I'm in another world, and I start out transformed into Lancelot.

At the corner of the window, that boundary where the morning light is thin and the shadows are gentle.

Meilushin stood still as always.

Her silver hair seemed to freeze in the air, and her vertical pupils, flowing with amber gold, were like two tranquil full moons, calmly reflecting everything that was happening before her.

However, just as Lelouch slumped down, and the carefully maintained facade of "Student Lelouch" was briefly shattered...

An extremely strange aura, like a cold pebble thrown into a calm lake, rippled silently and clearly swept across the edge of her senses.

That was no longer the tentative, superficial pretense of before—that thin layer of ice meant nothing to her.

This aura is deeper and heavier... carrying a kind of... trace of time and space that has been forcibly folded?

Or rather, it is a dark chasm that suddenly appears in the stream of an ordinary life trajectory, torn apart by violence and then crudely stitched back together, a bottomless chasm.

It was as if something had undergone a horrific collapse and reconstruction at the very core of the soul belonging to the young body of "Lelouch Lamperouge".

Even when carefully concealed beneath worldly words and actions, those twisted scars, like the roots of a rotting giant tree deep in a dark forest, exude an uncleanness that only someone like her can smell, carrying the stench of blood and the embers of despair.

This aura is so... it shouldn't exist in a life form at this point in time!

It was intensely... blinding!

"..."

Meilushin remained motionless. But her vertical pupils, frozen like the phases of the moon, contracted extremely slightly, as if a scope had locked onto a target.

A chilling, bone-piercing sense of vigilance, like a polar wind, silently swept through the depths of her inhuman core for the first time.

This sense of vigilance does not stem from a judgment of hostility or threat, but rather from an instinctive rejection and...confusion at this abnormal existence that distorts the essence of life.

(...Where did this scar come from?)

This unusual discovery, like a pebble thrown into the deep sea of ​​her thoughts, instantly illuminated a path in her consciousness.

Last night, that ethereal, star-like voice said: "[Given a special gift to a specific person...]"

[This is absolutely a...surprise!!]

A chilling sense of absurdity pierced her perception like tiny ice needles.

Could it be... is he?

This unsettling, soul-deep distortion... is that the "surprise" that guy was talking about?!

The amber-gold luster gathered deep within her pupils, carrying a scrutinizing quality as if she were examining a non-human experimental sample.

What she was looking at seemed to no longer be just a thoughtful human boy, but an "object"... marked with an unknown symbol and emitting abnormal radiation.

(That capricious world consciousness... this thing they sent... is really special...)

Just as this cold contemplation was swirling, the boy on the carpet had already suppressed all the fleeting warmth of the moment and re-erected the barrier that was enough to freeze the dawn.

His deep, weary, and cold gaze pierced through the air and landed directly on her.

“Let us…” Lelouch’s voice, hoarse and deep, broke the silence with a frankness that had shed its pretense. “…Let’s be open and honest…”

That gaze was no longer merely scrutiny or probing, but carried a layer of... a will imbued with entirely new meaning because of his own "abnormality".

It's as if it's saying: See, I know I'm different, and I've noticed that you've discovered it too. So, let's skip the pointless pretense.

The air was as solid as lead.

Yuffie stared blankly at her classmate who had instantly switched auras.

Suzaku stood close to his friend, his pure worry overshadowed by a deeper layer of confusion. And there stood the silver moon knight by the window—

After a brief silence, as if a heartbeat had missed a beat—the lips, hidden by the veil, seemed to purse slightly.

A single syllable, clear and calm, yet seemingly tinged with a chilling compromise born from being drawn into an even more troublesome vortex by this "surprise," gently fell to the ground:

"……it is good."

(Then let me see... where this special gift of yours is headed.)

She silently responded to that gaze, her amber-gold vertical pupils like unchanging coordinates, locking onto the being emanating an aura of temporal distortion.

Chapter 27 I was reborn, this time...

Let's go back to this morning—

Consciousness is like rising from the dark, cold depths of the sea, stagnant and viscous.

His body sank into an exceptionally soft and comfortable support, and a very faint, almost imperceptible scent of incense wafted in the air. Lelouch suddenly opened his eyes!

What pierced my retina wasn't the cold data stream of the dark imaginary space, nor the ever-present greasy pizza smell in CC's dilapidated RV...

It's light.

The soft morning light filtered through the gaps in the blinds at the top of the heavy, high-quality velvet curtains, casting pale golden stripes on the floor.

A simple yet expensive glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling.

(……here it is……?)

He propped himself up, his gaze sweeping across the bed like a sharp blade—the top-quality Egyptian cotton sheets with dark gray stripes, and the memory foam mattress beneath him providing excellent support.

My fingertips glide over the cool, finely textured walnut headboard. The unique aroma of this expensive wood fills my nostrils.

(...Ashford? But this is...!)

He sat up straight instantly, his sharp purple eyes like searchlights, rapidly scanning the bedroom: the space was as spacious as a luxury hotel suite, with thick, soft, dark Turkish carpets.

In the corner stood a large solid wood desk, its surface as smooth as a mirror, and scattered on it were not cheap textbooks.

Instead, it contained the latest satellite terminal equipment and several abridged copies of the Britannia Financial Weekly.

The built-in wardrobe door was slightly ajar, revealing brand-new, perfectly pressed school uniforms hanging inside.

The doorknob of the ensuite bathroom in the room reflected the gleam of polished brass. Everything pointed to the privileged lifestyle of the elite, not to ordinary student dormitories!

My heart suddenly raced as I confirmed my surroundings!

He jumped out of bed like a wary leopard, his footsteps silently traversing the thick carpeted hallway.

They stopped in front of a tightly closed white solid wood door across the street, carved with exquisite vine patterns—that was Nunnally's room! The door was locked!

A sense of fear gripped him, and Lelouch held his breath, jerking the doorknob open.

The blonde girl slept soundly in an excessively spacious bed equipped with safety rails and automatic assistive devices.

The soft morning light outlined the serene and delicate contours of her face, and her breathing was steady and long.

Several equally expensive but softly colored dolls nestled beside her pillow, the air filled with her familiar, delicate scent of herbal bath gel.

(Nanali! You're safe! You're here!) Ecstasy burst forth like lava breaking through an ice sheet! But he suppressed his voice.

Lelouch forced himself to take a step back and gently closed the door. He leaned against the cold walnut wood wall and slowly slid down onto the soft carpet.

A cool, delicate sensation came from below, creating a stark contrast to the heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Chaotic thoughts surged like a raging torrent! The wanderings of my past life as LL, the darkness of being crammed with CC amidst the mingled smells of grease and pizza, the despair of Charles's shadow looming over the world…

This starkly contrasts with the bright sunshine, the expensive and safe environment, and the luxurious tranquility that seems to have been imbued with the magic of time!

Just then, a sentence, as abrupt as a keyboard pop-up and brimming with the style of online literature, forcefully crashed into the core of his turbulent consciousness:

I've been reborn, reborn back to my student days before I broke with Suzaku. This time, I will...

This simple, crude, and cheaply written "feel-good" style of writing collided with the mountain of heavy fragments of memory in his mind.

The overwhelming sense of absurdity was like an ice pick piercing my temple!

(...This...this kind of thing?! Why?! Has LL's brain been formatted into a third-rate novel website?!)

The intense cognitive dissonance nearly suffocated him.

But these damned online literature bullet comments are like a strangely effective wake-up call.

The cold, icy brand of the contract instantly burned intensely deep within his left pupil—Geass... the curse and power of the CC witch.

That familiar, palpable binding force was like a venomous snake coiling around my spine.

Combining the luxurious environment, Nunnally's peaceful sleeping appearance, and the vivid images of her "past life" in her mind, a cold, impersonal timeline instantly snaps into focus:

On the eve of Euphemia's "Japan Special Zone" plan! Geass has awakened, power is in hand, but that fatal...

…The tragedy of offering Charles the perfect sacrifice hangs over us! It's so close!

The brief euphoria brought by the confirmation of rebirth was crushed by a greater, colder sense of urgency.

Seeing the terrace beneath the cherry blossoms about to be stained red with blood... Euphemia's innocent vision...

What followed was—the piercing sound of gunfire, frozen purple pupils, and the cold, fate-controlling smile on Charles's lips!

(Just a few days from now?! Maybe even... tomorrow?! Nunnally is right here... but the only path to protect her must traverse this bloody landscape!)

The tension that had been building under LL's identity finally snapped the moment the terrifying time difference was confirmed—"clang!"

With a metallic hiss of taut tension, the near-breakdown was utterly crushed, replaced by a torrent of high-speed calculations.

That damned online literature phrase, "This time I will...", spread through my brain like cheap ink.

But Lelouch's purple pupils suddenly contracted, and all the chaos was forcibly forged and reshaped by his absolute will!

(...This time...I will strangle fate before the blood blossoms! No matter where it comes from! No matter the cost!)

With a suppressed, almost silent gasp, like the hiss of a viper, Lelouch's body stiffened like a statue.

An overwhelming barrage of distracting thoughts... the absurdity of rebirth, the pollution of the internet, the scorching heat of Geass, the shadow of a nemesis...

The absolute command to "protect" has been completely annihilated!

He rose silently, like a ghost. His footsteps landed precisely on the thick carpet, without a sound.

The morning light fell on his tall, still youthful figure, gilding it with a cold, golden edge.

The weariness and sense of wandering that belonged to LL completely receded at this moment.

What is revealed is Zero, who has seen through all the traps of the future, holds all the trump cards, and is stepping into the deathmatch arena step by step—his complete form is as precise as an instrument and as cold as solid ice!

His left hand moved very slowly to his left eye.

Beneath the fingertips, deep within the pupils, a scarlet bird wing silently spun in the shadows.

The covenant is whispering, the power is boiling.

And that ultimate control over "Schneizel" is like a key already engraved in the lines of a palm, cold and heavy!

(Suzaku... Euphemia... Charles!) The silent vow resounded in my heart.

Deep within her violet eyes, a chilling flame suddenly ignited! This time… she would use those all-seeing eyes that had returned from the depths of hell!

Tear that blood-red future apart with your own hands!

My fingertips almost touched the heavy door of the annex.

Behind the door, what smiles Euphemia might display, what points to bring up the topic of the "special zone," and how to avoid cognitive traps...?

Every step was being clearly planned out in Lelouch's mind.

His reborn foresight gave him a near-absolute sense of control, making his thought process appear smooth and confident.

Just then, a figure suddenly entered the core of his consciousness.

Long silver hair, amber-gold vertical pupils, a serene presence almost eternal. That silhouette standing still at the intersection of light and shadow.

Meilushin.

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head, instantly cooling the slightly warm temperature in my mind caused by the planning.

A chilling sense of vigilance crept up my spine.

His hand gripping the so-called "souvenir" box tightened unconsciously, the plastic carrying strap digging into his palm, causing a slight, sharp pain.

(……calm.)

He silently commanded himself to suppress the irritation of being unexpectedly interrupted and the barely perceptible fear.

The rapidly spinning gears of thought emitted a brief friction noise as they suddenly decelerated.

This mysterious guard...

A cold light settled deep within the purple pupils.