The real self? Communication between people? Beating around the bush? Intercepted information!

An old apartment building

Apartment 402, Ayanami

Unwrapped capsules and a beaker of water sat atop a small refrigerator that served as a table.

Rei Ayanami faced the wall-mounted mirror, gazing at her reflection.

For the first time, Rei Ayanami felt different from before, though she could not put that strange feeling into words.

It was tangled and impossible to unravel, like oil paints of many colors mixed together, leaving no way to tell what colors they had been or what color they would finally become.

Just like her now, unable to tell which version was the real Rei Ayanami.

The Rei Ayanami in the mirror had a little more light in her eyes than before. Instead of cold indifference, there was a trace of understanding.

Suddenly, Rei Ayanami blinked rapidly. Tears actually spilled from her eyes!

Why? Why couldn't I stop myself from crying? Yes! Whenever I thought of Ikari, it felt as though my heart were being drawn away...

Holding his hand made my body feel warm. And... was this what people called liking someone?

What... what kind of person was I, really? Who had I been before? Was the person I was now still the person I had been?

Holding on to the headboard, Rei Ayanami slowly lowered herself along the edge of the bed onto the yellowed floor. She looked up at the ceiling overhead.

For a while, she could make no sense of anything.

In the end, Rei Ayanami helplessly closed her eyes, but the tears continued to slide down her cheeks.

Rei Ayanami let the tears flow without wiping them away. She was too tired...

It was not merely physical exhaustion, but mental and emotional numbness as well.

NERV Underground Base

Kaworu Nagisa and Huang Zhetian sat on a row of seats in the