Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

“Back when I was still in Second New Tokyo, I was also known as the Commander’s son. Although I didn’t receive any special treatment, I wasn’t bullied or mistreated either. My cello was always a staple at the school’s welcome party. Every time I finished playing ‘Thanatos - If I Can’t Be Yours’ or ‘Good, or Don’t Be,’ I would receive enthusiastic applause. Although it’s not nice to say this, even back then, when I was still a kid, I was more popular with the girls. But some classmates would also say sourly behind my back, ‘If my father wasn’t Gendo Ikari, I would be nothing.’”

Rei Ayanami didn't know how to comfort him, so she simply squeezed his hand to show that she was still there for him.

I am a petal beginning to wither, trembling at the slightest breeze. Even the slightest disdain from others makes me wish I were dead. I always dream that one day I will become a remarkable person.

“But back then, I would sit in the subway waiting room with my headphones on, wondering if he didn’t want me anymore, watching the trains come and go and imagining that the next person to appear would be him. And then he would take me away from this city and we would build a real home,” Shinji Ikari said wistfully.

“Miri, Asuka, Heihei, and me, we’re all together,” Rei Ayanami said hurriedly.

"Have you seen the movie 'Scent of a Woman'? There's a very sultry old colonel in it."

"I've read it," Rei Ayanami replied. Although she wasn't good at expressing herself, in terms of sheer volume of reading, even Shinji Ikari was slightly inferior to the others. Reading was one of her three great hobbies, so naturally she had read this book by Giovanni Alpino.

"Back then, I projected Charlie onto the image of my father, imagining him to be a man of unwavering spirit, like Colonel Slade. He would bring me to a new world when I was lost, and teach me to be a true man on that land."

“But unfortunately, his defense was a pile of dog shit,” Shinji Ikari pursed his lips.

Pain, along with a woman's sense of responsibility, are the catalysts for a man's growth. A century has passed, completely forging Shinji Ikari's soul into a new form.

“I still often go back to Tokyo No. 2. Sometimes I travel around Ginza, Shibuya and Minato Ward with two or three people, and sometimes I quietly return to my former hometown alone. My classmates who used to look down on me in the municipal high school proudly boast to others that I used to be their classmate. My uncle and aunt who adopted me also warmly invited me to their home, as if I were a distinguished guest.”

In truth, Misato Katsuragi picked him up from Tokyo No. 2 in her blue Mazda and took him to Hakone, but in his dreams, he often found himself on a fantasy train, gazing at Tokyo No. 3 in the distance, bathed in the glow of the sunset.

Shinji Ikari paused for a moment, then asked, "How do you understand the Wall of the Heart?"

Rei Ayanami was taken aback. The Wall of the Heart? She had never seriously considered it before. Dr. Akagi had said that the Wall of the Heart was "a wall that separates one's self-awareness from the self-awareness of others," the material basis for distinguishing oneself from others. The Wall of the Heart was also the cause of loneliness and suffering, closely related to the "Hedgehog's Dilemma" (that is, some people suffer from loneliness, but also suffer when they are close to others).

Rei Ayanami intended to recite the knowledge from the textbook, but she sensed that Shinji Ikari wanted to hear something different, not such a simplistic answer.

EVA units can only unleash their domain force field by amplifying the barriers in the pilot's heart. In a sense, the more withdrawn, lonely, and resistant a reclusive teenager is to others, the stronger the wall around their heart becomes.

Therefore, why Shinji Ikari, this seemingly sunny and cheerful young man who is not actually withdrawn or twisted, possesses such a strong inner wall has always been one of NERV's seven unsolved mysteries.

Now that things have come to this, Shinji Ikari is also aware of the mastermind behind his experiences over the years.

Gendo Ikari, his own father, never took his eyes off him from beginning to end. Although he never appeared in front of him, he secretly tried to portray him as a tormented, lonely, and twisted autistic boy.

It possesses immense power and is also easily controlled by him.

However, Shinji Ikari didn't tell Rei Ayanami these things. Although he didn't mind killing Gendo Ikari, he didn't want to shatter the fatherly image Gendo held in Rei's heart. As for the suffering he had endured, there was no need to dwell on it.

There are two kinds of people in the world: one kind wants others to suffer the same pain they have experienced after they have suffered themselves, and the other kind doesn't want others to suffer the same pain after they have suffered themselves.

Shinji Ikari stroked Rei Ayanami's hair. "Rei, you just need to be yourself."

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Mech Wars World, Troposphere.

A beam of light pierced the sky, stirring up the surrounding clouds. The spiraling beam of light, moving forward in a spiral shape, pushed aside the heat radiation beams emitted from Unit-01's eyes and rushed towards the purple machine in front of it with a sharp, piercing screech.

The two sides clashed repeatedly, constantly exchanging blows. Spirit possession and physical awakening, extradimensional and higher-dimensional power, light and heat radiation—all were reborn amidst mutual destruction.

This is a battle that exists only in mythology. The earth trembles upon impact, and the high-vibration particle blades unleash hurricane-like air currents that then dissipate into streaks of flowing blades. The demonic mechs and general-purpose humanoid combat weapons clash with each other, their surging power pushing open the gates to another world.

………………

In the Monster Universe, the Triune God—King Ghidorah—has awakened first.

The three-headed dragon King Ghidorah stared at the black patterns appearing on its skin and the three menacing golden spirals protruding from its skull. It unleashed a gravitational beam at its nemesis, Godzilla, slamming it heavily into the ground.

Death is not the end. After regaining life, King Ghidorah takes on an even more powerful form.

The dragon's heart, like a furnace, suddenly stopped, but after the sudden stop, an invisible force transmitted from the other end of the void into its body. The body, which had already evolved to its limit, broke through again, and the golden particles were fully developed.

Its body expanded further, its power increased while breaking through its limits, horns sprouted from all three heads and it transformed into a four-legged walking posture, growing wings, and its body color changed to a mixture of gold and black. Originally an Alpha-class Titan, it reached a new dimension after its breakthrough.

The once golden dragon's body was now covered with jet-black patterns and brand-new, ferocious scales. The jet-black patterns gleamed slightly on its surface, and the fully matured golden particles unfolded completely, making it hover in mid-air like a god descending from the heavens, exuding the majesty of a deity overlooking the world.

The heavily wounded Godzilla struggled to its feet again. It was the king of monsters, and it roared at its enemy, the equally wounded Unit-01, whom it had been fighting not long ago.

The boy in the cockpit understood what He meant.

In its final moments, Godzilla unleashed an atomic breath that struck Unit-01. This attack, however, caused the severely wounded Unit-01 to rise from the ashes.

The mechanical restraints completely collapsed, and the purple machine—strictly speaking, a purple giant—roared to the sky like a monster, completely merging with Godzilla's power in a matter of breaths. Unit-01 stretched its neck and roared like a wild beast, its armor bristling like cobra scales. It abruptly rose from the oppressive gravity field, its armor and restraints shattering completely. A green sword-like spine shot out from its back, then spread from its shoulder blades to its spinal cord, transforming it into a ferocious Titan.

The crimson eyes shimmered with shifting light, reflecting the figure that had already transformed into Caesar Ghidorah. Then, with a leap, the berserk Godzilla-type Unit-01 bit into Ghidorah's body high in the sky, forcibly tearing off the dragon head on the left side.

At that moment, humans couldn't even tell which were the real beasts.

………………

This is a bar tucked away in a corner of Shibuya. The bar counter, polished to a shine, seems to exude the scent of wood, and its elegant decor, paired with the wooden floors, highlights the owner's refined taste. The shelves behind the bar are filled with various bottles of liquor collected according to the owner's personal preferences, ranging from the most common brands to rare and hard-to-find gems.

Wearing a waiter's uniform, Mefilas wiped the wine glasses with a clear and cheerful expression, while sitting at the opposite table, Kamen Rider had his arms around the shoulders of young Shinji Ikari and Shinji Kaminaga, looking smug. "Ultraman, Shinji, and me, the combined power of the three of us brothers, working together, is enough to shake the entire world!"

As the fog cleared before Shinji Ikari's eyes, he found himself at the crossroads of the world once more.

Some say it's hard to recall the beginning of a dream, but Shinji Ikari could.

Because what was presented to him was not just a dream, but also a series of real worlds.

A new world very similar to our own, a world that begins to move towards a new future after the failure of the Human Completion Project, a world where Earth is attacked by enemies from within and without, a mecha world to protect the planet, a monster universe world where Godzilla and many ancient Titans have been resurrected, and a hybrid world of the new Ultraman monster universe and Kamen Rider.

Countless parallel worlds could potentially contain countless Shinji Ikari. But the only ones I can actually interact with are the three right in front of me.

Given the current situation, it's not hard to guess which one to choose.

The New World, the Black Moon, a colossal object resembling a goblet, this once immortal relic, now has a small portion of its base slowly sinking into the soil as if it were collapsing.

"This isn't good, meow." Mari, dressed in a pink combat suit, leaned out of the car window, completely unprotected, moving about in this purified world with her bare flesh and blood, and took out binoculars to look at the enormous creature in the distance that was undergoing strange changes.

"So what?" Asuka, sitting in the passenger seat, put her hands in her pockets, her expression indifferent.

She didn't know what this meant, but even if something major happened, she would most likely remain indifferent.

That is the Egg of Lilith, the Black Moon, the House of Guf, the end and the beginning of all souls. It is also the seventh Heaven in Jewish mythology.

Something strange happened there, which sounds incredible, but what does it have to do with me?

"The white-haired First Apostle once said that mass extinctions of life on this planet are not uncommon. In fact, they can promote the evolution of life. Life should change itself by constantly adapting to the environment. But the arrogant Li Lin wants to change not only himself, but also the world."

Asuka's expression changed for the first time, not because of the words Li Lin, the extinction of the sacred artifact, or evolution mentioned by Mari, but because of the white-haired First Angel she had just been mentioned—

—That annoying man!

Asuka couldn't quite put her finger on what she disliked about him, but the thought of him being treated differently by that idiot Shinji made her feel disgusted. "Could this guy be some kind of Angel with the ability to charm men?" Asuka wondered maliciously.

“The first impact purified life, the second impact purified the ocean, the third impact purified the earth, so what if another impact were to occur—” Mari paused.

"What will happen? Don't be a riddle-maker, just say what you mean!" Asuka frowned.

Mari looked at her intently. "That is the opportunity (condition) for truly becoming a god, as described in the Dead Sea Scrolls."

It's not the kind of god that Unit-01 awakens. Although Unit-01, with its divine body and divine power, is indeed a god, Mari is referring to the omniscient and omnipotent God in Jewish mythology.

That is the true god.

220: A new storm has arrived.

The Dead Sea Scrolls—Asuka is no longer the naive girl she once was; she has some understanding of this legendary artifact. They describe the origins and reincarnation of Adam and Lilith's lives, the conditions for restarting the Tree of Life, and most importantly, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain clear prophecies about future events.

Because on this purified land, Li Lin could only struggle to survive by helping each other. Previously, some Level 2 or even Level 3 classified documents could be accessed by ordinary Wille staff with their own privileges, among which the Dead Sea Scrolls were the most talked about. There are two theories regarding their origin from the Ship of Hope.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were recorded by early human sages who were born shortly after the First Impact. These sages knew what had happened and thus recorded it in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Another theory is that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by God or a deity and then descended to Earth with Adam; according to this theory, the Dead Sea Scrolls are "divine prophecies."

Only Vice-Captain Akagi and Captain Katsuragi know the true nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although Asuka is an important EVA pilot, Wille treats the pilots as both wary comrades and potential criminals, so Asuka's authority is not high. However, she senses from her female instincts that the latter is more likely.

The destiny He writes has a ghostly pull, and the world will move toward the future recorded in the book.

“We still need to retrieve Unit-01, the lost unit. It and Unit-01 are key to opening the Seventh Heaven. If there's a problem with the Black Moon, it's very likely that the problem lies with Unit-01.” Mari put away her binoculars and said to Asuka, who had her hands in her pockets.

Asuka nodded without saying anything more. Mari had guessed that she would react this way, and drove the dark green jeep toward Unit 8 and Unit 2, which were parked in the distance.

Just like Shinji Ikari and Gendo Ikari, who were once trapped in the Dirac Sea, Asuka and Mari Makinami independently activated their own EVAs, piloting them once again to the bottom of the cylindrical, pitch-black abyss.

"Be careful, Princess. I feel a chill, and I have a bad feeling." Mari, piloting Unit-08, slowly descended along the cable-like column first, followed closely by Asuka.

The abyss, seemingly leading to hell, was pitch black and gave off a truly unsettling feeling. Asuka turned on the searchlight on top of Unit-02, and was instantly terrified by the scene before her.

It was all EVA, all Evangelion. Hundreds of EVA heads were embedded in the wall, their empty eye sockets seemingly staring at themselves.

Deeper inside were EVA's dismembered body parts, some with six fingers, some with eyes growing from their chests, and some rotting flesh without a spine. At this point, they had all been dismembered and turned into building materials from the former Central Dogmatic Zone, covering the four sides of the oval walls.

"Why are they all Unit 00?" Asuka asked softly.

"Because Unit 00 was Li Lin's first experimental machine, all the subsequent official models, from Unit 2 to Unit 5, and even the Mark series, were built on the foundation of Unit 00."

For some reason, Asuka's anxiety intensified, and she could vaguely hear the girl's mocking laughter in the wind that brushed against her cheek.

Asuka suddenly woke up, realizing she was in the cockpit! Where did the wind come from?

"Be careful, we're almost there, Princess." Mari's voice rang out in the cockpit as she stared intently at the honeycomb-shaped crimson barrier below. "We're about to reach the final sealing barrier, the main axis is completely sealed. In the fourteen years since the fall of the Central Dogma, no one has been able to reach this place."

"Including Shinji Ikari and Unit-01?" Asuka wondered. But then she thought that Shinji Ikari had only made a brief appearance after returning from the Negative Universe and had no chance to get involved with the former Central Doctrine.

At that moment, Unit 2 and Unit 8, moving slowly forward, passed through the passage piled with corpses and slid into the darkness that even the searchlights couldn't penetrate. Whether it was an illusion or not, the instant the machines passed through the seal, Asuka seemed to hear countless hoarse groans, like blood-dripping ghosts from hell.

But what's truly terrifying is that those ghosts are all howling their own names!

Although she shouldn't, Asuka couldn't help but wonder what Shinji Ikari would do in the face of such a bizarre situation.

Oh, he would just smile and not pay much attention. Occasionally, he would have a childlike moment and joke, "Those who constantly chant my name will not fall into the Yellow Springs" and "Those who call my true name will see eternal life in the cycle of reincarnation."

Asuka couldn't help but laugh out loud, and her initial panic dissipated considerably.

As the two machines touched the ultimate barrier beneath their feet, a warning message appeared on the control panel in front of Asuka.

"Don't worry, our names are written in the Dead Sea Scrolls, we are the called children. We are qualified to pass through here."

Mari's voice was always so cheerful. As she slept, the touch of her toes caused the crimson ultimate barrier to ripple with blue waves. Then, the two colors converged in a spiral towards the center until they broke open a hole that could accommodate Unit-02 and Unit-08.

“We’ve arrived at the deepest part of the Final Dogma Zone,” Mari explained meticulously, like a tour guide, before her voice rose several decibels in the next second, “Luck! Hehe! They even have a free EVAMK6!”

In a corner of the Central Dogmatic Zone, an EVA figure came into view, kneeling on one knee with arms crossed over its shoulders, in the posture of a sufferer. It was none other than EVA Unit-06, which Misato Katsuragi and her companions had been searching for.

Unlike the world of Shinji Ikari from Warhammer, EVA Unit-06 left an incredibly deep impression on all of humanity in this world. When Unit-01, having awakened its divine power, purified the earth, Unit-06, wielding the Spear of Longinus, descended from the sky, piercing through Unit-01 while simultaneously closing the opened Gate of Gaff, saving humanity from dire straits.

For the past fourteen years, Misato Katsuragi and her allies, who had been fighting against the old NERV, believed that Unit-06 was with SEELE, since they had never seen it again. Now, however, they never imagined it would be trapped in the Central Dogma District. Like the bones scattered across the ground, Unit-06's original deep yellow and black color scheme was gone; all its colors had faded, leaving only the purest white.