By then, Night Angel had begun invading Huang Zhetian's and Shinji's mental worlds.
Shinji's illusion realm was a train carriage traveling through the evening sunlight.
Shinji sat quietly on a bench seat, staring blankly without the slightest hint of emotion.
He had no idea why he was here. He had clearly been inside the entry plug just moments ago, so how had he suddenly ended up here?
Shinji wasn't afraid. This place was better than the foul, stagnant LCL fluid from before.
Shinji tried calling out into the train, where he was the only passenger. "Who are you?"
"Shinji Ikari..." A young child's voice drifted over calmly.
Shinji froze at first, then replied, "That's me, isn't it?!"
The voice came again. "I am you. There is another self inside everyone's heart. A person is always made up of two selves."
"Two selves?"
"The self others see in reality, and the other self that watches you. There are also many versions of the person called Shinji Ikari."
"The other Shinji Ikari in your heart..."
"The Shinji Ikari in Misato Katsuragi's heart..."
"The Shinji Ikari in Asuka Soryu's heart..."
"The Shinji Ikari in Rei Ayanami's heart..."
"The Shinji Ikari in Gendo Ikari's heart..."
"And..."
"The Shinji Ikari in Huang Zhetian's heart..."
Still confused, Shinji asked, "And then what?"
"Although the Shinji Ikari in everyone's heart is different, every one of them is still Shinji Ikari. What you fear is the Shinji Ikari in other people's hearts!" The child's voice struck straight at the vulnerability buried deep within Shinji.
"I'm afraid of being hated!!!" Shinji began to crumble. Why did someone know his secret? No one in the real world knew!
Why did he know what was in my heart?
Who was he?
An Angel?
Or my other self?
The voice continued, "Actually,