Chapter 129 161: The Drastic Change of Fate

[Unit-01: Entry into the Negative Universe exceeds 36 hours.]

[Internal power has reached a critical value; maximum maintenance time for the entry plug is 18 hours.]

[The Angel remains in a silent state. Unit-02 is reaching its limit.]

[UN Strategic Strike Group reports: N2 Depth Charges have been transported to the designated coordinates.]

While Shinji was raising his sword to "slaughter the pig," the world outside had devolved into chaos. Ritsuko Akagi calculated again and again, her eyes fixed deathly on the Angel displayed on the screen.

Underground, by the lakeside, the shadow cast by Leliel in the physical world remained frozen. The good news was that it hadn't managed to digest Unit-01; the bad news was that Unit-01 would completely lose power in less than a day, and humans cannot survive within the Negative Universe.

"Finally, we have results. The essence of Leliel is the creation of a 'stomach' within the Negative Universe, and Unit-01 is inside it. What a fascinating creature—that sphere is merely its shadow in the physical world, while its true body is hidden within the 'stomach pocket.'"

"Ritsuko, is now the time for this? I don't give a damn how 'fascinating' this ghost is!"

Misato Katsuragi was driven nearly mad with anxiety. she stepped forward and grabbed Ritsuko by the collar, snarling, "Haven't you already calculated the optimal deployment values for the N2 bombs? Send the data to the UN forces immediately and get Shinji out of there!"

"Calm down. Shinji-kun has many things to do this time. Unless it's a matter of absolute last resort, I cannot disturb him."

"Then tell me, when is enough 'enough'?"

Misato gave her a violent shove and commanded directly, "Notify the UN forces. Begin the salvage operation."

Ritsuko stumbled back a few steps and said coldly, "The data is with me. Do you want to blow Shinji-kun up along with it?"

"Ritsuko!!"

With a sharp click, a pistol was drawn and cocked. Aoba and the others were paralyzed with shock. What was this? An internal mutiny right here on the bridge?

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, Ritsuko remained unnervingly calm.

"Killing me won't help. Do not let your emotions dictate your judgment."

"You think I won't put a bullet in your leg first?!"

"The pain of a broken bone isn't enough to make me beg for mercy."

Misato's eyes trembled along with her finger. She truly had no way to deal with this stubborn, cold-hearted woman. She lowered the gun in a fit of rage.

"Then tell me, until when? Asuka and the others can't hold on much longer."

Unit-02 and Unit-00 were using their AT Fields to pin the Angel in place; otherwise, if Leliel's shadow moved, they would have no way to recover anyone. But even with rotations, thirty-six hours had pushed the two pilots to the brink of collapse.

"The final twelve hours."

"Two hours at most!"

"This isn't a wet market where you haggle over prices. Either kill me, or wait patiently."

Ritsuko raised her voice, losing patience with those she deemed "fools blinded by concern." "Weren't you the one who believed in Shinji-kun the most? One thing from your mouth, another in your heart?"

Ritsuko's anger lacked physical lethality, but that final sentence forced Misato to calm down.

"Fine. Not a minute more, or I'll open a hole in your head!"

As the tension eased, the command center staff finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, on the third level, the two men observing this farce felt their pride stinging.

Is there no discipline left? No law? You two are staging an internal revolt in Central Dogma, completely ignoring us?

"Ikari, are you really not going to intervene?"

"How can I? That brat used her influence to sideline me and let this group go rogue. If it were up to my original plan, I would never have approved this operation."

Gendo Ikari spoke coldly, his heart a complex mess.

On one hand, he felt a dark sense of satisfaction—Shinji had constantly challenged his authority, and now the boy was finally trapped. He wanted to see how his son would find a way out.

On the other hand, he was frustrated, because all these people were arguing and fighting specifically for the sake of that boy.

But fundamentally, he was anxious.

Unit-01 could absolutely not be lost; otherwise, there would be no reason for him to have lived until now. But he was currently powerless, and he couldn't exactly tell SEELE the truth.

'Dammit.'

Compared to the heated clash between Ritsuko and Misato or Gendo's simmering fury, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu were much more focused.

Four pilots had been deployed for this battle. Yes, Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara had just passed their tests and were immediately thrown into actual combat. Of course, it was nothing like Shinji's battle against the Third Angel; they only needed to pilot Unit-00 and Unit-02 and release a weak AT Field to fix the "indigestion-suffering" Twelfth Angel in place.

Only with those two rotating in could Rei and Asuka catch their breath, but even so, they were reaching their limit.

After nearly two days with only a few hours of fitful sleep, Asuka felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She had never imagined a battle could be this long.

"Dammit, I'm going to beat that idiot to death. He just turns tail and jumps in, leaving all the trouble to us!"

In a temporary lounge a kilometer away from the battlefield, Asuka squeezed a jelly-like ration pack into her mouth and punched the wall. But because she was so exhausted, the punch had no power behind it.

"Stop complaining. Hurry and rest. It's our turn again in fifteen minutes. Kensuke and the other won't last long."

Rei sat quietly on a recliner with her eyes closed, her expression gentle. Through this battle, she felt Asuka had become somewhat more approachable.

For Shinji's sake, Asuka had actually dared to lend her precious Unit-02 to Toji. During the last activation experiment, Rei had only sat in it once, and Asuka had nagged her about it for ages.

'I should try to upset her less in the future' Rei thought.

'She heard me say I'd beat that idiot, and she didn't mock me?'

Asuka was also surprised, but she was too tired to care, nor did she care anymore whether Rei actually understood German or not.

"If that guy can't get out, what are you going to do?"

"I will jump into the Negative Universe, of course."

"To save him?"

"No. Simply to see him."

Rei looked up, expressionless, speaking in an indifferent tone as if it had nothing to do with her. "What the world becomes doesn't matter. What becomes of me doesn't matter. But I will not leave Ikari-kun alone in there."

This declaration of "dying together" left Asuka dumbfounded. She looked at Rei with an utterly foreign gaze, as if realizing for the first time how terrifying the girl could be.

"You... you... you..."

"Rei, Asuka! Get to your EVAs immediately! The Angel is moving!"

Before she could finish, Misato's ecstatic voice interrupted them. The two froze, looked quickly at the monitor, and widened their eyes in unison.

A crack had suddenly appeared on the surface of the black-and-white sphere, and splashes of blood were erupting from within.

'That idiot is finally coming back?!'

-

-

-

Truly, to be ignorant is to be fearless.

The train car was burning, but there were no physical concepts here. Even as it turned into a sea of fire, the train pushed forward stubbornly with a clack-clack sound.

The boy was gone. The teenager was gone. In his place was a giant "tin can" over two meters tall. He removed his helmet, revealing a youthful face. A power sword leaned beside him, and in his hand, he gripped a twisting, black-and-white long strand.

A strange combination.

Shinji looked at his reflection in the firelight, his eyes full of nostalgia. How long had it been since he wore this Mark VIII Power Armor? Yet here he was, wearing it with the face of a youth.

"Do you understand now? This is the true me. The two 'Heart Walls' were always one. That so-called 'childhood trauma' vanished long ago across ten thousand battles."

Everything was under his control. If the Angel wanted to pry, let it. A single glimpse meant destruction, and an Astartes cared nothing for such fabricated dreams.

The reason he hadn't slain the Angel yet was to maintain this curious state.

His work wasn't finished. Once it was, it wouldn't matter if the creature died; for now, let it enjoy the torment of psychic flames.

Angels were not supposed to feel pain, but in his hands, it was ten thousand times more agonizing than being carved into pieces physically. He glanced at the Angel, which was twisted into a literal knot, and fell into deep thought.

'The Emperor not only sent me back, but He is also watching over me.'

This was the first major discovery. Leliel had been a big help—with its "assistance," Shinji had seen into the deepest reaches of the mental realm. That golden sun... was that not the Emperor?

He didn't understand how the Emperor had followed him back or what He intended to do, and he couldn't establish direct communication, but he could interpret the emotions of that golden sun:

The Emperor was praising his loyalty and had given a high evaluation of his steadfastness.

"What an honor."

Shinji bowed. This first discovery alone was worth the price of admission. He focused his mind even further.

The second major discovery was the Negative Universe itself. When he heavily wounded the Angel and caused the "stomach" to crack, the boundless sea of souls immediately surged in. While it caused his psychic power to skyrocket, it also delivered countless intangible streams of data.

At this moment, Shinji ignored terrestrial science and made direct contact with the Negative Universe. He savored the sensation—similar yet entirely different from the Warp—as if a fish had returned to the ocean.

He detected no strong subjective consciousness. This was an embryonic Warp. What a precious place.

He suddenly understood his mission. No Warp Daemons were hidden here; his greatest concern had been resolved. However, a new problem had surfaced.

The Emperor's Champion looked up. On the opposite side of the burning train car, another person was sitting.

A boy in a white shirt and black trousers, looking exactly like himself. But with the Angel gripped in his hand, it was theoretically impossible for a new dream to be generated.

In other words, this wasn't a phantom created by the Twelfth Angel—it was a shadow in the Warp.

'I see. No wonder the Angels are becoming smarter. If 'God' needs to ranch humanity and harvest souls to generate self-awareness, my return has provided Him with a shortcut.'

Psykers borrow power from the Warp and leave bright reflections within it; that is why they are both precious and dangerous.

In Shinji's home world, he was the only psyker. There would only be one reflection. As his power grew, this reflection would become brighter, like a stone dropped into the sea, sending ripples through the calm ocean of souls.

'Does power also represent corruption?'

It was like a transparent trap. He had to destroy the Angels, but his reflection would become more deeply rooted in the Negative Universe. By simply utilizing him, "God" could achieve evolution and become a Warp Entity.

If he were a Primarch—a demigod possessing a Warp-based essence—the moment he returned, a deity would have already been born.

Shinji closed his eyes. Many questions had no clear answers, but at this moment, he understood one thing:

From the moment of his return, the course of destiny had undergone a drastic change.

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