Board Thread:New on Code Geass Wiki/@comment-67.236.229.79-20130808044346/@comment-213.140.59.137-20141221220548

It's funny that people argue that Lelouch is alive because "he never fulfilled his promise to C.C".

One minute people, I'm dying of laugher.

Just how much promises do you think Lelouch broke ?

"I swear Nunnally, I will never leave your side.", "I will never lie to Nunnally. Not to her.", "Don't worry Suzaku, I promise I won't do anything dangerous", "Kallen, when everything ends, will you get back to Ashford with me ? ", "Nunnally, I'll get you back no matter what ! ", "(to Shirley, indirectly) When it's all over, I'll definitely make it up to you ! ", "It's a promise. We will gather again to make fireworks just like this.", ... etc.

When Lelouch told C.C "I know what your real wish is ! ", he didn't speak about the one of being loved. Mao was madly in love with her after all, and she abandoned him. And Lelouch is an analytical genius, he wouldn't brag about understanding something all the viewers listened to (C.C said "My wish was to be loved. And thanks to the geass, I was granted.", and she went about how it all caused her loneliness.)

According to most side material, C.C's true wish was about healing the loneliness inside of her. She thought that she wanted to die because it would make her cease to think about it. In her regret message (CG Complete best), she says that by doing what he did, Lelouch burdened her own sins without knowing. And that by embracing himself loneliness, he healed some of her own loneliness. As a result, she feels lighter at the end ; she is just one of all the people Lelouch gave a new future to. One where she wouldn't be burdened by the past anymore. This is the true reason behind her smile in the epilogue, as stated in the official guidebook. And the "I guess that was a little wrong, right Lelouch ? " was probably about herself. Though Lelouch might have overcome the loneliness' curse, by reuniting with the people he loved (Euphy, Shirley, ...), and by having living people who know of his true self and who'll keep on loving him (Nunnally, Suzaku, Kallen, Kaguya, etc.)

So Lelouch is dead, R.I.P. And he'd really be an arse if he lived for C.C's sake when Nunnally will clearly never, ever love someone as much as she loved him, and wouldn't be as happy as he wanted her to be without him. It just doesn't fit to his character.

C.C manipulated him into countless crimes he could have avoided. She knew of his mother's murderer all along and used him to make his Geass more powerful and have her way. No matter  how much affection they ultimately had for each other, facts are that C.C used him just like he used her for most of the time. And what was between them was not love. (cf. the picture drama 22.05)