"What is this? Where am I? An Entry Plug? Unit-01's? I should be inside Unit-01's Entry Plug! But... nobody's here. I'm not here either..." Shinji floated deep in an ocean. He could see nothing but himself, and the stillness surrounding him felt reassuring.
Shinji felt no panic at his predicament. Instead, he felt safer than he ever had before.
His instincts told him that whatever unknown thing came next would be important to him. Very important.
Very important...
Then memories of everyone connected to Shinji flashed through his mind.
Misato's bright smile and friendly air.
Asuka's proud tone and contemptuous expression as she looked down on others.
The scene of his first meeting with Toji and Kensuke.
Rei Ayanami's unpredictable attitude toward him: expressionless, faintly flushed, slightly displeased, her brows tightly furrowed.
And their first meeting, when her injuries had made her collapse into his arms, her delicate brows creasing as she groaned in pain...
Dr. Ritsuko Akagi's polite yet distant attitude toward him, tinged with an inexplicable aversion...
Ibuki, Aoba Shigeru, Hyuga, and the other staff members treated him kindly, yet kept their distance just like Ritsuko Akagi...
Kaji's patient, earnest guidance, though Shinji sensed that he had something else on his mind...
His teacher, Kozo Fuyutsuki, was strict but still smiled at him. The way he looked at Shinji made him uncomfortable...
Gendo Ikari, his father!!!
These people... yes! They're people I know! People who know me. I see. This is my world... What is this? It's supposed to be my world, but I don't feel anything...
I feel like an outsider. I hate this feeling...
His younger self appeared beside him. Seeing himself as a child, Shinji remembered everything-everything about his mother!
Mom... Mom disappeared right before my eyes. Did Mom die?
*Yes! Dad told me Mom