The transport craft made a steady landing on the smooth grass, its landing gear sinking slightly into the soft earth. With the hiss of the hydraulic system, the hatch slowly opened, allowing a flood of bright, natural light to pour into the cabin. The air that rushed in made Asuka catch her breath instantly. It was a scent entirely different from the Dead World...
Back in the subterranean depths of Research Institute No. 4, the ghostly blue halo slowly dissipated in the center of the teleportation zone, leaving behind a faint scent of ozone and scorched metal.
The entire underground space fell into a profound silence, with only the low hum of the ventilation system echoing against the walls. Asuka stood frozen, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white, her chest heaving as if she had just awakened from a long nightmare.
Her plugsuit wasn't even fully adjusted—the shoulder straps hung loosely off her arms—but her gaze was fixed dead on the depths of the hangar. There, the EVA-Titan stood like an ancient deity, its gray armor shimmering with a faint oily luster, pulsating slowly like a heartbeat.
"It... is really here," she murmured, her voice so soft it was almost swallowed by the air.
Osiris stepped slowly off the platform, each footfall of his Tartaros-pattern Terminator armor making the ground tremble. He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he raised his hand and summoned a translucent holographic interface.
A waterfall of data cascaded down—dense parameters, energy readings, and synchronization curves intertwined into a complex web. This was the latest optimization plan sent back from Osiris's primary entity, boldly titled: [EVA-Titan Cross-Dimensional Adaptation Protocol V.9.3].
"It isn't just 'here'," Osiris finally spoke, his voice deep and unquestionable. "It is yours."
"What did you say?" Asuka snapped her head up, her pupils contracting.
"I said, this machine, from this moment forward, belongs to you." Osiris turned to face her, his gaze beneath the faceplate sharp as a blade. "It is not an asset of WILLE, nor a legacy of NERV, nor a war machine to be requisitioned by any organization. It is the ultimate weapon tailored specifically for you—the crystallization of ten years of Dr. Osiris's blood and sweat, merging Astartes technology with Angel genetic coding. Within its core code, your neural wave frequency is etched forever."
Asuka was stunned. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Countless images flashed through her mind: the stubbornness of refusing to give up after breaking her leg at the German training grounds as a child; the ecstasy of repelling the Fifth Angel in Unit-02 for the first time; the heart-wrenching screams the night Shinji went berserk in Unit-01; and... the Doctor's gaze the last time he looked at her—gentle yet resolute, as if saying goodbye to a child destined to walk alone.
"Why me?" she finally managed to ask, her voice trembling.
"Because you are crazy enough," Osiris let out a cold snort. "And strong enough. More importantly, you are the only candidate capable of maintaining self-awareness without collapsing under extreme synchronization. Unit-03 can use a Dummy System, and Unit-01 has Yui Ikari's soul as a guardian, but the EVA-Titan is different—it needs a pilot who can master 'Chaos.' And you, Asuka Langley, were born living on the edge of order."
Before his words could settle, alarms suddenly blared! Red lights flashed, and the main console emitted rapid electronic prompts: [High-dimensional fluctuation detected! Coordinates X-742, Y-881, Z-B9! Suspected SEELE remnant signal activation!]
Titan's eyes narrowed as he quickly accessed the local network. "They won't let us go that easily," he grunted. "Though SEELE's 'Adam Embryo Project' was interrupted, they long ago buried quantum beacons at various strategic nodes across Earth. Once they sense cross-dimensional energy fluctuations, the sleeper units automatically awaken."
"What do we do?" Asuka asked, quickly fastening her plugsuit as she dashed toward the elevator.
"Two choices," Osiris's fingers flew across the controls. "One: immediately seal the hangar, activate the EMP shielding field, and forcibly cut the signal transmission. Two... take the initiative and destroy the beacon before they complete their localization."
"Is there even a choice?" Asuka grinned, a long-lost battle spirit igniting in her eyes. "I don't want to hide in a tin box waiting for someone to come and kill me."
Osiris glanced at her, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. "I knew you'd say that. But remember, the EVA-Titan hasn't finished its final tuning. Overusing the 'God-Husk Engine' could lead to neural backlash. You have a maximum output limit of three minutes."
"Three minutes? That's plenty." She leaped into the elevator, her figure disappearing into the tunnel leading to the cockpit.
Simultaneously, the EVA-Titan's eyes suddenly flared with a ghostly blue light, like a beast of the abyss opening its eyes. The joints emitted a low hydraulic hiss, and a pale gold energy flow seeped from the gaps in its armor—the "Stellar Core Forge," derived from Astartes technology, was preheating. Inside the cockpit, Asuka was gently enveloped by neural interface bundles, her brainwaves achieving resonance with the machine's core in an instant.
[Synchronization: 67%... 78%... 91%... Stabilized at 94.3%]
"Ha... this feeling..." She closed her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips. "It's like coming home."
"Move out when you're ready," Osiris' voice came through the encrypted channel. "The beacon is located in the abandoned underground railway tunnels, about two kilometers from your current position. You may encounter automated defense turrets and autonomous combat drones along the way. Don't waste time."
"Understood." Asuka opened her eyes, her pupils now tinged with an inhuman, metallic luster. "Tell those old relics hiding in the shadows—their era is over."
The EVA-Titan took its first step, making the entire base tremble. It no longer relied on traditional thrusters or walking mechanisms; instead, it glided forward close to the ground, leaving scorched imprints with every step. Its right arm unfolded, revealing a concealed plasma chainsword that emitted a tooth-grinding shriek as the blade spun. A miniature Gatling-style particle cannon rose from its left shoulder, the boiling liquid helium in the cooling pipes venting clouds of white mist.
The tunnel entrance was ahead. Collapsed concrete and rusted rails were piled in disarray, and the air was thick with the scent of dampness and decay. Suddenly, dozens of red dots flashed on the radar!
"They're here!" Titan warned.
The next second, intense fire erupted from the darkness! Automated turrets popped out from the wall partitions, pouring out bullets like rain. The EVA-Titan barely paused; the chainsword on its right arm swept in a wide arc, cleaving through incoming missiles as the explosions illuminated its grim silhouette. Immediately after, the particle cannon on its left shoulder switched to sweep mode, the high-speed particle beams piercing through rock and steel, vaporizing the hidden turrets one by one.
"Thirty meters ahead, T-junction. Strong energy reaction in the left passage," Osiris continued to guide her.
Asuka sneered. "Trying to find cover? Naive."
She accelerated abruptly. The EVA-Titan charged like a leopard, smashing through a wall at the corner to force a straight path. Amidst the swirling dust, a spider-like autonomous drone pounced from the ceiling, flames jetting from the ends of its eight mechanical legs as it tried to entangle the machine's head. Unfazed, Asuka activated the "Gravity Anchor System." The machine instantly increased its weight by a thousand tons, remaining unshakeable even under the monster's strike. Then, she manipulated the right hand to fan out, a sphere of dark-purple energy that distorted space condensing in its palm—
"Annihilation Grip."
With a crush, the energy sphere erupted, forming a miniature black hole vortex that sucked in and completely decomposed the drone and everything within ten meters.
"Cleared," she said flatly.
Another hundred meters forward, she finally saw the target: a black rhombic crystal suspended in the air, engraved with ancient Hermetic symbols, continuously emitting invisible quantum pulses. This was SEELE's beacon—the eyes they used to monitor this world.
"Don't get close!" Osiris warned. "That is a 'living program.' Once physical contact is made, it could trigger a memory virus to invade your nervous system!"
"Who said I was going to touch it?" A mocking smile curved Asuka's lips. "I have a better way."
She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her chest; the EVA-Titan's movements mirrored her own. The back armor of the machine opened, and six folding wing-like structures unfurled, each wing-bone embedded with a miniature fusion reactor. As energy poured in, the entire machine began to emit a blinding white light.
"Activate the 'Final Chant' protocol," she whispered. "Authorization: S-Rank Pilot, Asuka Langley. Auth Code: A-S-T-A-R-T-H-E-W-I-N-N-E-R."
In an instant, the world lost its color.
A pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth erupted from within the EVA-Titan, shooting straight to the surface! It was the pure power of Astartes holy flame, mixed with the Chapter's blessings and the anti-nomological algorithms designed by Dr. Osiris. Wherever the light reached, the runes on the beacon crumbled one by one. The black crystal emitted a shrill scream before finally exploding into dust.
Deep underground, a cold declaration echoed:
"Your era has come to an end."
Back on the surface, the first rays of dawn were breaking.
The EVA-Titan stood silently on the landing pad outside the hangar, the light on its armor gradually fading. Asuka disconnected the neural link and leaned back in her seat, exhausted but satisfied, fine beads of sweat on her forehead. That final strike had nearly exhausted her mental energy, but a long-absent smile hung on her face.
Osiris walked up and handed her a bottle of nutrients. "Well done. But this is only the beginning. SEELE won't give up; they still have backup beacons, shadow councils, and perhaps even control over other clone projects."
"I know." Asuka took the bottle and tilted her head back to drink. "So I won't stop either. Since I was given this machine, it means I must shoulder the corresponding responsibility."
She stood up and looked toward the rising sun in the distance.
"I used to think that piloting an EVA was to prove how excellent I was. Later, I realized that what truly matters is protecting the people I don't want to lose."
"Shinji, Misato, Ritsuko-sensei... and the Doctor."
"Now, it's my turn to protect it all."
Osiris was silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Good. Then, the subsequent training plan will be personally supervised by me. Tomorrow morning at five o'clock, meet at the hangar. Be one second late, and I'll throw you into the maintenance tank to soak in machine oil for three days."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "You really haven't changed a bit, Cogboy."
"Machine oil is good for you," Osiris turned to leave, his back as straight as a mountain. "And for the next mission, I'll be on the battlefield with you."
She froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. The wind brushed across the plain, stirring her red hair and blowing away the last traces of gloom.
And in the far reaches of deep space, inside an inconspicuous asteroid, a monitor suddenly lit up in a sealed laboratory. On the screen was the image of the EVA-Titan's final strike. A strained, cold, elderly voice slowly spoke:
"Target confirmed alive... Astartes intervention strength exceeds expectations... Initiate the 'Echo of Eden' project."
Meanwhile, at WILLE headquarters, Katsuragi Misato received an encrypted message. After reading it, she remained speechless for a long time, finally just tapping the receipt key and whispering:
"May you all... find your own answers."
Days passed. New battles had yet to come, but a storm was already brewing. The EVA-Titan was silent as a mountain, yet ready to tear apart any darkness that dared to approach. And Asuka—the girl who was once proud, fragile, angry, and unwilling—had finally gripped the reins of fate. She was no longer a pawn in anyone's hand. She was a knight, a warrior, and the herald of a new era's dawn.
Machine oil flowed through the pipes like blood surging through a body of steel. On this scarred earth, a new legend was quietly being written.