The Life of a Retired Evil Tyrant

Chapter 1: Sinners' Punishment

We have sinned. What Lulu and I did... it's unforgivable no matter how noble our intentions were. When it was all said and done, Zero Requiem costed millions of lives and ruined millions more. We had to be punished. Lulu forfeited his life to birth his dream into reality. 

Me? For my punishment, I accepted Lulu's 'Geass'- to serve the world as Zero forever. I've forsaken my birth name, Suzaku Kururugi. I've forsaken all earthly pleasures. And when the time comes, I will forsake my life in defense of Lulu's dream. A cruel twist of fate placed the lives of this new world order in my hands. I eat and sleep and think only of them.

But this new threat is beyond me. If this Geass-led coalition is as smart as Lulu, we are doomed. I may be a good tactician, but I was helpless against somebody like Lulu, who had a mind-control Geass on top of a super-intelligence. In response to this looming threat, I did what I could- I mobilized some of the de-comissioned Knightmare squads and asked Lloyd and Rakshata to develop upgrades for our existing frames.

But we don't need more soldiers or better weapons. We need a general who understands how to fight with and against Geass, and somebody who can sense Geass users- we need Lulu and C.C.

Unfortunately, Lulu died, and C.C. has been MIA ever since his death. Empress Nunally had signed off a few investigations regarding her disappearance, but nothing solid had ever turned up.

I haven't been able to sleep well for the past week. I've been haunted by the memories of my past. I remember this particular conversation I've had with C.C. right in front of the gate to the Thought Elevator. She said that we're both alike in that we keep on living despite our wish to die. She told me that she's been waiting for a Geass user to finally kill her take her cursed immortality away. She had wished...

Wait! If a Geass user can take her immortality away by killing her, wouldn't that rule apply to Lulu when he killed his parents back then? That would mean he's immortal... and alive!

I sprang out of my bed. I walk down the hall to Empress Nunally's room and politely knock on the door a few times. After a few seconds, I hear a faint reply.

"Enter."

I gently opened the door. The Empress, in her pink nightgown, is sitting up on her bed.

"Is it something urgent, Zero?" She sweetly asks.

Even without my mask, Empress Nunally would address me as "Zero". She knows the terms of her brother's dying wish, and intends to enforce it without exception. I will always admire her for that hidden strength and resolve. Beneath the gentle and feeble body of a crippled girl lie the heart and stomach of an empress. 

"I'm recalling Lord Jeremiah, Lady Anya, and Lord Gino to your security detail. I have to take a leave of absence." I announced.

In response, she stared at me with her violet eyes, concern appearing in her gaze. "Can you tell me why? You haven't taken a break in seven years."

I told her about my theory on Geass immortality. A faint glimmer of hope appears in her expression when I finished my explanation.