Darkness…...All Lelouch could feel was darkness. Is this what death is like? Lelouch thought to himself. Am I in C's World right now, as part of the Collective Unconscious? A fitting fate for what I've done. Lelouch sighed, closed his eyes, and resigned himself to his fate. Suddenly, Lelouch felt his back land on something. What? He thought. This feeling was strange. It felt like he was lying on a field of grass. A gentle breeze caressed his face and a damp, earthy smell entered his nose. He felt warm sunlight tickle his face. He could hear the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance.
"Ugh," Lelouch muttered as he opened his eyes. His surroundings surprised him. He was lying in front of a white altar surrounded by green grass. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue with small fluffy white clouds. What happened? Where am I? Why are my surroundings different now? Lelouch thought. Is this truly wha-
"Ooh! You're here?" A voice suddenly snapped Lelouch out of his thoughts. "Then the ritual actually worked!" Startled, Lelouch looked around to find the source of the voice. He quickly noticed a red-haired woman with her hair tied back into a ponytail. She was clad in beautiful and opulent white and gold armor that shimmered in the sunlight. In her left hand, she carried an axe made of fine, polished silver.
"Ahem…" the woman cleared her throat and began to speak. "Oh Great Hero from another world! Thou hast come to fulfill your role in our legend!"
She's speaking in an oddly theatrical way, Lelouch observed. The woman continued, "For our kingdom now stands on the very brink of ruin! And thou..." The woman paused and took a double take at Lelouch. "Hold on, are you really our Great Hero? You don't look like the 'thee-and-thou' type." Lelouch took a moment to look at himself. He noticed he was wearing his black Ashford Academy school uniform. How am I wearing this? Didn't I last wear my Emperor robes? These definitely don't make me look "heroic" at all.
Taking advantage of the woman's pause, Lelouch asked "Where am I? How did I get here?"
"What's that? You want to know where you are?" the woman replied, "Fair enough. You're in-"
"FOUND YOU!" A masculine voice interrupted, halting their conversation. Lelouch and the woman turned their heads. Rushing towards them was a man wearing black and gold armor. In his hand was an iron axe. "Drat!" the woman spat, "How did one of those Emblians get here already? Stand back! I'll take care of him somehow!" She brandished her axe and charged at the enemy axeman. Lelouch picked himself on his feet and backed away from the fight. He watched in awe as the woman gracefully swung her axe at the enemy while parrying her opponent's strikes. The sound of clanging metal rang out as she and her opponent clashed with their weapons.
From observing the battle, Lelouch deduced that the woman would soon gain the upper hand because she was more agile and had more control over her weapon. His prediction was proven right a few seconds of combat. The enemy axe fighter raised his axe above his head swung it downward at the woman's head. As if she had anticipated the move, the woman dodged to the right and swung her axe across her opponent's throat. He staggered back a couple steps and clutched his throat as blood gushed out of it and out his mouth. He then collapsed on the ground.
"Whew!" the woman exhaled, trying to catch her breath. "We took care of him!" She wiped the blood off her axe with a white cloth and holstered it. Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief. Wait, he thought, I still don't know who she is. "May I ask who you are?" Lelouch asked.
"Oh!" The woman replied. "I suppose I still haven't introduced myself. My name's Anna. I command the Order of Heroes. What is your name?"
Even if this is another world, Lelouch pondered, I probably should keep my true identity secret. I would rather not take any unnecessary risks. "Lelouch Lamperouge," he replied.
"Lelouch, huh? "I've never heard of such a name like yours. Must be foreign." Anna responded, "Anyway, we got off track for a second there. As I said earlier, I command the Order of Heroes. We believe that Heroes should live free. Our enemies, however, enslave them and force them to fight."
My world knows way too much of the horrors of slavery Lelouch thought to himself. Anna continued. "This realm has gateways to worlds where Heroes come from."
"What kind of world's?" Lelouch asked, "And what are 'Heroes' anyway?"
"Don't tell me you've never heard of the World of Awakening?" a flabbergasted Anna responded, "Or the World of Birthright or Conquest? Or renowned Heroes such as Marth, Ike, Lyn, or Chrom?"
I might have heard one of those names when Rivalz once started rambling about some video game he liked, Lelouch mused, but otherwise, those names are completely unfamiliar. He shook his head. "Who is this enemy you speak of?" Lelouch asked, trying to change the subject.
"You mean the Emblian Empire?" Anna said, "They invade other worlds and bind Heroes to their service. We the Order of Heroes fight for their freedom. Remember that soldier from earlier?"
"You mean the one you defeated earlier?" Lelouch inquired?
"Yes, him." Anna said. "He was from Embla, which will soon invade our neighboring kingdom of Askr."
Invading other territories just for the sake of conquest, Lelouch thought, Just like the Holy Britannian Empire. He clenched his fist.
"I was desperate for help," Anna explained, "so I performed a summoning ceremony and you just appeared out of nowhere."
That partially explains how I got here, Lelouch thought.
"Lucky us!" Anna proclaimed, "but there's no time to rest. We have to act fast in order to save Askr!"
"So, why am I here and what do I need to do?" Lelouch asked.
"First things first," Anna said, " I summoned you here with the divine Breidablik. That's the name of this relic I've brought." She took out a small white and gold relic. He took a few moments to observe the odd shape of the relic. This looks like a weirdly shaped handgun, he mused.
"It fires something out of it according to legend," Anna continued, "but Breidablik doesn't look like any bow I've seen."
I was suspicious before, Lelouch contemplated, but now this confirms it. I'm in some sort of medieval fantasy world. Anna continued with her lecture. "The legend also calls it the 'true key,' which, if raised high, will call the Great Hero who can fire it. That's how you got here." She handed the Breidablik to Lelouch. "This relic brought you here," she said, "so it's all yours now. Hopefully you can figure out how to-"
"THERE SHE IS! GET HER!" A pair of masculine voices once again interrupted Lelouch and Anna's conversation. They turned their heads to see two Emblian soldiers charging at them. One was wielding an iron axe similar to the foe Anna killed earlier and the other was wielding an iron bow.
"Damn!" Anna cursed, "More Emblians." She turned to face Lelouch, a grim but determined expression on her face. "I can't defeat them both by myself, and you're not equipped to help. I'll hold them off! Take Breidablik, Lelouch, and RUN!" She turned towards the Emblians and ran towards them. Ignoring her orders, Lelouch stood his grounds. I've found ways out of situations way worse than this, he thought and I have a weapon that apparently I can only use. Lelouch aimed Breidablik at the archer's head and pulled the trigger, expecting a projectile to fire out of it. What came out surprised him. It wasn't a bullet, it was a portal! Out of the portal appeared a man dressed in refined noble clothes. He had long, flowing blue hair and gripped a gleaming silver bow in his hand coupled with a quiver filled with arrows made of the same silver. Lelouch, Anna, and the Emblians could only stare in shock.
"My goodness! Where am I?" said the noble in a prim, refined accent. Anna was the first to regain her composure. "You just summoned a Hero, Lelouch!" she exclaimed, "How did you do that?"
"All I did was raise Breidablik and pull the trigger," Lelouch replied, "Now, let's focus on these enemies."
"I don't know how I got dragged here in such an uncouth manner," the noble said, "but since there are enemies out to spill our blood, I might as well help you with my fine archery skills." He took a bow. "I am Virion, the archest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service." Lelouch began giving his orders. "Anna, attack the axe fighter. Virion, distract the archer until I give further instructions." Anna and Virion nodded and got to work while Lelouch stood back and observed. The axe fighter sported a slow, but powerful fighting style similar to the previous axe fighter. Meanwhile, Virion and the enemy archer started shooting volleys of arrows at each other. Similar to the previous fight, Anna quickly outmaneuvered the axe fighter and finished him off soon after.
"I defeated the axe fighter," Anna reported, "What now Lelouch?"
"Virion currently has the archer distracted." Lelouch responded. "Flank him from the left side and take him by surprise." Anna nodded while Virion kept the enemy archer busy with his arrows. "One thing, though," Anna explained to Lelouch, "my special ability, Night Sky, is ready. With it, we can win."
Lelouch nodded. "Now, flank him as I ordered you to."
"Yes sir!" Anna replied as she began her charge. As she rushed at the archer, green sparkles shimmered around her body. "Onwards to victory!" She shouted when she was on top of the archer before dispatching of him with three lightning-fast axe swings.
"We won!" Anna proclaimed as she pumped her fist in the air.
"Quite a ravishing victory!" Virion celebrated.
"All of it was thanks to you," Anna told Lelouch, "because you're the only one who can summon Heroes. You truly are the Great Hero who will save our kingdom."
"Good to know that I at least have a purpose here." Lelouch stated with a smile, Especially since I fulfilled my purpose back in my world.
"Our ranks are small, but welcome to the Order of Heroes." Anna expressed with a warm smile in her face. "Now that you're here, we'll win our fight against the empire, Lelouch."
"Glad I can help." Lelouch responded.
"Now, we must make our way to Askr's castle." Anna commanded. "Don't worry, I'll lead the way. With those words, Lelouch, Anna, and Virion began their journey.
And there's the second prelude chapter! Now that I've got the first two chapters up, I will slow down on writing a bit. For those who are wondering about Lelouch's Geass, I will address that in either the next chapter or the chapter after that. Anyways, thanks for reading! Please rate and review!
