Lelouch of the Immortal
A world without war, discrimination, poverty and hunger is tempting at first, but a stagnant world of absolute good is also dangerous and mad. Lelouch embarks on a new journey, a new ultimatum to save progress and humankind. Are you ready for a new revolution?
Prologue
[Somewhere in heaven]
God: Lelouch vi Britannia, ninety-ninth emperor of Holy Britannia, a remarkable man who destroyed the old world and created a new. He was responsible for ending war and discrimination throughout an entire empire. Such a name in history was legend, as he fought for justice, succumbs to megalomania and died a tyrant. However, he planned his death to wash away his sins, knowing he achieved his purpose: to build a better world. He was but my servant and I now command him to become the ambassador of humankind.
Gabriel: My lord, what good is he back as a mortal when his purpose hath passed?
God: The world he built was indeed better off for all but not the one he intended to create. Certainly, it is not the world I intended to foster. After his death, his successor Nunnally vi Britannia promoted a gentle world of equality which complemented his dreams, but this world is unchanging, stagnant.
Gabriel: I see such a society is not one Mother Nature's desires.
God: That is why I must send my servant to Earth and change it the way nature intends it to be. Summon him with thy horn!
[Gabriel blows his horn]
[Lelouch enters the scene]
Lelouch: You summon me, my lord?
God: Lelouch, remember the aristocracy you eliminated, the social structure you destroyed?
Lelouch: Yes.
God: The world your sister governs has ended war, poverty, hunger and discrimination.
Lelouch: Sounds like a paradise.
God: Yes. But the truth of this paradise is that it elevated every human being to the aristocratic life, ones who do not think anymore. Furthermore, there is no improvement whatsoever.
Lelouch: That is not the world I envisioned.
God: That is why I am sending you to become my ambassador of Earth.
Lelouch: But I have banished myself from the world, redeeming all my wrongdoings such that the world can be a better place.
God: I respect you Lelouch, but you have a new purpose, a holy ultimatum as the sentinel for humankind, a messenger from heaven. I will grant you immortality and the power of Holy See, the powers in which let you watch for eons to come, not as a mortal on Earth but a divine being! Do as you wish to change the world once more my servant!
Part 1: Return of the King
Lelouch descended from heaven in a beam of light to a beautiful countryside, where a narrow dirt path and cobblestone wall lay side by side. On one side of the wall, lay a herd of grazing sheep, living a lazy life of eat and sleep. On the other side of the wall, there was an orange orchard full of fruit, ripe and ready to be served.
A warm summer breeze blew past Lelouch's cheek as he stared aimlessly at the two sides and commented, "What a beautiful sight, so serene and full of life that I gave up in my youth. I now regret Zero Requiem, had I not known this wonderful paradise." He sucked in a deep breath of fresh air into his transcendent body and gave a deep sigh.
"Life is too short for one to discover the world, no matter how much time is given to you," Lelouch said with a smirk on his face, "My immortal witch, you are wrong, life is too golden to be just accumulations of events, I pity your view on life." He marched down the dirt path towards the blue snow mountains, past meadows, hills and lakes. More importantly, he marched down the path of time, forever forward and irreversible, just as always.
For two days, Lelouch hitched rides on neighbouring wagons and vehicles that brought him closer to Pendragon, the rebuilt capital of Britannia, where his sister Nunnally sat on her throne in a palace that hovered in the sky. It has been thirty two years since her ascension to the throne as the one-hundredth prince of Holy Britannia, since the Zero Requiem, since Lelouch's untimely death as she witnessed.
"Life is a bore," Nunnally said while petting her royal kitten. Much has changed since thirty two years ago. Lelouch ended war and discrimination, and the remaining national wealth was implemented on welfare to erase poverty and hunger from the populace. With this enormous treasury at her disposal, the unexcited empress looked at her cat in a vacant throne room and said, "Life is a chore. At least I have fourteen more years to go." Apart from universal welfare, empress Nunnally imposed another solution to poverty and hunger: forced euthanasia at age sixty.
"The elderly are sick, ill composed and of no contribution to Britannian society," said the now middle aged empress. Nunnally opened a locket she wore around her neck which bore a picture of her face from when she was blind. "I looked pretty when I was young, like a sleeping beauty forever. I remember being taken care of by big brother and Miss Sayoko. I wish I can return to those innocent days."
"But you cannot," popped a voice around the corner. She stared at the figure with an appalled face. To her disbelief, she just heard a voice she missed so dearly for over thirty years.
"This can't be, big brother, is that you?" she spoke in a frightened voice. "But I am!" the voice replied. Lelouch stepped out of the dark and into the spotlight shining, revealing his Geass eyes. "You used Geass!" Nunnally cried.
"Do not worry, I am technically not alive. You may call me a 'material spirit' if you wish because I was slain before my throne on that momentous day," Lelouch said as he closed his eyes to remove his Geass, "But your gentle world, my dear sister is not a world god desires! It is not a world I fought for!"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the society you created!"
"It is the one you aspired for. It is without war or discrimination among numbers!"
"That part is true, but have you seen the world outside? Have you noticed it looks the same as thirty years ago?"
Nunnally widened her eyes at this statement in which sounded absurd to her.
"This world hasn't changed. There is no development. To make things worse, you have imposed these rules internationally through my brainchild, the United Federation of Nations, haven't you?"
"Yes I have."
"You can diminish the amount of poverty by raising the standard of living for everyone, but when the conditions become absolute, it becomes an egregious error! This world you created is the consequence for this absolute!"
"It is also the consequence for my tiresome days as supreme ruler of Holy Britannia."
"You see, the world needs to change, starting now. I Lelouch vi Britannia command you with the power of god to appoint me as highest minister in utmost secrecy!" A gleam of light in the shape of a trident flashes on his iris as white light entered Nunnally's eyes, which possessed her mind.
"On my honour," she said obsequiously. The possession rite ended there, but the effect lingered in her subconscious. Her eyes reverted back to normal in a moment. Nunnally looked at her older brother affectionately and said, "Big brother, I am your younger sister but here I am an old woman, yet you stand before me as handsome as ever." Lelouch let out a chuckle and said, "At least you are still alive, dear Nunnally," Lelouch turned his back on her and said, "I have no time to chat, but let us talk sometime in the future."
Lelouch pensively commented on the citizens of Pendragon: Look at this city. I see two halves. On one half, every citizen lives in harmonious bliss; a life without worries. On the other, there is a clear lack of curiosity and intellectual pursuit. I wonder if Lloyd is still here, he is the man I never thought I have to talk to.