One week later, a designated testing area on the Death World.
It was a vast, boundless Gobi desert. The crimson rocky surface was strewn with gravel, and in the distance stood continuous mountain ranges carved into bizarre shapes by wind erosion. The sky remained draped in that oppressive hue, but today, this desolate land welcomed a presence never seen before...
The medical sector in the early hours was still quiet, with only the low hum of the ventilation system echoing at the end of the corridor. Outside the window, the horizon turned the color of a fish's belly. The city had not yet fully awakened, but distant orbital trains had begun to crawl between buildings like silver veins, pulsing with the rhythm of life.
Asuka leaned against the window frame, her eyelids heavy, yet she dared not close her eyes again. That dream was too real—it wasn't about Angels, EVA berserking, or SEELE's conspiracies. It was about herself: countless split versions of "Asuka" standing in the ruins, using her own voice to speak her deepest fear: Loneliness is your essence.
Rei said nothing, only handed her a glass of warm water. Tiny droplets condensed on the outer wall of the porcelain cup, reflecting her indifferent yet steady face.
"Thanks." Asuka took the cup, her fingertips catching a trace of warmth.
"What did you dream about?" Rei finally asked.
Asuka fell silent for a few seconds, her throat tightening. "I... I saw myself. Many versions of me. They said I was destined to become a monster, that trust and love are fake, and that only fusion can bring liberation."
Rei's eyes flickered slightly. "You are afraid of being swallowed," she said.
"Duh! Who wouldn't be?!" Asuka snapped her head up. "I'm not a god, and I'm not some 'bridge'! I just... I just want to live, to be needed, not to be thrown around like a tool!"
Her voice stirred a faint echo in the empty room. Rei watched her quietly, then gently took her wrist and pressed Asuka's palm against her own chest.
"Do you feel it?" she whispered.
Asuka froze. Beneath her palm was a steady, powerful heartbeat.
"This is real," Rei said. "I am not a program, not a clone, not an illusion. I am Rei Ayanami, standing here right now because you are calling me. This is the connection between us—not sync rates, not LCL, but choice."
Asuka's fingers trembled. She suddenly remembered the first time she fought alongside Rei three years ago. Back then, they couldn't even meet each other's eyes, as if their very existences were a threat to one another. Now, they could talk through the night, lean on each other waiting for the sunrise, and even... hear the cries for help in each other's dreams.
"Why are you having that dream?" Rei asked softly.
Asuka bit her lip. "I don't know... but since returning from Antarctica, I've always felt something pulling at me. Like a frequency humming in my head. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and hear... whispers."
"I hear it too," Rei said calmly.
Asuka spun around. "What did you say?"
"Every night at 3:17 AM." Rei looked at the digital clock on the wall. "A repeating signal waveform from deep within the Earth's crust. It doesn't travel via radio; it acts directly on neural synapses—as if someone is shoving information into our dreams."
Asuka's pupils shrank. "You mean... this isn't psychological trauma? It's external interference?"
"It's possible it's a residual consciousness field from the EVE Project." Rei walked to a portable terminal in the corner and pulled up a brainwave map. "Look at this peak; its pattern coincides highly with the AT Field resonance curve. But it's not defensive; it's more like... a summons."
"Summoning who?"
"Us." Rei looked back at her. "Or more accurately, summoning the 'Twin Cocoon'."
The air seemed to freeze instantly. Asuka recalled the log in the corner of the database: 'Gate of Eden' opening conditions reached 50%. What exactly was behind that gate?
"Does Osiris know about this?" she asked.
"I've reported it," Rei nodded. "But he believes there is no substantial threat yet and suggests continued observation."
"Ha, 'observation' again!" Asuka sneered. "Last time they said 'observation' for Unit-01's berserk, and look what happened. Almost all of Neo-Tokyo 3 turned to scorched earth!"
"But this time is different." Rei stepped closer. "We are no longer passive vessels. You are a pilot, and an Awakened. If you refuse to respond to that signal, it cannot complete the link."
Asuka stared at the waveform on the screen, suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness. The undulating curves matched the rhythmic whispers of the mirror-images in her dream perfectly.
"If I don't respond... will it come looking for me on its own?"
Rei didn't answer immediately. She turned off the terminal and faced Asuka. "I've set up a reverse-tracking protocol," she said. "The moment you receive the signal again, the system will backtrack to the source. But there's a risk—once tracking starts, it means we've actively established a connection channel. It's equivalent to... sending a response."
Asuka narrowed her eyes. "You mean, we're going to use ourselves as bait?"
"We," Rei emphasized. "Not just you."
The two stared at each other for a long time. The morning light washed over their faces, highlighting two vastly different yet strangely complementary silhouettes—one fierce as fire, the other silent as ice.
"Fine." Asuka finally spoke, a defiant smirk playing on her lips. "It's not like it's my first time putting my life on the line. But this time, I call the shots—I'm taking a gun."
"You cannot carry physical weapons into the dreamscape," Rei reminded her.
"Then get me something else." Asuka grabbed her coat. "Neural blockers, memory anchors, or a psychic firewall that can blow those crappy codes to smithereens! Whatever it takes, don't let me charge into someone else's script empty-handed!"
Rei nodded, a flicker of approval in her eyes. "I will prepare a customized cognitive shield, encrypted based on voice samples left by your mother. It can combat false memory intrusions at the subconscious level."
Asuka paused, her voice dropping. "...You still have that recording?"
"I've always kept it." Rei looked at her. "You said it was the last time you heard your mother's voice."
Asuka looked away, pretending to adjust her cuffs. "Whatever. Just don't make me cry."
That afternoon, the quantum simulation pod on the third basement level of the command center finished its final calibration. It was an oval, sealed space filled with pale blue LCL fluid. At its center hung two specialized neural interface chairs, shaped like intertwined vines—a biological metaphor for the "Twin Cocoon."
Osiris stood at the console, his expression solemn. "What you are about to enter is a cognitive boundary humanity has never set foot upon." He pointed to the dynamic model on the main screen. "This signal source doesn't belong to any known civilization, nor does it follow natural laws of generation. It possesses learning capabilities, emotional inducement mechanisms, and even... a sort of religious narrative structure."
"Meaning?" Asuka interrupted. "It's going to tell us Bible stories?"
"More like a 'Creation Myth'." Osiris pulled up a stream of data. "It attempts to reconstruct your memories, reshape your identity, and ultimately guide you toward a preset ending—'Merging into One' to become the so-called 'Pioneers of the New Humanity'."
Rei frowned. "So SEELE's ideology was actually inherited from here?"
"Highly likely," Osiris nodded. "The EVE Project wasn't original; it was reverse-engineering an ancient signal. And you two... are the first pair of individuals to successfully resist and counter-resonate."
Asuka scoffed. "So we're the 'Chosen Ones' now? Have to save the world?"
"You can choose to back out," Osiris looked at her. "Last chance."
She curled her lip and strode toward the pod. "Cut the crap, old man. I told you I'm not running, so stop testing me."
Rei followed closely behind. The two donned lightweight neural suits and lay back in the interface chairs. Robotic arms automatically locked the clasps, and the transparent pod cover slowly closed.
"Countdown initiated," the AI female voice spoke. "Estimated immersion time: three hours on the reality side; subjective experience may extend beyond seventy-two hours. Good luck."
Asuka took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Hey, Rei."
"Yes?"
"If I get lost in there... remember to drag me back."
"I promise you." Rei's voice came through the comms channel, clear and steady. "No matter which layer of the dream you are in, I will find you."
The next second, blue light surged. Consciousness plummeted.
Darkness. Boundless black.
Asuka felt herself falling, passing through layers of memory fragments: the snowy fields of childhood, her mother's smile, the mockery in the classroom, the cold life-support pods in the hospital, the crimson alarm lights in the EVA cockpit...
Suddenly, a bolt of light split the darkness. She stood in the center of a massive cathedral, the vaulted ceiling soaring into the clouds. Murals depicted the history of human evolution—from apes to warriors, to semi-mechanized "Gods."
And upon the altar floated a mechanical flower—the very device that had gone dark in the Antarctic base. But now it was slowly rotating, emitting a soft golden light.
"Welcome home," a voice spoke, tender and ancient.
Asuka clenched her fists. "Who's there?"
Light and shadow coalesced into the figure of a woman. She wore a long white dress, her face blurred, yet she made Asuka's heart stop. "Mom...?"
"It's me." The woman reached out. "You've finally come. We've all been waiting a long time."
Asuka instinctively took a step forward, then slammed to a halt. No. This is too easy. This warmth, this summons—this was exactly how a trap began.
"You're not her!" she roared. "My mom died long ago! Killed by the experiment you people cooked up!"
The woman's smile didn't falter. "Death is merely a transformation of form. Just as everything you are experiencing now is a process of metamorphosis. Come, join us. End the loneliness, embrace unity."
The surrounding walls began to peel away, revealing countless glass vats. Inside each one floated an "Asuka"—some crying, some fighting, some already merged with an EVA, turned into hideous mechanical beasts. On the other side, similar vats were arranged in a phalanx, all containing clones of "Rei Ayanami," uniform and expressionless.
"You were always just components," the woman whispered. "Why struggle? After fusion, pain will vanish, fear will end, and you will become eternal existences."
"Bullshit!" Asuka roared. "I don't want to become a pile of data! I want to be myself! Even if it's painful, even if I get hurt, even if I'm lonely! That's my life!"
Before her voice could fade, a figure leaped from the ceiling, landing precisely in front of her. Blue hair, red eyes, a familiar uniform.
"Rei?! How did you get in here?!"
"I followed you in." Rei turned to face the "Mother," her tone icy. "You are not a fragment of her consciousness, nor a product of the EVE Project. You are a higher-dimensional information lifeform using human emotional weaknesses for mental colonization."
"Clever child." The "Mother" smiled. "But emotion itself is the weakness. Look at her—clearly craving love, yet afraid to get close; clearly wanting to rely on someone, yet always pushing them away. A soul like that is destined to break."
"But she chose me." Rei took Asuka's hand. "Not because of perfection, but because of reality. We don't need unity; we only need to understand each other."
In an instant, the cathedral collapsed. In its place was a desolate city wasteland under a blood-red sky. In the distance, countless mirror-image Asukas were walking toward them, chanting the same phrase: 'Merge... return... become one...'
Rei quickly deployed a barrier made of light, blocking the first wave of the impact. "Listen!" She turned to Asuka. "We must cut the signal source! It's using your inner uncertainty to amplify fear! Remember who you are! Remember what you are fighting for!"
"I know!" Asuka gasped. "But I'm scared... I'm really scared I'll accidentally say yes to it!"
"Then let me carry that fear for you." Rei closed her eyes, and the six-winged hairpin in her hand suddenly glowed, resonating with the one Asuka held.
Two beams of light intertwined and rose, forming a bridge-like path of light in the air, pointing directly toward a black tower at the end of the horizon—the location of the signal source.
"Go!" Rei opened her eyes. "I'll draw its attention. You follow the 'Bridge of Hearts' and break into the core!"
"No! It's too dangerous!"
"Trust me." Rei smiled—a gentle smile Asuka had never seen before. "This is my own choice."
The next second, Rei charged into the enemy ranks, her silhouette instantly surrounded by hundreds of mirror images. Asuka grit her teeth and stepped onto the light bridge.
Every step felt like treading on knife points. Her ears were filled with echoes of the past: the sneers of classmates, the scolding of instructors, her mother's dying sighs... but she didn't stop. Until she reached the tower gate.
The gate swung open. Inside was only a throne, and upon it sat... another Rei. Pure white skin, pupil-less eyes, and a pulsing Star Core embedded in its chest.
"You've finally arrived," it said. "We have waited a long time for you."
"You can't fool me." Asuka raised her cognitive shield. "The real Rei would never stop fighting, let alone tell me to surrender."
"But we speak the truth." The Star Core Rei slowly rose. "Individuality is pain. Separation is torment. Only in oneness is there salvation."
"To hell with your salvation!" Asuka slammed the shield down. "What Rei taught me wasn't running away, but facing it! Even if the world tries to tear us apart, as long as we can still call to each other, we will never truly disappear!"
She held the hairpin high, the six-winged badge exploding with blinding light. "REI—!!!"
A single cry pierced the heavens and earth.
In the distant battlefield, the surrounded Rei suddenly looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Received," she whispered, and then detonated the neural pulse bomb she had pre-installed in her body.
BOOM—!
A blinding white light swept in all directions.
In the reality side, monitor screens flickered wildly. "Ultra-high frequency empathy burst detected!" a technician screamed. "Both pilots' brain activities are completely synchronized! AT Field readings at zero! They... they've really broken the final barrier!"
Osiris stared at the screen, murmuring, "I see... the true key was never technology, but the resolve to 'die for each other'."
Three minutes later, the simulation pod opened. Asuka crawled out, soaking wet and coughing violently. Rei was carried out by rescue personnel soon after, pale but conscious.
"You... you idiot!" Asuka lunged over and grabbed her hand. "That bomb could have burned your neural chain! Do you have any idea?!"
Rei smiled weakly. "But you came back."
"Of course I came back!" Asuka roared, though tears betrayed her. "You think I'd just leave you and survive alone? In your dreams!"
Rei reached up and gently wiped away her tears. "Next time... let's charge in together," she whispered.
"...Stupid." Asuka choked out a sob and hugged her. "Next time, it's my turn to protect you."
At that moment, thirteen monitoring stations around the globe simultaneously alarmed. In Antarctic Sector 13, the Star Core fragment stopped pulsing. In the derelict European church, the old terminal screen shattered. On the Gobi desert, the mechanical arm sank back into the sand. In the lunar space station, the masked man crushed the six-winged badge in his hand.
And somewhere on Earth, the chalk writing on a blackboard was erased. The teacher smiled and said, "Today's class is over. Remember, true strength comes from those who dare to expose their vulnerability and still choose to believe in others."
The blue-haired girl in the back row closed her book, a slight smile on her lips. The morning breeze blew through the campus, bringing the scent of distant waves.
The signal beacon that had gone dark in the depths of space faded completely. But some people knew—though the heartbeat had stopped, the ripples remained.
The door was halfway open. The other half was waiting for them to push it open with their own hands.