My heart was pounding. I leaned against the cold corridor wall, breathing heavily.
The return had happened... but something was different. The weight of that death still crushed him.
The phantom pain of the fall, the air slicing through my face, the metallic sound of the body hitting below—it all still pulsed in my memory.
"Who... who was that?" I whispered, trying to remember.
My mind whirled, sifting through memories that seemed distant, fragmented. That arrogant smile... the cold, superior gaze. It was a face I'd seen before.
I pressed my head in my hands, and then an image came to me: the glow of flames, the sound of bubbling magma, and a white silhouette standing out amid the suffocating heat.
The memory struck him like a blade.
"That... inside the volcano..." I whispered, my eyes widening. "It was him."
At the time, I had barely grasped what I was seeing: a figure that appeared human but radiated something supernatural, almost demonic. A being that watched from afar as I fought for my life.
Now, I was certain: the man in the white suit, the same one who had pushed me just now, was the same one who had appeared in the volcano.
A shiver ran down my spine. I knew it was no coincidence.
"Why are you here…? What do you want with me?" I murmured, staring into the empty corridor, as if expecting an answer.
But all I heard was the distant echo of NERV's machines and the muffled sound of my own heart.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil within me.
The memory of that man, the same one I had seen inside the volcano, now fit a terrible pattern.
Those words echoed in my mind as I walked through the NERV corridors, still trembling slightly with the sensation of recent death.
"It can't be... an Archbishop of the Witch?" I whispered, my heart racing.
I knew that aura well. That sense of quiet desperation, the mix of fear and fascination that surrounded him when he was near someone connected to the Witch.
It was the same kind of energy I'd felt around Wrath, Sloth...
But this... this new being was different. Cold. Sovereign. Almost... divine.
I clenched my fists.
If he really was an Archbishop, then there was a reason he was here.
And somehow, it was connected to NERV.
"I need to understand what happened. If I die again without knowing why, I'll continue to be trapped in this cycle."
With that in mind, I began moving quickly through the corridors. I knew Misato and Ritsuko usually stayed in the technical and command areas, places full of security guards and restricted access.
But I'd died enough times to no longer care about rules.
I avoided the guards, seizing moments of distraction. With each step, my heart pounded harder.
When I finally reached the wing where Ritsuko usually was, I hid behind a metal pillar, listening intently.
Through the cracks, I could see Ritsuko in front of a terminal, while Misato was on the phone, her expression tense.
"Mana Kirishima's detention has been confirmed. The Committee wants a full report by noon," Misato said firmly.
Ritsuko, without looking away from the screen, replied, "What about the intruder detected last night? The security cameras failed for a few seconds. That was enough for someone to get in and out without a trace."
I felt a chill crawl up the back of my neck.
Camera failure... seconds...
That time exactly matched the moment I had been pushed.
"So... he really was here. But why? What did he want?"
If it were an Archbishop, perhaps he was after him or something inside NERV.
I gritted my teeth. "I need to find out before he comes back."
I knew I couldn't be seen, but I also knew the truth was there, between those two women and what they weren't saying out loud.
And deep down, a terrible feeling consumed him:
the premonition that this white man hadn't finished what he came to do.
Still hidden in the shadows of the technical corridor, he moved a little closer to the secondary console that displayed several smaller screens.
Among them, one caught his eye; it showed a completely white room, illuminated by a cold light, with jets of steam descending from the ceiling.
And there they were: Asuka, Shinji, and Rei, inside transparent capsules connected to various cables and sensors.
The room looked like a cross between a laboratory and a decontamination room, and each of them wore only a thin, translucent, almost nonexistent garment.
My eyes widened, flinching slightly. "So this is the simulation test...?"
On the screen, a voice echoed through the internal speakers. "Starting purification cycle number three."
I saw the curtain of vapor envelop the three of them again, and the sensors on their bodies flashed different colors, measuring synchrony and neural activity.
Asuka, visibly irritated, turned her face to the speaker and shouted, "Hey! The NERV guys aren't seeing us naked, are they?!"
I almost coughed, trying to stifle a nervous laugh.
On the other end, Ritsuko responded through the microphone coldly and impassive: "The main camera is off. No image data is being recorded, only physiological measurements."
"Hmph, I highly doubt it... Why isn't Subaru experiencing the same embarrassment as us?!" Asuka grumbled, crossing her arms and glancing sideways at Shinji. "You're looking, aren't you?!"
Shinji, completely embarrassed, quickly turned away, red as a tomato. "I-I'm not! I swear!"
Meanwhile, Rei remained motionless, staring straight ahead, oblivious to the other two's discomfort. My expression was serene, but I sensed something different about her, a certain... subtle tension, as if she were trying to comprehend something she shouldn't feel.
Ritsuko, oblivious to the commotion inside the chamber, jotted down numbers on her tablet. "Synchronization levels are stable. Purification ends in three minutes."
I was still watching from afar, clenching my fist. "Even after everything we've been through... they're still treated like instruments."
I remained hidden at the top of the technical corridor, watching through the monitoring screens and reinforced windows of the testing room.
The containment tanks opened, releasing a dense, milky mist. The metallic sound of the mechanisms echoed throughout the underground wing, and there they were: Shinji, Asuka, and Rei, ready to enter their respective EVAs.
But then, something caught my attention.
The launch elevators opened without the EVAs' external armor.
I frowned, moving closer to the glass. "What is this...?"
Instead of the colossal armored figures he'd seen in combat, what emerged from the chambers was something alive, something organic.
Gray, translucent skin, muscles pulsing beneath the surface, visible veins glowing bluish.
The EVAs, stripped of their armor, resembled alien creatures, humanoid yet monstrous, each emanating an almost spiritual presence.
Shinji's EVA-01 trembled slightly, breathing like an animal.
The sound of its lungs echoed through the glass. Asuka's EVA-02 moved restlessly, as if resisting something within itself, a violent instinct forcibly suppressed. And Rei's EVA-00 remained motionless... but I could sense a kind of "consciousness" behind the inertia, as if it were staring back at me.
I took a step back, breaking out in a cold sweat. "These... aren't robots. Never were."
Ritsuko appeared in the command room, calmly looking at the screens. "We've removed the outer protective layers for a biological response test. We want to measure the direct synchronization between the pilot and the base body."
My eyes widened. "Base... body? So the EVAs have a real body?"
Misato, who was beside her, looked uncomfortable.
She crossed her arms and looked away. "These things are made... of human parts, aren't they?"
Ritsuko was silent for a moment before replying: "They are units created from an original biological model. Do you understand what that means, Captain Katsuragi?"
Misato clenched her fists, not responding.
Meanwhile, the EVAs began to move.
Slowly, the three opened their eyes, and I could see clearly: the creatures' eyes were not mechanical, but alive, filled with hatred, fear, and pain.
The deep sound of synchronized breathing filled the room, and a shiver ran down my spine.
I took a step back, muttering, "So... this is what they're hiding from all of us..."
Suddenly, EVA-01 tilted its head slightly, looking directly in my direction.
Even behind meters of steel and glass, I felt its gaze pierce my body.
I straightened slowly, still breathing heavily after what I'd just seen. The words that echoed in its mind, that familiar, almost human voice, still reverberated in my ears. But something on the monitor screen diverted my attention.
The surveillance panel showed one of the walls of NERV's lower section, the same one I'd been on days before.
There were dark, warped marks, as if something had corroded the metal and concrete. The security cameras shook slightly, the sound of interference distorting the video.
I approached the console and zoomed in.
"This… this is the same corrosion I saw down there…" I murmured, staring at the screen.
The pattern was identical: black stains that seemed alive, spreading slowly, and pulsating like organic tissue. I vividly remembered the metallic smell and the heavy air I'd smelled when I'd been in that corridor. At the time, I'd thought it was just a chemical leak.
But now… I knew it wasn't.
The technician next to Ritsuko began to report something: "Doctor, we are detecting a type of structural contamination in the containment chambers. The material is not recognized by any of the databases..."
Ritsuko frowned, adjusting her glasses. "It's the same pattern as Unit-01, before reactivation…"
I clenched my fists, a shiver running up my spine. "It can't be a coincidence."
"Every time a Witch Archbishop appeared with one of these beings... the place began to die." I thought swallowing hard. "Now this is happening here... so... it's not just an Angel's fault?"
I looked again at the images of the unarmored EVAs. The creatures were still there, huge, breathing, but there was something in the air... a vibration that I recognized from afar.
The same oppressive feeling he had felt in front of the Archbishops. "These things… these Angels… are linked to them."
I walked down the stairs with my heart racing, the sound of his own boots echoing off the metal walls of NERV.
The alarm had recently been silenced, but the air was still heavy, as if the base held the tension of what had happened.
I stopped at the fork, the same spot where I had been killed before. "Last time, I went right... and died. So, if I go left now, maybe I'll find out what's going on... and where Mana is."
Swallowing hard, I turned left.
The hallway was narrower and less lit. Lights flickered from time to time, and the distant sound of machinery resonated like a constant hum.
There were marks on the floor, like equipment wheels being hastily moved, and a sign partially torn off the wall with the name "Containment Sector B-9".
"Containment…" I muttered
"If she's being held as a suspect… chances are she's here."
As I progressed, I began to smell a faint metallic smell in the air, iron and ozone, the same smell I had smelled near the corrosion.
But now it was mixed with something more… sweet perfume.
His heart sank.
"Mana?" I called in a low voice.
No response. Just the sound of a drop falling somewhere in the distance. I followed the corridor to a reinforced door, with a small glass window covered by a dark filter.
On the next panel, the display flashed red: RESTRICTED ACCESS – LEVEL 4 AUTHORIZATION.
I looked around. There was no one around. I took a deep breath, took out the identification card I had taken from a table in the command center, something I "borrowed" without thinking, and passed it on the reader.
The panel beeped, and the display turned green.
The door slowly slid to the side, releasing a hiss of pressure.
Inside, the room was dim.
Glass walls surrounded a small space in the center, where a metal chair was fixed to the floor. Chains dangled from the sides, and monitors displayed heart charts and brain readings.
And there… sitting, with her hands resting on her lap and her gaze far away… was Mana Kirishima.
She seemed too calm. He was wearing a white hospital uniform, and his brown hair was loose, partially covering his face.
When I entered, she looked up slowly, as if she already knew he was coming.
"You're back…" she said in a serene, almost sad tone.
I remained motionless for a moment. "Mana... what are they doing with you here? They said it was suspicious, but... are you okay?"
She looked away, her lips quivering slightly. "I... heard them talking. They said they found something inside me... something that shouldn't be here."
I felt my stomach go cold. "Something… inside you?"
Mana nodded. "They think it's a remnant of an Angel. But... I think it's something else. I hear a voice sometimes..."
She placed her hand on her chest, and her gaze became vacant. "A voice that calls me… by name."
I took a step forward, eyes wide.
I stared at her, trying to understand every word, every expression. Mana seemed too calm for someone who was being kept in a containment room. But there was something in her gaze... something that mixed sadness and resignation, as if she herself didn't know who she was.
"You said you have something inside you…" I started, keeping my voice low. "What does that mean exactly? What did they find?"
Mana looked away, as if she was afraid to look directly at me.
She brought her hand to her chest, trembling fingers pressing to the place where her heart beat.
"I don't know… it's like something is in here."
Her voice was weak, almost a whisper. "It's not pain. It's... like someone is watching me from the inside, like my heart is beating with another, somewhere else. But it's not love... it's nothing like that. It's a connection that I don't understand."
"Mana…" I took a step closer. "What did you really come here to do? What was your mission at NERV? Did you come on your own... or did someone send you?"
Mana fell silent.
Her eyes wavered, as if she were wrestling with something invisible within her own mind.
She took a deep breath, and when I looked back at her, her gaze was completely different, cold, determined, as if she'd dropped any mask.
"My true intentions were…" Mana began, her voice now firm and unwavering. "To be part of something bigger. I… was part of T.RIDEN.T."
My eyes widened. The name sounded heavy, familiar. I remembered the inscription on the blue robot I'd found in the wreckage of the lake. "That mecha… the T.RIDEN.T… so it was yours?" I asked in disbelief.
Mana nodded slowly. "We wanted to rival NERV. Create an organization capable of controlling the Evas without relying on the same methods. Our goal was to prove that the Angels' power could be... tamed. But—"
Before she could finish, a voice echoed from the dark corner of the room. "But it seems the control has slipped a bit from your hands, hasn't it?"
Mana and I turned at the same time.
Kaji was there, leaning against the wall, with that wry smile that made it unclear whether he was mocking or just testing the waters.
"T.RIDEN.T. was too ambitious..." I continued walking slowly toward them. "But you didn't get this far alone... you had a little help."
I took a step back, surprised by Kaji's sudden presence, but even more so by what I was insinuating. "What do you mean, a little help?" I asked, my gaze alternating between Mana and Kaji.
Kaji crossed his arms, his smile slowly fading. "Do you remember that woman you faced in Germany? The one who seemed to have... Angel abilities." I frowned, the flashes of memory returning, the distorted energy field, the woman's body regenerating, and the luminous eyes staring at us before disappearing.
"Sirius..." I murmured.
Kaji nodded. "Exactly. She was part of the NERV side project, led by T.RIDEN.T. And guess who was directly connected to her?"
I looked at Mana. She didn't answer, just lowered her head.
"Mana had direct contact with Sirius. This 'little help' was more than just scientific cooperation," Kaji explained, his tone more serious. "They were studying a way to synthesize the human soul with that of an Angel. A type of hybridization... and Sirius was the prototype."
My heart sank. I remembered the white silhouette that had pushed him away at the moment of his death, the strange gleam in that figure's eyes. "So that guy… that being in white… he really is an archbishop of the witch," I thought, cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck.
I looked at Mana, searching for any denial, any sign that this was all a misunderstanding. But she just kept her blank stare, and for the first time, I noticed she looked afraid.
I was still trying to piece together what Kaji had revealed. The distant sound of machines and the faint hum of NERV panels made the silence heavier. I turned to Mana, my gaze steady, but there was a trace of worry there.
"Mana… you've seen a man in white, haven't you?… who was he?" I asked quietly, almost as if afraid of the answer.
Mana hesitated for a moment, her lips trembling before finally saying, "His name is Regulus."
I felt a shiver run through my body. The name sounded heavy, almost like a curse echoing inside my mind. "Regulus…" I repeated, trying to remember that name, but all that came to mind was the moment he'd been pushed and the excruciating pain of the fall.
I took a step forward. "And he… does he have powers? Is he some kind of Angel too?"
Mana looked away. "Not exactly an Angel… but something much worse."
Kaji watched silently, leaning against the wall, letting her speak. "Regulus feels no pain, no fear, and time seems unaffected. He… is practically invincible."
My eyes widened, remembering how that being had killed him effortlessly, and how I'd revived afterward as if my own death had been a mere whim of fate.
The tightness in my chest grew, and I thought to myself:
If Regulus really is invincible… then what does he want with NERV?
I tensed, my voice echoing through the underground corridor as I stared at Mana. "What does he want with you? Why work with T.RIDEN.T.? What's his interest in all this?"
Mana took a deep breath, her eyes trembling as if afraid to even answer. "Regulus… said he'd help us defeat NERV, but not for free. He promised to give up some of his power if I…"
She stopped. Her expression paled, her body stiffened. I frowned. "If you what, Mana?"
Before she could finish, the air grew thick, as if the oxygen had been drained from the room. A metallic sound, soft and deep, reverberated, slow footsteps echoing through the darkness of the corridor.
The nearby wall shattered abruptly, and Regulus appeared, his body enveloped in an almost sacred silver glow, contrasting with the empty, cold gaze that seemed to pierce my soul.
"You're already talking too much, Mana," he said, his tone calm, a gentle tone half-false, but filled with authority.
Mana flinched, unable to look directly at him. I took a step back, feeling the crushing weight of his presence. The ground seemed to vibrate beneath his feet, and even without moving, Regulus exuded something that made my instincts scream in despair.
Regulus shook his head slightly in my direction in disbelief.
I didn't respond. I simply clenched my fists, my heart pounding in my chest, aware that I was standing before the very being who had once ended his life.
Before anyone could react, Regulus raised his right hand, and the air around him seemed to shatter like cracking glass. An invisible force, dense, suffocating, and impossible to resist, slammed Kaji and me against the wall. We were both crushed against the cold metal with such force that the sound of bones cracking echoed through the hallway.
I tried to scream, but I couldn't even breathe. A colossal weight, as if the air itself were squeezing him, held him captive. The veins in his neck bulged, his muscles trembled, but he remained completely still.
Regulus walked with slow, elegant, yet terrifying steps. Each step reverberated like the sound of distant bells. His gaze fixed on Mana, who lay on the ground, desperately trying to retreat.
"I told you I'd come back for what belongs to me," he murmured, with the calm of someone announcing something inevitable.
With a simple movement of his hand, the security bars warped as if made of paper, creaking loudly. Regulus crossed the open space and effortlessly picked Mana up, as if she were a fragile doll.
She tried to protest, her eyes brimming with tears. "P-please... Regulus, don't do this!"
He looked down at her, impassive. "You've served me well enough. Now, you'll return to your original purpose."
I struggled against the pressure that held him captive, my teeth clenched, my entire body trembling with rage and helplessness. "Let her go... damn you..." I managed to mutter, my voice breaking.
But Regulus didn't even look at me. He just turned, still holding Mana, and an abnormal wind began to blow inside the corridor, enough to stir up dust and papers, as if a storm were brewing inside.
Kaji struggled to reach for his pistol, but it was crushed before it even left the holster, bending on its own as if it were made of molten lead.
Regulus gave them both one last look, cold, indifferent, almost divine, and said in a low voice, "You should consider yourselves lucky I'm in a good mood."
Then, in a flash of white light, he disappeared along with Mana, leaving Kaji and me trapped, the corridor distorted by the force that had emanated from him.
I could still hear the echo of those words and the suffocating feeling that, once again, I had been completely powerless.
With a sharp crack, the invisible force field that had bound them dissipated, and both Subaru and Kaji fell to the ground hard. The impact made the metal echo through the empty corridor, and for a moment the sound of their labored breathing was the only thing audible.
I placed one hand on the ground, still dizzy, trying to catch my breath. "Damn it…" I whispered, clutching my chest. "How… how did the alarm not go off? That guy just showed up, destroyed everything, and disappeared… none of this makes sense!"
Kaji also stood, adjusting the collar of his jacket, his gaze serious and distant. He ran a hand through his hair and responded gravely, observing the marks left on the walls. "That's because he's not something NERV's sensors can register. He doesn't have the energy pattern of an Angel... nor a human. He's probably something in between. A being that's off the scales of measurement."
I looked at the floor, remembering Regulus's cold, indifferent face, and the way he'd bent the metal like paper. "Neither human... nor angel..." I murmured. "So that's what you meant, Kaji? That that monster... is something even NERV can't comprehend?"
Kaji let out a short sigh, his tone weary, but with a hint of irony. "Every time we think we understand something, something comes along that changes all the rules."
I straightened, my body still aching. "Mana's with him now. We can't stay down here… we need to go back upstairs and warn Misato and Ritsuko before this Regulus guy does something worse."
Kaji nodded, looking around one last time. "Okay. But don't say anything about what you saw here to anyone, understand? We'll have to report this directly to the intelligence section. And… be careful what you say about Mana."
I stared at him with a firm expression. "I won't rest until I figure out what this guy wants... and why she was involved in it."
Kaji gave a slight smile, one of those bitter smiles he often gave when he knew the situation was about to escalate. "Heh... then it seems we have the same goal."
The two of them began walking down the metal corridors, the sound of their boots echoing in the silence. With each step they took toward NERV's surface, I felt the weight of something greater, as if that descent had been the beginning of something I could no longer avoid.
Kaji and I walked through NERV's metal corridors, still covered in soot and dust from the base's underbelly. The sound of the automatic doors opening echoed through the silent air, a strange, heavy silence, almost too tense to be the end of an ordinary day.
When they reached the command center, the lights were dimmer than usual, and several screens still displayed security codes and combat logs. Misato was leaning over a table, a bottle of water in her hands, while Ritsuko typed nonstop, her blond hair a bit disheveled from exhaustion.
Misato looked at them both and gave a faint, tired smile. "Ah... they finally showed up. Looks like you picked the right day to disappear," she joked, her tone husky.
Kaji smirked, with that usual carefree air. "Well, let's just say we went for a little stroll through the more... unexplored areas of NERV."
Ritsuko glanced at him, arching an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you went into the restricted areas again, Kaji."
"Let's just say it was a controlled incident," Misato replied with a half-smile, looking away.
I watched everything silently until I noticed their dejected expressions. "What happened up here? It looks like a hurricane passed through..."
Misato huffed and slumped in her chair, running a hand through her hair. "A hurricane would be easier. What we faced today was an Angel that infiltrated NERV's systems. Some kind of biotechnological virus... invaded the circuits, tried to take control of the Evas. We had to react before it infected the central system."
Ritsuko added, her tone cold but visibly exhausted: "It was almost a total meltdown. We had to isolate entire sections and manually restart MAGI. We wasted hours trying to expel the code from the system."
I was stunned. "So you defeated an Angel... without any active Evas?"
Misato gave a weak, almost incredulous laugh. "That's right. Looks like this time we won through logic and patience."
I crossed my arms, breathing a sigh of relief. "Well... at least this time I didn't have to get involved."
Ritsuko looked at me, a faint smile escaping. "Consider this a rare gift. Normally, you'd be the first one dragged into the mess."
Kaji patted my shoulder. "Enjoy it, kid. Because next time, I doubt you'll be so lucky."
I smiled slightly, glancing at the screens still flashing red.
As Misato leaned back in her chair and Ritsuko finished her reports, I glanced at Kaji. Neither of them said anything… but their shared look made it clear: they knew the real problem was yet to come.
Kaji took a deep breath, crossing his arms as he watched Misato and Ritsuko. The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew dense, the hum of the machines and the glow of the screens seeming to fade amid the gravity of what he was about to say.
"There's something you need to know," he began seriously. "While you were dealing with the angel virus up here… we had another kind of problem on the lower levels."
Misato looked up, frowning. "Another problem? Kaji, don't tell me you've been mixed up in something else."
"This time, it wasn't my fault." he replied, trying to keep his tone calm. "Mana Kirishima was taken. By someone… or something… called Regulus."
The name echoed in the room. Ritsuko stopped typing for a moment. Misato's eyes widened. "Taken?! What do you mean 'taken'? Mana was in NERV custody, right?!"
I took a step forward. "We were with her. Suddenly, this guy appeared, a strange man with a heavy presence. He used a power we couldn't understand. He pinned me to the wall, along with Kaji, without even touching us."
Ritsuko pressed her lips together, her gaze quickly returning to the monitors. "There was no record of an intrusion, no alarms triggered. This doesn't make sense…"
Kaji nodded. "That's what I figured. He wasn't detected by any sensors. Subaru doesn't think he's human… and I agree. But the strangest thing is, he's not an Angel either."
Misato stood up, resting her hands on the table. "Then what the hell is he? Another kind of being?!"
Kaji looked at the floor for a moment before answering, "I'm not sure. But from what I understand, he was working with Mana and T.RIDEN.T. before all this. She herself said he would give her some of his power... but she couldn't finish her sentence before he showed up."
Silence returned, broken only by the sound of the room's fans.
I clenched my hands into fists. "He said he would take what was his... and that's what he did. He just took Mana and disappeared. I... couldn't do anything."
Misato bit her lip, pacing. "Damn... first an angel hacks into our systems, and now we have a new enemy kidnapping one of our own..."
Ritsuko interrupted, "If what you're saying is true, then we're dealing with something that's not typical of the Angels. And if he was able to operate within NERV undetected, we need to review our entire security system."
Kaji looked at me. "And there's more. When he used that power... it was like time stopped. Nothing moved besides him. Not even the air."
Ritsuko narrowed her eyes. "Absolute control of the environment...?"
"Exactly," Kaji replied. "And with that kind of power, he could destroy the entire base if he wanted to."
Misato pounded the table in frustration. "So we're dealing with someone who can stop time, invade NERV unseen, and even take a person as if they were nothing?!"
Kaji let out a soft sigh. "In short... yes."
I looked away, my face serious. "We need to find Mana. Before he does something worse."
Misato nodded slowly. "Let's gather the data. If this 'Regulus' exists, we'll find him."
But even as she said that, her expression made it clear: for the first time in a long time, Misato Katsuragi wasn't sure NERV could handle what came next.
Ritsuko typed quickly, her eyes fixed on the screen as dozens of windows opened before her: security footage, energy readings, and containment system statuses. The bluish glow of the monitors illuminated her tense, focused face.
I, who had been watching closely, crossed my arms. "Hey, Ritsuko... where are the pilot pods now? I didn't see anything about them returning."
Misato, who was right behind her, answered before her: "We had to jettison them to the surface. The support system collapsed when the Angel began eroding the lower levels. It was the only way to avoid losing the Evas along with the pilots."
My eyes widened. "So they're still up there... completely exposed?"
"Technically, yes," Ritsuko replied, without taking her eyes off the screen. "But the area is cordoned off and monitored. As soon as the ventilation system is stabilized, we'll send a recovery team."
As she spoke, one of the monitors flickered, a small red alert appearing in the bottom corner of the screen, with the text:
[CAMERA 09 — SURFACE / EJECTOR HANGAR]
"Huh?" Ritsuko frowned, zooming in.
The video was shaky, full of interference, but she could clearly see one of the capsules, still half-covered with metallic dust. The automatic stabilization system was offline. And then, the shape of a white figure appeared on the screen.
Ritsuko zoomed in. "That... it can't be..."
Misato leaned closer, trying to see. "What just happened?"
The doctor swallowed hard. "There's... someone up there."
Silence filled the room.
I leaned forward, my heart racing. The image sharpened for a second, and everyone saw it.
The silver-haired, blank-eyed, white-robed male figure, with the disturbing calm of someone beyond all human logic, was opening one of the capsules.
Ritsuko's eyes widened, her face draining what little color it had. "That's... Rei's capsule!"
Misato slammed the table. "Damn it! How did he get there so fast?!"
I took a step forward, my gaze fixed on the screen, feeling a chill run down my spine.
It was him.
Regulus.
He touched the capsule's latch with his fingertips, and the metal warped like clay. The hatch slowly opened, revealing the pale light coming from within.
"He can't... he can't be after Rei too..." Ritsuko murmured, almost voiceless.
I felt my entire body shiver.
"No... it can't be a coincidence," he thought.
Regulus was acting up again. And this time, no one knew what he intended to do with Rei Ayanami.
A few hours later...
Time had passed, perhaps hours, perhaps days. I no longer knew. The NERV base clock seemed to mock me, its slow, impassive hands ticking.
I sat on the bench in the hallway, my uniform wrinkled, my eyes sunken and red. Since the moment Regulus took Rei, I hadn't slept well. Misato and Ritsuko were trying to track any trace of residual energy, but nothing appeared. Nothing.
The silence in the room was suffocating. I stared at my own hands, the same hands that had tried so many times to save people, but this time... had failed.
"Again... I saw her being taken, and I couldn't do anything..."
The memory came back in flashes: the capsule opening, Rei's serene gaze before she was enveloped in white light and disappeared along with Regulus. The metallic sound echoed in my head like a nightmare that kept repeating itself.
Shinji walked past me, hesitant. He paused for a moment, but couldn't say anything.
Asuka, further ahead, merely glanced out of the corner of his eye and looked away. Even she seemed to understand that there was no room for provocation.
I slowly got up, staggering, and walked to the observation window that overlooked the lower corridors of NERV.
The reflection seemed to be that of another person, someone defeated.
"You couldn't do anything." said a voice behind me. It was Misato. "That man... or whatever he is, isn't someone we can face with brute force."
I clenched my fists. "I know... but that doesn't change the fact that she trusted me. And I let her be taken."
Misato sighed, crossing her arms. "You have the same look Shinji gets when we lose someone. But listen... it's not over yet. Rei might be alive. If this Regulus guy has a purpose, he needs her for some reason."
I looked up. "So... there's still a chance."
Misato nodded. "Small, but there is."
I was silent for a few seconds, looking out the window again.
The image of Rei, calm, cold, yet gentle, came back to her mind. "Wait for me... this time, I won't fail."
I lay on the bed in the small NERV room, staring at the gray, lifeless ceiling. The constant hum of the ventilation was the only sound that accompanied him.
Thoughts piled up, heavy, like a pile of stones on my chest.
Rei had been taken.
Regulus had appeared out of nowhere, with enough power to humiliate everyone.
And I… simply watched.
"How many more times do I have to watch someone be taken from me before I can do something?"
I turned onto my side, staring at the cold wall.
That feeling of helplessness was all too familiar, the same emptiness that overcame him every time the cycle began again.
But there was a difference now: I didn't know if I still had the power to return.
I placed my hand on my chest, feeling my heart beating slowly, heavily.
"If I… do this again, will I come back? Can I still…?"
The thought gnawed at him.
It wasn't courage, it was desperation.
A last resort, the only power a cursed man like me possessed.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my gaze lost, my hands trembling. The sound of the clock on the nightstand seemed to mock me: Time passed, and I remained there, frozen between hope and fear.
Until, out of nowhere, a soft, familiar, and slightly arrogant voice filled the air:
"What would become of you without me, I suppose..."
I froze.
The air seemed to leave my lungs.
I turned my head slowly, and there it was, on the table, near the lamp, a small doll with long blond curls, a pink dress, and blue glass eyes that seemed to stare straight into it.
"Wh...What...?" I murmured, my voice breaking. "Who...Rei's doll, Beako?"
The doll crossed its tiny arms and sighed with the same impatient tic.
"Hmph, you have a pathetic expression, I suppose. Is this how you plan to rescue someone? Lying down and complaining about your fate?"
End of Chapter 21