Chapter 1: The Emperor’s Chains

The throne room of the Imperial Palace in Pendragon was a place built to crush the soul.

High ceilings stretched endlessly above, pillars of obsidian stone framing the long crimson carpet that led to a throne gilded in gold and fear. The eyes of Britannia’s founding kings stared from towering portraits, casting judgment upon all who dared enter. It was not a place for negotiation, nor mercy.

And it was here, under the suffocating silence, that two young men were brought to their knees.

Lelouch vi Britannia, once exiled prince, now cloaked in a stark black uniform with a high collar concealing most of his pale face. His violet eyes—brimming with both loathing and calculation—narrowed behind the glare of palace lights. To his right, Suzaku Kururugi, the Eleven who had once sworn to change Britannia from within, wore white military armor that gleamed coldly beneath the chandeliers. His head remained bowed, the knuckles of his clenched fists trembling just slightly.

Before them loomed Charles zi Britannia, 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

He didn’t move. He didn’t blink. His presence alone was like gravity, anchoring the room in dread. When he finally spoke, it was with a voice that could split mountains—authoritative, ancient, and utterly devoid of compassion.

“Lelouch vi Britannia. Suzaku Kururugi. You have disappointed me.”

The words hit like hammers.

Lelouch remained silent. His defiance was not foolish—it was cold, calculated, and laced with seething hatred. His fingers twitched at the sides of his cloak, restraining the instinct to stand, to fight, to unleash the Geass hidden beneath his left eye.

But not here. Not now. Not when Nunnally’s life hung in the balance.

The Emperor’s eyes bored into them like drills.

“You are not summoned here to beg,” he continued. “You are here because you are tools. And it is time you were sharpened.”

He stepped forward from his throne, his towering frame casting a shadow across the two kneeling figures. Behind him, members of the Emperor’s personal guard remained like statues—mute, monstrous, unflinching.

● “You will serve the will of Britannia, or you will see your beloved princesses—Nunnally and Euphemia—perish.”

That struck deeper than any blade.

Suzaku’s breath hitched. Lelouch’s heart froze.

● “You will no longer be yourselves. From this moment, you are dead to the world. You belong to me now.”

He waved a hand. Two servants stepped forward, unveiling military records stamped with the imperial seal.

● “Lelouch, you will be known as Julius Kingsley, a strategist without origin, forged in my name.”

● “Suzaku Kururugi, you will now be The White Reaper, a ghost knight who obeys only Britannia.”

Suzaku’s teeth clenched. Lelouch said nothing. He was memorizing every detail—every slight, every wound, every insult.

● “Should you fail, should you disobey, the punishment will be swift. And painful. Do not test me, Lelouch. I have not forgotten your mother’s defiance.”

A flicker of rage crossed Lelouch’s face. He crushed it beneath a layer of practiced coldness.

He would play the role. For now.

Because Nunnally was still in Ashford. Because Euphemia believed Suzaku was dead. Because the pieces on this cursed chessboard had not yet been set.

● “Do you accept these roles?” the Emperor demanded.

Lelouch rose slowly, head lowered in a mockery of submission.

● “I exist only to serve... Your Majesty.”

Suzaku echoed, with less emotion than a corpse:

● “As you command.”

Pendragon Villa, Two Weeks Later

The villa was luxurious—vast gardens, marble floors, high walls—but it was nothing more than a gilded cage. Security drones buzzed silently above. Guards patrolled like machines. And inside its elegant halls, Lelouch and Suzaku were prisoners.

Not that the world knew.

As far as the public was concerned, Julius Kingsley had arrived in the capital from nowhere and already begun devising brilliant tactics on the western fronts. The White Reaper, his terrifying knight, was a whisper in military circles—ghostlike on the battlefield, merciless in execution.

But in truth, behind closed doors...

Lelouch paced the villa’s strategy room, flicking through glowing maps of Britannian campaigns. He wore black gloves now, always. His left eye was hidden behind a bandage—not because of injury, but to conceal the Geass. The Emperor didn’t know. He couldn’t know.

Suzaku sat at the far end, polishing his blade with mechanical focus.

● “He’s using us,” Lelouch murmured. “Like dogs on a leash.”

● “Then we’ll bite when he least expects it,” Suzaku said, not looking up.

There was silence. The kind they had only shared since the Emperor’s threat. Cold. Tactical. Distant.

But beneath that silence burned a shared vow.

Protect Nunnally. Protect Euphemia. Survive. And one day, destroy the Emperor.

Flashbacks – Ashford Academy, Months Earlier

Lelouch smiled as Nunnally laughed under the sakura trees. Rivalz drove his bike recklessly across the courtyard while Milly shouted from atop the student council tower.

Life had been simple once. Hidden, but peaceful.

Milly alone knew the truth—that Lelouch was a Britannian prince in exile, Nunnally a royal daughter. She had never spoken of it. But when Lelouch vanished weeks ago with only the note “Recalled to the Capital”, her heart had dropped.

Suzaku too had disappeared.

The student council accepted the official reason—“duty and opportunity”—but Milly didn’t believe it. Not when the two boys had left together. Not when they had looked so haunted that final day.

Something was wrong.

And she would find out what.

Final Scene – Secret Communication

In the depths of the villa, a new voice joined the shadows.

C.C., her green hair cascading behind her, appeared like a phantom in the night. Lloyd had smuggled her in under the pretense of system diagnostics. Cecile had brought the pizza.

● “You’re not going to survive this alone,” she said, stepping toward Lelouch.

● “I wasn’t planning to,” Lelouch answered without looking up. “We’re going to end this world, C.C.”

Suzaku looked up, his eyes tired but resolute.

● “Together.”

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