Tap, tap—
"Kamine Island... the C's World. The collective of human consciousness, or in other words, Alaya."
Pushing open the stone doors, the field of view narrowed further and further. Selene gazed at the exposed rock layers—this land was by no means a naturally formed fault, but something that had been forcibly severed.
At the end of her sight stood a door—no, it would be more accurate to call it a colossal relief shaped like a door, its surface engraved with complex geometric patterns.
Under the faint light, the stone, door-like structure appeared dim and ruined. Broken stone slabs littered the ground beneath her feet.
This was the Aramu Gate, the entrance to the C's World.
The C's World was the collective unconscious of humanity in this world, as well as the aggregation of human hearts and memories.
It was a spatial existence. To enter the C's World was equivalent to entering one's own and others' subconscious realms, allowing observation of the deepest layers of the self and of others' minds and memories.
With crisp footsteps echoing, Selene walked up to the stone gate.
Raising her head, countless wondrous sigils flickered across the door-like structure before her eyes. At its very center, a bird-shaped pattern glimmered with an extremely faint red light.
The instant Selene pressed her palm against the bird emblem on the stone gate, the massive avian symbol flashed with vivid crimson brilliance and rapidly spread outward. In the blink of an eye, the entire wall lit up along the carved grooves.
"Hmm? Access denied."
Clearly, as the collective unconscious of humanity in this world, the C's World rejected access by the invader-in-chief, Selene.
"Being an unwelcome guest... that's something I've done plenty of times. Corrode."
Although it only permitted native inhabitants who possessed Geass to enter, Selene was not among them.
As her words fell, the stone gate began to tremble violently. The already-ruined geometric carvings cracked with sharp ka-ka sounds, and fine gravel rustled as it fell.
Humm—!
Bright, dense violet-red Honkai energy particles instantly eroded the faint red glow. In a daze, Selene seemed to hear countless human cries of agony echoing beside her ears.
Boom—thud.
In a hazy sensation, it felt as though she passed through a membrane of bubbles. Her vision shifted, and the deserted island shrine was replaced by a bizarre and wondrous world.
The entire world seemed dyed by the morning glow. Beneath her feet lay a ground formed of irregular stone slabs pieced together.
Ancient floating palaces, thick with moss, exuded the weight of countless years. The sky was filled with multicolored clouds that spread across a vast, boundless firmament. Below churned an endless sea of clouds.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Yet beneath this windless, silent desolation, an oppressive and tense atmosphere permeated everything, making the entire space feel profoundly contradictory.
As though some third-rate painter had forcibly mashed together incompatible elements into a single scene.
"As expected—you didn't die. I was just thinking, how could an old Emperor who ruled Britannia for decades not have some kind of backup plan?"
Like strolling through her own garden, Selene stopped and spoke without surprise.
At the top of stone steps extending upward from the floating ground, at the end of a spiral staircase, stood two figures—one tall, one small—on a slightly dilapidated altar, their backs turned toward Selene.
"An otherworld... the Empress of the Holy Selene Empire..."
The white-haired man, draped in a luxurious cloak and heavy ceremonial robes, turned around. On his aged, imposing face lingered what seemed to be hatred—or perhaps a trace of gratitude.
Gratitude? Selene thought of a certain possibility... tsk, truly, she genuinely could not comprehend the thought processes of these two people.
"Charles... Lelouch was still too inexperienced. Although your body was destroyed by a bolt round, your spirit escaped into the C's World ahead of time."
Selene had already suspected Charles' escape. C-related ruins could not possibly exist only on Kamine Island in Area 11.
After all, seizing these C ruins had been one of the purposes behind the Holy Britannian Empire's global invasions.
As an empire that once occupied a third of the world's territory, it was entirely normal for the Britannian royal family to possess other C ruins.
That towering, broad-shouldered figure was unmistakably the man slain by Lelouch—or rather, whose body alone had been destroyed—the ninety-eighth Emperor of the Britannian Empire, Charles di Britannia.
"Charles, is she the culprit behind the invasion of our world?"
Behind Charles, the shorter youth asked. He wore white garments trimmed in purple, priest-like attire engraved with golden floral patterns.
Silently nodding to his brother—whose face looked far younger than his own—Charles fixed Selene with a gaze as sharp as an eagle's. Looking down upon her, he spoke arrogantly.
"Otherworldly Empress, you are indeed powerful—but you are far too arrogant. Entering this place alone, your spirit will become nourishment for the C's World."
In Charles' eyes, the C's World was his trump card. The collective subconscious of seven billion humans would place him in an invincible position. The moment Selene entered this world, he believed he had already turned defeat into victory.
"This is my mercy. Your death will mark the beginning of the realization of our dream!"
"Although you destroyed my nation, thanks to your invasion, the massive human casualties brought about by total war have weakened 'God.'"
"Soon, this world will no longer be filled with hypocrisy and masks. Once I seize 'God's' authority, you will all be expelled by my hand!"
Charles spoke fervently, his gaze burning with fanaticism as it turned toward a strange spiral pillar behind him.
"This system is the Sword of Akasha. A world program that approaches 'God' and kills 'God.' It is the one and absolute hammer of judgment that lies far beyond the end of human wishes!"
"..."
Watching Charles and V.V—two brothers lost in fanaticism, rambling on to themselves—Selene tilted her head slightly. Her brows knitted together, and within her crimson eyes, surging killing intent gradually overflowed.
"So this is what you're relying on? Merely the aggregated consciousness of seven billion humans!"
In an instant, centered on Selene's feet, the entire C's World was dyed a terrifying dark red.
Bzz—bzz—
Dense, viscous violet-red mist materialized and surged upward. In the blink of an eye, Charles discovered that he had lost all control over the C's World.
Moreover, as those violet-red 'mists' made contact—sizzle, sizzle—!
Excruciating pain erupted from the depths of his soul, flooding his mind. The parts of his body that touched the mist rapidly dissolved away. "You—!"
"Farewell. I have no interest in listening to you ramble on."
Without the slightest intention of hearing more, Selene clenched her hand. A violet-red storm engulfed them completely.
"I've already had your body buried. Don't go prying open your coffin. Rest in the ground forever, last Emperor."
With the noise finally gone, Selene walked up the steps. Before her stood a pillar whose surface was carved with countless strange and intricate patterns.
Spinning upward like a drill, it pierced through the clouds and reached the heavens. With each rise of the pillar, heavy vibrations resounded through the surroundings.
"The Sword of Akasha."
The system that controlled the C's World. It could link with the C systems within ruins scattered across the world, connecting the real world and the C's World, and transport people into designated areas within the C's World.
When operated via the control console by a Code bearer, it could connect to Ragnarok. By activating ruins across the globe, it would extend humanity's collective subconscious to envelop the entire world.
"Unfortunately, I don't need it."
"Become a World Core. Devour."
...
At this moment, within a certain imperial detention camp of the Imperial Army in the Tokyo Settlement of Area 11, a green-haired woman clad in white restraints abruptly raised her head.
"Geass... it's gone?!"
...
One day later, Honkai Dimension, Grand Imperial Palace.
"Brother, this place is..."
When Nunnally opened her eyes once more, all that greeted her was a vast palace resplendent in gold and jade.
Lofty pavilions soaring into the clouds, palace corridors and bridges that felt like walking among the heavens, and aerial gardens stretched everywhere. Ornately carved pillars, radiant gilt draperies, and murals and reliefs adorning the opposing walls filled her vision.
"That's right. The Imperial Capital of the Holy Selene Empire."
Thump, thump!
Royal Guard clad in golden power armor marched past the visitors from another world, their steps heavy and perfectly synchronized.
The palace complex was unimaginably vast, resembling a special city composed entirely of colossal structures. Servants and palace attendants moved endlessly through it.
In just the brief time spent standing and observing, within the visible range alone, layers upon layers of tightly packed buildings stretched out, one after another. The number of serving and garrison personnel moving among them already approached ten thousand.
"How extravagant... Every single floor tile here is jade plated with gold. It seems our new ruler is an absolute imperial autocracy even more extreme than Britannia."
Adjusting the frame of his glasses, Lloyd Asplund—dressed in a white lab coat—remarked with heartfelt amazement.
"Heh, Lloyd, how is that any different from the Britannia you swore loyalty to?" Rakshata Chawla, a mature beauty with blonde hair and bronze skin, mocked mercilessly, a long-stemmed cigarette between her lips.
"Hey, hey, Rakshata, is it really necessary to be that hostile toward me? We were colleagues once, after all. And now we're serving under the same Empire..."
Spreading his hands, Lloyd said with a bitter smile.
"Tch! It's only been a single day since you were 'pacified.' What, already that eager to flatter your new master?"
Watching the two of them about to come to blows, Cornelia—her rose‑purple curls cascading down, dressed in a dark red formal gown—frowned and spoke.
"This isn't Britannia anymore, you two. If you want to die, don't drag Euphemia down with you."
As she spoke, Cornelia tightened her arm around Euphemia, gently stroking her back to comfort her trembling younger sister.
Cornelia was nothing like Lloyd in that regard. Although the passing soldiers and attendants had not openly made things difficult for them, the glances they cast their way were exceedingly cold...
As if they were looking at abandoned puppets—utterly worthless things.
From a princess to a prisoner dependent on others, Cornelia had entertained thoughts of suicide. But in the end, she gave them up. She simply could not abandon Euphemia and leave her to live alone in such a cruel world.
Their backing—the Britannian Empire—had already been destroyed. The canaries once raised in a gilded cage had lost their former shelter.
"Alright, everyone, behave yourselves and wait for the summons from the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs," Lelouch said sternly as he turned around, holding his sister Nunnally's small hand.
"Remember—no one is allowed to mention the Britannian Empire again. It no longer exists. Now it's merely a surname, without any meaning at all."
"But... Brother," Euphemia said, her eyes brimming with tears as she sobbed, "Brother Odysseus, Sister Guinevere, Brother Schneizel, Sister Carine... they're all dead."
To be honest, after losing most of her family, Euphemia had been genuinely happy to learn that Lelouch and Nunnally were still alive. (PS: Euphemia did not know about Lelouch's pledge of allegiance.)
"Live well, Euphy. The Britannian family now consists of only us."
With that, Lelouch said nothing more. This was the Imperial Palace of the Holy Selene Empire—these surrendered subjects had better keep their heads down.
After all, the atmosphere here was far too solemn and dignified.
Thus, the group waiting for their investiture fell into silence. Taking advantage of the moment, Lelouch cast a glance at Nina Einstein, who stood cautiously in place, fidgeting with her fingers and never uttering a word.
He knew her—she was a fellow member of the Ashford Academy student council. But why would the Imperial Science Bureau want to recruit her? Did she possess some special talent?
"Lelouch, is it?"
Suddenly, an official clad in a black‑and‑red imperial civil‑service uniform approached, his manner courteous as he inquired.
"Ah, yes. That's me."
"Then please come with me, Your Excellency."
"The investiture ceremony for the Conquered World, Governor of World No. 37, under the Second Astartes Legion Retributors, will be held at the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters."
As he led the way, the official explained dutifully, "The one presiding over the investiture will be Administrator Run. Afterward, Her Majesty will be awaiting you at Schönbrunn Palace."
Following closely behind the official, Lelouch nodded and expressed his polite thanks.
Passing through one palace hall after another, until—
"La, la, la—la la la... eheh..."
Lelouch and his group froze, staring blankly at a gray‑haired young girl who hopped and skipped out from a palace corridor.
Including the guiding official, the attendants and Astartes warriors along the way all stopped to offer respectful salutes.
At that moment, disbelief rose within Lelouch and the others.
Who was this?
She was completely incompatible with the Holy Selene Empire's stern, iron‑blooded style.
"Huh!? Who are you people?"
...
Schönbrunn Palace.
"Wow! Your Majesty, this newly conquered world's mech technology is really interesting," Dr. Stylish said excitedly, rapidly flipping through the files Selene had handed him on the Britannian Empire's Knightmare Frame humanoid autonomous combat armor.
"The Knightmare units and their aerospace warship hovering technology will make excellent additions to the Empire's arsenal..."
"Your Majesty, I formally request permission to go conduct on‑site inspections!"
"For now, that won't be necessary," Selene replied calmly. "I've already ordered Budo to package all the relevant technology for you. There are also hundreds of intact units available—more than enough for your research."
As she spoke, Selene pressed down on a personal information dossier atop her desk and gave it a flick.
"Besides, I've found you several new assistants as well..."