Underground Base, NERV Headquarters
Shower area
Kaworu Nagisa and Shinji sat cross-legged in the bath, both with towels wrapped around their lower bodies.
Steam filled the bathroom. Shinji did not know whether it was the heat or embarrassment, but his face had been bright red ever since he entered the shower area.
Across from the two of them sat another person-Huang Zhetian.
Huang Zhetian leaned comfortably against the edge of the bath, enjoying this brief moment of peace and quiet.
He only wanted to stop thinking about anything unrelated to resting during the time he had to rest.
After all... there was not much time left.
"Do you humans all do everything you can to avoid contact and communication with your own kind? Or are you just a small minority? Are you afraid of getting close to others? If you never get to know anyone, you won't be betrayed, and you won't hurt one another. But that won't let you forget your loneliness. Humans can never make loneliness disappear forever. People are lonely, but it's also because they can forget that they're able to keep living." Kaworu spoke gently to Shinji beside him, his hand unconsciously coming to rest on the back of Shinji's.
The dazed Shinji jolted back to his senses, his eyes darting about, unsure where to look. This time, however, he did not pull away.
Huang Zhetian opened his eyes and spoke to Kaworu with conviction. "That's because you don't understand us. Loneliness and solitude are certain, but eternal loneliness and solitude aren't inevitable. The barriers between people don't come from those things. They begin when we first become capable of recognizing something. That's when we're at our purest, when we're most prone to loneliness and solitude, and when we're most afraid of facing things alone.
"Fear,