips were cold and dry, pale like a sheet of white paper. Warm tears rolled down from Lelouch's eyes, passing over their joined lips, adding a touch of bitterness to the kiss.
Nunnally wore a smile, gazing deeply into Lelouch's eyes, and finally, the light in them gradually faded. Only her lips continued to hold that trace of a happy smile.
"CC, was my choice all those years ago wrong?"
Lelouch quietly parted from Nunnally's gradually cooling lips, gazing at the hint of a smile on his sister's face, his voice filled with coldness and resolve.
"Perhaps."
CC embraced Lelouch from behind, resting her face against his back, softly speaking.
"Suzaku is dead, Kallen is dead, Cornelia li Britannia is dead, and now even Nunnally is dead!"
"Those we knew, those who once fought to eliminate war, in the end, still died in this world's final war!"
"Even humanity is about to die!"
Lelouch clenched his fists, and streams of blood seeped through his fingers, dripping onto the tear-soaked sheet, painting vivid plum blossoms.
Since he faked his death fifty years ago, Nunnally had become the one hundredth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire. Following the death of the ninety-ninth Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia, who symbolized the world's sins, wars gradually ceased worldwide. Under Nunnally's command, the Holy Britannian Empire abandoned its weapons and dismantled the Athena's Grace.
Peace had finally graced the world.
Resources once devoted to war were now used to heal its wounds and improve people's lives. Everyone believed that as long as Empress Nunnally reigned, the Holy Britannian Empire, which once sparked wars worldwide, would now serve as a vital shield for maintaining global peace.
For the first thirty years, peace was the collective wish of all, driven by the leadership of the Chinese Federation, Holy Britannian Empire, and the European Union, making peace the prevailing theme.
This period was known as the true peace.
However, human history is a chronicle of wars written in iron and blood. Especially with the emergence of strategic weapons like Freyja, capable of annihilating humanity, nations that had split independently from the three superpowers secretly developed these weapons to avoid future invasions.
Moreover, as time passed, the ambitions of nations mastering these weapons quietly grew.
Yet, under the intervention of Emperor Nunnally of the Holy Britannian Empire, Empress Tianzi Jiang Lihua of the Chinese Federation, and Emperor Kaguya of Japan, these smaller nations, although still in constant conflict, refrained from using such powerful weapons. The world's structure was still predominantly peaceful.
From this point, the world's peace was termed as a false peace, as the shadows of war began to spread.
Fifty years passed, and the heroes of the last great war gradually died. Ten years ago, Suzaku succumbed to old injuries and died bedridden. Five years ago, Kallen died from an assassination. Milly, Cornelia li Britannia, and others who once resisted Lelouch and saved the world also died one by one over time. A year ago, Emperor Kaguya of Japan suddenly died while visiting the Holy Britannian Empire. Shortly after, Prince Li Xingke of the Chinese Federation died from recurring injuries, followed by the grief-stricken Empress Tianzi. Only Nunnally remained to uphold this false peace.
However, the undercurrents hidden beneath the facade of peace began to surge again.
Conflict erupted first in the Middle East, as the independent Persian Empire and Arabian Federation went to war, deploying the powerful Freyja bombs—far more destructive than the once feared Athena's Grace—reducing the Middle East to rubble in an instant. The explosion's dust spread towards the Indian subcontinent and the Mediterranean, driving countless refugees towards Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Chaos spread globally alongside the refugee waves.
To survive and continue living, nations began frantically militarizing. Particularly the Chinese Federation, Japan, and the European Union were gradually drawn into the fray. During this period, not even Nunnally's prestige could quell the domestic panic about impending wars.
Initially, the Holy Britannian Empire had unified the world. With manipulation from certain malicious individuals, the sole bastion of peace, the Holy Britannian Empire, also joined the arms race, vigorously developing new weapons and potent Freyja bombs.
Exhausted in body and mind, Nunnally finally succumbed to illness amidst the ministers' relentless impeachment and public fears about war.
A month ago, war erupted completely. To preemptively eliminate threats from smaller nations' Freyja weapons, the European Union and Chinese Federation struck first, clearing nearby forces and using Freyja bombs.
Pandora's box was completely opened.
No matter the numbers or advanced weaponry, all efforts were futile against the Freyja weapons. Countless cities, villages, forests, and mountains were utterly destroyed by Freyja, turning them into lifeless deserts.
Then, it spread toward the world's last pure land, the Holy Britannian Empire.
Canada, Mexico, and the countries of South America—all brought out their stockpiled Freyja weapons and placed them on missile launchers.
First came the first missile, then the second, the third, and the fourth.
Central Asia, destroyed!
The Indian subcontinent, destroyed!
Africa, destroyed!
Europe, destroyed!
Asia, destroyed!
Australia, destroyed!
Now, as Nunnally lay on her deathbed, it was finally the Holy Britannian Empire's turn.
"If I hadn't given up ruling the world back then, perhaps humanity wouldn't face destruction today!"
Lelouch carefully placed Nunnally's now cold hand under the blanket, stood up, and walked to the window. In the distance, the shockwave from the Freyja explosion approached, with all-encompassing dust and a sky shrouded in black clouds, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
No, this was the apocalypse!
The day of humanity's demise!
CC also stood up, walked to Lelouch's side, and together they watched the approaching dust clouds from the window.
Rumble, rumble...
Amidst the enormous roar of collapse, the Imperial Palace of the Holy Britannian Empire, the last structure on Earth, and the last three humans disappeared into the rolling dust and sand.
December 12, 2068 AD, Earth's humanity, destroyed!
A year later, what used to be the Holy Britannian Empire's Imperial Palace was completely replaced by a barren desert. Wild winds swept through, weeds grew rampant, and unknown small animals inhabited the desolate land. The entire Earth seemed to have returned to five hundred million years ago, to the moment when life had just begun.
One day, a small animal resembling a rabbit was foraging in a sparse patch of grass when a tremor from the ground startled it into rapid flight. Soon, the patch of grass began to gently sway, and after a full day and night, a human hand suddenly burst through the surface. Then, the surrounding sand and dirt were slowly displaced as a figure crawled out.
"Ptooey, ptooey! I wondered why it was so difficult to dig, turns out there was a bunch of weeds growing on top!"
The figure spat out the sand from their mouth, then squatted by the edge of the dug hole and reached into it.
"It's safe now, CC, come on out!"
"Okay!"
A woman's voice emerged from the deep pit, and then a petite body was pulled out by the man outside. Due to the effort, both fell onto the ground together.
"Lelouch, it seems humanity really has been destroyed!"
"Yes, it's just the two of us left!"
"Adam and Eve, are we?"
"Too bad the two of us can't procreate!"
From this dialogue, it is clear that these two were the last human survivors on Earth a year ago, and now, they are the only two unique humans alive in this world.
These two humans, possessing CODE, had achieved immortality.
Lelouch vi Britannia and his contractor, the legendary witch—CC.
A year ago, shortly after the apocalypse, Lelouch and CC had already resurrected, but since they were buried so deeply, it took them an entire year of digging to finally reach the surface again.
"Since humanity is already destroyed, why haven't we died, and the power we possess seems..."
Lelouch glanced around, with an almost tangible mental energy allowing him to perceive everything within a hundred-mile radius. His body seemed to possess limitless strength; even the hardest rocks underground could be easily crushed to powder by him.
"Yes, this power far surpasses that of humans. The power of GEASS could only influence the mind, but now we can directly influence reality with our thoughts!"
CC nodded, pointing with her right hand into the distance. A massive boulder, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, immediately floated into the air like a feather, performing intricate maneuvers under CC's control.
"Something's wrong!"
Lelouch and CC exchanged glances, speaking in unison.
Both Lelouch and CC were exceptionally intelligent, especially Lelouch, who had been pondering the origins of these changes ever since he felt the immense transformation in his body a year ago.
Relating it to the cataclysm that annihilated humanity and their experiences in the World of C, Lelouch suspected that the changes in himself and CC were undoubtedly linked to the destroyed humanity. Now, upon returning to land, this premonition grew even stronger.
"Let's go search!"
Lelouch suddenly suggested, interrupting CC's playful manipulation of the boulder, which then crashed heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
"What?"
"The remnants and the reason for humanity's destruction!"
Lelouch's gaze moved cautiously between the sky and the earth, becoming more intense. He seemed to sense an incredibly powerful will observing him from all directions, filled with a menacing malevolence.
At the same time, an unknown voice in the air was calling to him, guiding him, as if trying to convey something important.