Dispair. That would be the first word Lelouch would use to describe his current emotional state. That is, if his ability to construct logical thoughts weren't obstructed by said emotion.
All should've worked out. After the Zero Requiem was completed world peace should have been established, with the Black knights and Zero protecting it for centuries to come. When he closed his eyes, for what he imagined the last time, while laying on his back on top of the imperial parade vehicle and hearing the mix of exited cheers and horrified wails, he thought he'd done it.
'A fitting end for the demon emperor'; Or so Suzaku had claimed. And he was inclined to agree. And yet, as if it were all a cruel joke, he did not find himself in an eternal abyss or perhaps never-ending torment in hell like he imagined to be destined for after all he'd done. But for Lelouch, it might as well have been the latter.
He found himself conscious but without a body or the usual five senses to accompany with it. Yet he still saw and heard it all. He observed every place at the same time, all the time. Every second felt like an eternity, yet it would fly by in an instant. An indescribable feeling for sure. Lelouch was certain that if he was still constricted by the physical limitations of the brain, he would surely be overloaded with the sheer amount of information the second it begun.
But it was not the strange situation that put him in such a despairing state. No, it was what he observed. Wide eyed he watched on as the world fell apart like a house of cards. It begun well at first. With the death of the greatest tyrant history had ever seen, all of the world cheered and became optimistic towards the future for the first time in decades.
Nunnally vi Britannia ascended the throne and decreed all areas outside of the mainland be given their original identities and autonomy back. Effectively ending years of oppression in the regions. She was heralded as the bringer of freedom, rebranding the empire as a whole.
The UFN, together with the EU and Britannia, helped in the efforts to rebuild these countries and regions that were destroyed in the war.
The Black Knights, led by Suzaku as Zero, continued to keep the global peace in an effective manner. Stopping multiple conflicts before they could escalate.
However, after a few peaceful years, the cracks in the plan started to show. Cracks that were, now in hindsight, simply waved off with idealistic confidence, stating that such a thing surely wouldn't happen. The EU returned to its predatory politics, often having politicians delaying or outright denying actions that would serve the people for their personal gain. Corruption once again ran rampant and soon began to infect the UFN and the African nations.
Discontent soon followed. Insurgency against the local authority became commonplace, especially in the countries that served as the battlegrounds for the war and had hundreds of thousands of unaccounted weapons laying around. Assassinations of local representatives became a daily occurrence. The more groups the governments eliminated, the more popped up.
The Black Knights did their best, but were spread too thin to completely root out the insurrectionists. Curing the symptoms but neglecting the disease, as it were.
Although this almost only occurred in the democratic countries, the countries that were governed by a monarchal or imperial system also had their fair share of problems. Ranging from the people demanding representation in the government, destabilizing the centralized power structure, to attempted coup d'état's of extremist factions in the military. Some more successful than others, resulting in further global instability.
Britannia wasn't spared from this, as only the demon emperor could control the remnants of the purist faction. With him and his control lost, they regrouped into a new faction with the same name. With growing support in the military and economic institutions they gained a strong voice in the imperial court, which although without actual nobles was comprised of influential people of the different sectors of the country.
The purists used their power to strong-arm the Empress into unjust policies, lest they hinder or simply shut down important institutions that the country depended on as a threat. As a result, the once thought bygone oppressive rulings returned. Honorary Britannians were deemed unworthy and put in a lower class of the hierarchy, not only in the social sense, but also in the legal form.
Rights were stripped from those that were deemed as less genetically 'pure'. Dehumanizing those that were not born from a long family tree of Britannians. The Empress tried to stop this, but failed to keep the purists from expanding their power. Eventually leading to an assassination attempt on the, by purists perceived, weak royal. Although it did not succeed, it put the Empress in a coma she would never wake up from.
Without evidence against them or the EU, the purists blamed this on the latter, quickly grabbing power by having the prime minister, loyal to their cause, declare war. Due to the Empress still living, the purists argued the prime minister held the right to rule until she were to wake up, which became largely accepted by the Britannian public, influenced by propaganda. And so Britannia became an empire only in name, having become a de facto oligarchic dictatorship with a ruling party out for blood.
The UFN, together with the Black Knights, tried to mediate. But it proved futile in the end. With war comes the need for weapons, which ultimately leads to progress in the field of research only death can thrive in.
Weapons of mass destruction comparable, if not greater, in scale to the F.L.E.I.J.A warhead were introduced during the war. It did not take long for both sides to throw them each other's way, consequences be damned. As a result came great civilian losses on both sides, even damaging the territories of neutral countries.
Because Britannia was seen as the main instigator of this conflict by the international community, many joined the side of the EU. The UFN became divided on deciding their next course of action. Some wanted to join the side of the EU, while others wanted to stay neutral, not wanting to lose the new infrastructure and military that cost them so much to rebuild.
Although a vote decided in favor of joining the war against Britannia, many were discontent with such a resolution. Causing more than 40% of the UFN to leave the Federation, not wanting to antagonize Britannia. Yet, this proved futile for both sides in the end. Britannia introduced their newest weapon, called the Curse, on the battlefield of France.
Once detonated, the bomb would spread a highly radioactive chemical agent into the surrounding area as a gas cloud, with a radius of 100 kilometers around ground zero. While being extremely lethal to any living being, it was more destructive to its surroundings than anything else. It infected the natural habitat inside the perimeter, making it entirely uninhabitable for any human regardless of protection.
Even the pilots inside their knightmares, who are completely sealed off from the gas, could not be protected from the radiation. Which was so strong it essentially burned those affected, causing a gruesome death.
Soon, the EU and her allies caught on. Not willing to be outdone by its adversary, they replicated the weapon and used it in the same manner. Wherever those weapons were used, made the surroundings a no man's land with death its only inhabitant. It only became worse when it was used on a large scale using aerial bombings, especially over densely populated cities such as Berlin, Paris, London, New York, Boston, Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi, St. Petersburg and more.
Lelouch's friends began dying soon after. By that time 7 years had gone by since the war started, 13 after his death. Kallen, as a member of the Black Knights, fought against Britannia during the first use of the Curse in France. Many of the Black knights perished, Tamaki and her included.
The Ikaruga was destroyed in a battle over the Atlantic, killing Ohgi and Tohdoh, together with a large part of the upper echelons of the Black Knights. Dealing a catastrophic blow to the organization, one they would never recover from.
Zero was ambushed by 'rebels' and unmasked on live recording, shocking the world. Suzaku, deemed an accomplice of the demon emperor and once again shunned by the world, was soon afterward executed by the 'rebels'.
Cornelia and her knights were killed in action by friendly fire of an EU curse bomb over the city of Boston, while in an undercover operation to help the local rebels against Britannia. The cause for this was chalked up as a miscommunication between the EU and UFN military, souring the diplomatic relations between the two.
The former knights of the round that still lived after the Zero Requiem were all killed or missing in action during different battles. Morale ever decreasing on both sides by the extensive losses.
A revolution followed in Britannia against the purist government, and succeeded in taking over the country. Yet it all proved futile when the remaining purist leaders, spurred by a fanatical dream of a perfect Britannian race, saw the writing on the wall. They understood their cause was lost and enacted their final failsafe. Operation Cursed Eclipse.
In a bunker far in the wilderness of Nevada, five people stood around a pentagonal table. They each brought out their personal key and placed them in their respective locks which were imbedded in every side of the table. They proceeded to type in a code which confirmed their choice.
Seconds later, a screen lighted up in front of the defeated prime minister's side of the table, asking for the final command. He pressed 'proceed'.
Soon after, worldwide in undisclosed locations, autonomous warheads were activated. Some lay in the depths of cities, others at the bottom of the ocean. Tens of thousands of them. They detonated. Green smoke filled with radiation spread out over the world. Life dying rapidly in the immediate blast range. Radiation effects soon started to take effect and the sun became blocked out by the green smoke.
The surface of a once lively world became a wasteland, death its sole king. Nothing moved, not a single signal of life. Those that were unfortunate enough to be above ground, the great majority, were dead.
However, humanity was not completely wiped out. Small pockets of civilization that were lucky enough to be sealed off from the destruction deep underground, survived. Since the creation of the Curse, many thought ahead and planned for an apocalypse.
But, no-one could have predicted the sheer size of the destruction that reigned. Many bunkers didn't stand a chance against the radiation, killing its occupants the same way as on the surface. Others only had enough provisions for a decade at most, forgetting any sense of sustainability and underestimating the duration of uninhabitability that would plague the surface.
Those that did prepare well, oftentimes being government institutions, were safe for the first few decades. Although they could not communicate with other pockets of resistance against the tyranny of death, they could create a stable life underground.
But they could never plan nor prevent the inherent danger that would prove to be humanity's downfall. Human nature. Division, chaos, betrayal and most of all, greed. Everybody wants to rule the world, and it just got a whole lot smaller.
Coups against their leaders and simple slaughter by the deranged, having gained psychological trauma of witnessing the end of the world, became more common.
Humanity, for a time, returned to its tribal age with the technology that could be salvaged. Eventually, over the centuries, new countries started to form. They attempted to return to the surface but found that it would be impossible for millennia.
So instead of upwards, they began looking to expand downwards, until it became too hot to settle there to. As a result, the countries began vying for space and power. Creating weapons anew, not having learned of history.
In the many wars that were fought, as if an ironic joke of fate, scientist and researchers alike found inspiration in seismic activity and the possible weapon that could be made utilizing it.
And so, as if repeating history, humanity made a weapon designed to cause earthquakes with great enough magnitudes to cause entire cities to be buried. Not five decades later and it was used on a massive scale worldwide by a nation that could not swallow its defeat at the hands of its adversary.
The Great Collapse, or so they called it before they too perished, eliminated all of the underground structures that were needed to support humanity on a large enough scale to stave off extinction. Though some survived, they soon too followed their forebears into the embrace of death. Pushed by the hand of their own race, forever causing its own misery.
And so humanity died, not with a great spark, but slowly dying like the feint flame of a candle. Snuffed out by the darkness it itself created.
Lelouch found himself alone in that darkness, not knowing how long had passed. It could have been millennia or not even a second, until he heard it. A voice.
'This is what will be.' The voice said, sounding ethereal yet seemed to be formed of multiple voices at once.
A figure appeared before him. It seemed to be made out of light, staving off the darkness that previously enveloped him. It didn't have any distinctive features, just the outlining of an androgynous human form.
'Not exactly what you wished for is it, Lelouch vi Britannia?' it sounded again, seemingly within his mind.
'Wh- Who are you?' he asked, not sure if he could communicate back, since he no longer had a physical form. 'Are you… the Collective Unconscious?' confused, he tries to answer his own question.
'Correct' it answered matter-of-factly. 'b-but how? I saw everyone die. Humanity is extinct! How can you exi-' he began saying with panic becoming more clear the longer he spoke, slowly replacing his confusion.
'That was not the present,' the Collective Unconscious interjected 'but the inevitable future humanity will face, regardless of any variable that could interfere.'
'The future?' he repeated, once again doubting his own sanity. 'Yes, the future. Although only one of the possibilities, in all of the possible futures after your little escapade as emperor, humanity will fall. Doomed by its own hubris.' it said, as if speaking to a child.
'So it was all for nothing?' He began to doubt himself, all the atrocities he committed, people he'd killed, the blood that he spilled with the justification that it was for the greater good, was for nothing?
'Well, not for nothing,' it continued in the same tone that, if not for his existential crisis, he surely would have addressed. 'you began alright, although with questionable actions which I don't really care about, until you had the genius idea to kill yourself in the idealistic pursuit of eternal peace.'
'To be honest, for a person who calls himself a strategical genius, that was by far your worst move' with a condescending tone it circled around him, as if inspecting his non-existent form.
'Yeah, well not everyone is omniscient…' he tried to shoot back, trying to keep his mental breakdown in the back of his mind.
'Oh but I'm not. Although most would acquaint me to a god, I'm far from it' it explained, creating only more confusion. 'sigh' it sighed with exasperation clear in its voice, probably realizing he didn't understand.
'Since I am the collective of all minds that live and have ever lived, I only know that which is known' it started, still as if talking to a child, which he began thinking might not be the default. 'In this way, I only know what others do. I do not know the happenings of dead objects or other animals. In this way I make predictions of the future. Are you still with me?' it asked in a smug tone, as if half expecting that he would say no.
'But why would there be only one outcome to all those future paths? Why is it certain the human race will go extinct?' he asked, deciding to ignore the feeling of inferiority the being in front of him was making him feel. He was not exactly in a position to argue.
'Because of you.' It said as if it was blindingly obvious. 'You had the chance to reign in humanity's greatest flaw, its nature. Yet when you had it in your grasp, when you could easily continue to rule and make sure humanity didn't lose itself in its own hubris, you decided it was a good time to stop, sit back and let your friend impale you as the very icon you created.'
Although he did admit it sounded stupid if you put it that way, he wouldn't just let his final deed be ridiculed like it was a bad art piece. 'And what? Rule the world like a tyrant, constricting peoples' freedom for a thing most did not even commit?! That's not the gentle world I fought for!' he nearly screamed, outraged.
'Oh no,' it begun sarcastically 'I'm sure this was the better option' it waved its hand and numerous scenes appeared before his eyes. Destruction and death visible on a scale that could only be termed as the apocalypse.
'You know, you might care about what happens to them while they are alive,' it continued, this time in a less ridiculing tone, waving away the images. 'but for me, there are only two states in which humans exist: dead or alive. It doesn't matter what happens during their lives, it doesn't affect me. But without a humanity, I will cease to exist too.'
He would say it was selfish, but he wasn't one to judge. Especially him. But this did raise a question. 'Then why not interfere to stop the cause of the extinction?' to which the being chuckled 'can you continuously control the bacteria in your body? Sure I can interfere, but such a thing costs power, a lot more than humanity can deliver in the quantities I need to constantly stop their madness.'
His imaginary brain started to try and comprehend this newly gained knowledge. 'So you gain power through humans?' he half asked, half stated. 'Correct,' the Collective Unconscious said 'But not much, not nearly enough to interfere in a way so I could guide them properly. That's essentially the problem, for every one hundred thousand people that exist, there will be one mad scientist who thinks himself a visionary and helps create a weapon or tool that shouldn't be in the hands of humans.' It explained.
'And I take it you need more power to interfere and stop it than the one hundred thousand can give you, right?' he interjected. 'Indeed, a few million more to be exact.' It answered.
He sighed, not exactly sure what to do with that information. 'So why am I here? Why did you show me one of the possible futures? You do realize I'm dead right?' he asked, adding that last part in the same tone he was subject to when the conversation began. Which was promptly ignored.
'I brought you here to make a deal, a win-win situation if you would.' He raised an eyebrow at that, not sure what to expect. 'I still have quite a lot of power remaining, since after a time I refused to play humanity's little game of scientist whack-a-mole. If I use it on that, it won't have any effect since your little stunt made it virtually impossible to change humanity's course.' It said the last half like an accusation.
'But what I can do, or at least try, is send you back in time as far as I can with my remaining power.' Now both of his eyebrows were raised, wide-eyed he stared at the being in front of him, which the being appeared to find quite comical.
'W-wait, you can do that?' he asked incredulously, seemingly amazed at the possibilities. 'If geass can do anything, although with a catch, why can't I?' It asked, to which he answered 'Well… If you put it that way, what's the catch?'
'Ah, smart boy. I won't know to exactly "when" you'll be transported to, I can only give you an estimate.'
Suddenly confused by a stray thought, he asked 'But if you can transport me back in time, why not transport yourself? Your ultimate goal is self-preservation isn't it?'. To which the being shook its head. 'That's not how this works. To transport a soul you need a certain amount of power per unit of time. With each soul it's different, the stronger the soul the more power needed per unit of time.' It explained. 'To transport myself even a second back in time I would need humanity to have spread out across the galaxy to reach the number of power I need.'
Understanding came across his face, to which he then asked further. 'So, what will happen to you?'
'I will lose all the power I have stored, but that won't matter anyway. There cannot exist multiple versions of the present in the river of time. When I send you back, this reality will fracture as a result, ending its existence. You will be the only one with knowledge of the future, but that will result in the "me" from the past to have access to this memory. So "I" will still know what happened and will help you if possible, and only if you need it.'
A little overwhelmed by the implications of what is being said, he said 'Alright, fine, so how far back will I go?'
'Let me see…' For some reason it looked like it closed its eyes, even if it didn't have any features. 'Around the betrayal of your little foot soldiers, but I don't really know if it's before or after that kid died.' It said in a contemplative tone.
'You mean Rollo?' he asked a little exasperated. 'Yeah that one, doesn't matter to me, they're all the same.' it said, waving the comment away like it was an annoying fly.
He sighed, a little surprised that the Collective Unconscious of all beings could be so childish. 'Ok, fine, anything else I should know?'
'Yeah,' the being stated with a snarky tone. 'stop trying to be the hero, you're not. You already have too much blood on your hands to be one. Accept what you've done and what you will need to do to make sure we both survive. "I" will not be particularly fond of doing this a second time. If you can, try to take a code and become immortal. Not many like you come around in history, and I'm not certain if there will be a replacement for you anytime soon after you interfere in the timeline. In fact there wasn't any after your little stunt…' The being muttered that last part, seemingly forgetting he was in a conversation.
'And if I don't?' he asked, more as a curiosity than a serious question, for he already made up his mind.
'We will both have a really bad time together, since "I" can just pick up your soul after you die again. So do us both a favor and stay alive, I have had enough of your questioning for multiple lifetimes.' It said, Lelouch not being certain if the first half was a joke or if it was dead serious. Yet he was very certain about the second half, for he felt the same.
'Alright, I'll send you off now. Get lost.' The Collective Unconscious said for the final time. Raising his hand which started shining even more brightly.
'Well, thank you as well.' He said sarcastically
And then everything turned black once again.
