In the somewhat empty underground sanctuary of the cathedral, Vela stood before the murals of her maternal ancestors' crypt. One hand clasped behind her back, the other gently caressing the carved patterns, she quietly dazed.
Before her energy was consumed by the demands of military and political affairs, her goals had been simple: to seize power and to obtain Geass—to become a wielder of the 'Power of Kings.'
Although the process and method were not what she had envisioned.
At first, she had thought she would have to bow her head before her uncle, or else cling forcefully to that witch of the forest…
But when the time came to reap her prize, what greeted her was instead a skull.
Tch.
Truly, a sad disappointment.
Unknowingly, Vela's indigo eyes, glowing with a strange red light, widened.
In the crypt, solemn and ancient to others, she now saw something that transcended norms and the realm of physics—a human skull.
Floating in midair, bare and clean of flesh, gleaming. Upon its forehead burned the eerie red sigil of the Geass bird.
Its hollow sockets were like a gaze from the depths of hell.
"I feel your desire, your craving. Do you wish to obtain power, descendant of Hohenzollern?"
A hoarse and low voice.
Though its jaw did not move, though it had no vocal cords, though it was beyond language, the strange voice carried flawlessly into Vela's ears, brushing her mind like Mnemosyne's silken veil.
Vela's expression did not change, as though entirely unaffected.
"Oh? And what can you give me, old revenant dwelling in my ancestors' tomb?"
In that instant when the world seemed to halt, colors fading and the crypt blurring, she asked knowingly, her eyes glinting with interest.
"You are expecting."
The skull spoke with certainty: "Black eagle of Hohenzollern, you indeed know something."
"For this you came."
It asked, but soon discarded the thought.
"No matter. As you said, I am an old revenant. And so, to the one in this new age who would conquer the world and scourge it with her whip—your powerful desire has awakened me. Thus, the contract is sealed. Let me grant you this power."
In the next moment, dazzling crimson radiance flared from the Geass sigil upon its forehead.
The hollow sockets blazed, spilling forth blood-like streams of shifting light, threads of radiance that writhed like veins.
They wound their way into Vela's eyes.
In that instant, her mind thundered as if struck by the genesis of creation itself, followed by countless whispers—indistinguishable as male or female.
Until the toll of the cathedral bell resounded once more in her ears, Vela raised her head.
In terms of time, it had been only an instant.
Her senses flowed again, the faded colors of the murals filling once more. The skull that had floated before her was gone.
Only the mural's Geass bird sigil remained, now dulled and dim.
Its spirit had vanished.
Like grave goods unearthed and oxidized to colorless decay.
The skull of a dead Code bearer—or perhaps, the lingering force of their spirit…
So Vela thought silently.
One thing was certain: this ancient Code bearer had been slain, their Code stolen—not willingly passed on.
If it had been voluntary, then according to the testimony of the oldest living Code bearer, C.C.—presently in Area 11 with her rebellious Eleventh Brother—when a bearer willingly passes their Code to another, they inevitably die.
Because it is voluntary, the Geass born of their wish dies with them, leaving no residue.
But this skull still held fragments of Code power, and remnants of spirit.
Thus, by what is known, the skull's owner must have been killed by their own contractor—whose Geass had matured, both eyes awakened, capable of accepting the Code.
Much like, in the original timeline, the 'Rebellious Black Prince' Lelouch's parricide and matricide.
After assimilating his father Charles' newly-won Code, Lelouch seized power and carried out the "Zero Requiem Plan." He did not die—and later, during resurrection and memory restoration, he encountered Charles and Marianne's lingering spirits in the chaos of the "C's World." Their souls, restless and unyielding, sought to prevent Lelouch from regaining his memory.
C's World, simply put, was humanity's collective unconscious—the Alaya.
The only difference was that the skull she faced must have been slain in the physical world, leaving remnants behind. Charles, by contrast, was devoured entirely within [C's World], leaving not even a trace, and thus no lingering spirit to affect reality.
From the Crusades to the Teutonic Order, to Prussia—how the Hohenzollerns had obtained it, when they had obtained it, whether the skull's owner had been one of her ancestors—was irrelevant.
Lowering her hand from the mural, Vela now felt her mind clearer than ever, her spirit surging with exhilaration.
That warm, faintly itching sensation was intoxicating, overwhelming. The power named Geass had imprinted itself into her soul—or rather, had been accepted by her [soul].
But.
"My Geass ability?"
Vela's brows furrowed slightly as her indigo left eye was swiftly consumed by blood-like crimson. Within it, a scarlet bird spread its wings, ready to soar.
Yet in the end, it was "ready to soar"—but could not take flight.
For her Geass's active ability was absent.
More precisely—awaiting its place.
"I see. Plunder, is it."
So Vela murmured silently, feeling the highly active new power she had gained.
She could sense the will of Geass itself—the hunger. Call it plunder, seizure, or exchange: she could steal and wield the abilities of other Geass users.
If other Geass users were to her "operating chips," then her own Geass was the "universal slot"—plug and play.
Its effect and the number of "slots" depended on her physical strength, spirit, and aptitude.
Once the "universal slot" was fitted with an "operating chip," the bird in her eye would truly take wing.
"A Geass most perfectly suited to me!"
Grinning, brushing a finger beneath her left eye, Vela narrowed her gaze.
Thinking it over—it was the perfect match for her nature.
The form of Geass was shaped by one's own wish and aptitude.
Aptitude could not be quantified, so leave that aside.
For example: C.C., who longed to be loved, gained the Geass of "being loved." Mao, an orphan who wished to understand others, gained "mind reading." Lelouch, who wished for power to destroy Britannia, gained the "absolute command." Charles, the rewriting of memory…
As for Vela—
She was pragmatic. She had no interest in being inexplicably loved, nor in draining herself trying to understand others.
She pursued strength, but also craved power, gain, conquest.
To fight, to seize, to plunder, to conquer, to expand, to build her own order.
To become Britannia's Empress, unify the world, lead the march of technological progress, and guide Britannia to the stars…
Not merely for her sister, not to destroy the world or craft some vague ideal world.
Along with her hidden, unspoken perspective beyond the masses, her greed to conquer and command, and her instinctive resistance to being controlled by Geass—born of her precocious knowledge—this had woven the form of her ability.
In short: she knew too much, thought too much, desired too much.
Therefore—she would plunder and dominate the Geass of others!
Without doubt, this was a power strong in both worldly and Geass realms. Beginning as a "blank entry" mattered little. For Vela, it was the most fitting ability. Her own advantages freed her from any concern over growth pains or lack of targets.
Thinking so, she smiled.
One hand covering her eye, Vela's heart surged with restless anticipation.
A blade in hand, the will to kill arose.
She could hardly wait to seize a Geass user to test her new power.
Suppressing her impulse to immediately experiment on Shin Hyuga Shaing, Vela steadied herself, turned, and unhurriedly drew her pistol. She aimed at a shadow near the entrance of the Prussian Duke's crypt.
"You've been watching for some time, haven't you, friend."
A sense of being observed—but without malice. Vela had noticed.
Clap, clap.
"As expected of Charles' finest child, one with the strongest Geass potential."
Footsteps sounded.
From the shadows emerged a small, short figure dressed in finery, with long, faintly curled pale-golden hair.
"You are?"
Her gaze sharpened, just enough surprise flickering across Vela's face.
Bathed in the dim ancient candlelight of the cathedral's crypt, the boy lifted his head. Ignoring the pistol aimed at him, his violet eyes met Vela's without fear. In them was an aged, inscrutable depth far beyond his youthful face, as he fixed upon her left eye.
"To awaken Geass in such a way—faster than I expected. Thanks to you, the Geass ruins beneath Königsberg were activated, and I could arrive here."
Speaking to himself, he added: "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. A pleasure to meet you. I am V.V…
By kinship, you should call me Uncle, Vela."