Lelouch had expected to feel immense pain, but all he felt was cold as he slid bloodily down the vehicle he had been sitting upon. He had been run through by Suzaku, no, Zero's sword mere seconds before, though each felt like an eternity. There was shouting and wailing, but he couldn't move, and his eyes refused to focus on anything but the heavens above. For a moment his vision flashed, and he was standing before a croud of the dead in C's world. They held their arms out to him, beckoning him forward. He felt… something… as everything he was drained into the crowd before him. His will, intellect, and identity, all rushing to join the collective before him. Sighing, he resigned himself, and began to walk into their embrace when a voice cut through everything. "BROTHER!"
Lelouch straightened with a jolt of surprise. That voice… why was it familiar? It rang across the spacious expanse, and the crowd shuffled, looking at each other with closed eyes. That's right. He thought wearily. My sister needs me. Suddenly the crowd vanished, replaced instead by… himself? No, he was Lelouch Lamperouge. Before him stood Lelouch Vi Britannia. As he made this distinction the form before him blurred. Now there were two people standing before him. Now it was himself, Lelouch Lamperouge, standing in a triangle with Lelouch Vi Britannia, the Demon King, and Zero, the Masked Freedom Fighter.
"Who are you?" Zero asked. "I am Lelouch Lamperouge." Lelouch responded.
Lelouch Vi Britannia sneered arrogantly. "Lelouch Lamperouge is dead. He died with my mother." Zero nodded. "So is Lelouch Vi Britannia; run through by my sword."
Lelouch shook his head. "Suzaku is the one who killed us."
The Demon King laughed sardonically. "Us? There is no us. You died long ago, and I died but moments ago." he turned to Zero. "And you are not us, not anymore. We are no longer needed; it would be better if we were dead."
Zero nodded again, gesturing dramatically at Lelouch Vi Britannia. "You deserve to die for your crimes. It was your mistakes that lead to the death of Shirley." Lelouch Lamperouge flinched. "She loved you and you used her. You lead her on and killed her father."
Lelouch Vi Brittania scoffed in response. "I? You killed Rolo!" he shouted. "Yes, he was a spy, but all the boy wanted was a family. Even I am not so cruel." The apparition turned once more to Lelouch. "And you. You were too weak. You couldn't fight openly, no, you had him do it for you! Weak, both of you!" he shouted, slashing his arm out in front of him.
"What exactly do you want me to do? What we did was done for Nunally. She can live in a world free of pain and hatred now. What more could we do?" Zero answered him this time.
"Need so many have suffered for our goals, even if they were of peace and prosperity? We were meant to save the world; through me you killed tens of thousands." Lelouch shook his head sadly. "I did what I did for Nunnaly. Did I want those people to die? Not the innocents, certainly." he replied. Zero stared at him behind the mask. "And yet you did. You slaughtered them when you destroyed the Tokyo Settlement. You killed them when you were careless around Euphemia. You murdered them when you betrayed them. All for your own ambition."
Lelouch Vi Britannia wheeled around, bearing down on Zero. "What happed to Euphemia was your fault, not his! You grew careless!" he asserted. "If I could do it all again, none of the unnecessary deaths would have happened." Lelouch said, forcing the two apparitions to turn towards him once more.
"Truly?" came a new, disembodied voice. It swept through the vast space they occupied like a whispered shout, coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. "And if you could return?" The voices asked. Lelouch didn't even hesitate. "I would set things right. With Nunnaly. With Shirley. With Euphemia. With Suzaku. With C.C. and Rollo and Kallen." There was a pregnant pause, before a powerful wind began to blow. "Return, then, to the day Lelouch Lamperouge died. Go with our blessing." Zero and Lelouch Vi Britannia nodded in unison. "We must go back." they said simultaneously as the wind began to swirl around the three of them. "To guide." Lelouch said. "To inspire" Zero followed. "To rule!" The Demon King declared.