Rei Ayanami's private underground laboratory.
Gendo Ikari sat on a folding stool, his hands clasped over his chin and his elbows braced on his thighs, holding his usual pose for thinking.
He remained motionless, wondering whether this was simply how things were meant to be.
At last, a sound broke the terrifying silence of the vast space.
Click-humm.
A mechanical sound echoed across the silent chamber. Steam vented out and quickly spread.
A slender figure emerged through the thick, drifting steam. It was Rei Ayanami.
Her cheeks held a rare, faint blush. Paired with her cool expression, that touch of red created an indescribable contrast.
Rei was still naked as she stepped out. Was that faint blush connected to her nudity? Or had it come from leaving the Liquid Chamber?
There was no telling.
Rei stood naked before Gendo Ikari and asked softly, "Aren't you going over to Unit-01?"
Gendo abandoned the pose he had held for so long, adjusted his glasses with one hand, then stood and picked up the bath towel draped over the folding chair. He approached Rei and gently, carefully wrapped it around her, as though protecting a priceless treasure.
As he adjusted the towel around Rei, Gendo said unconcernedly, "I've already left everything to Dr. Akagi. There's no need for me to go..."
Rei asked another question. "What will happen to Ikari?"
Neither Gendo's expression nor his mood showed the slightest worry or anxiety. He answered Rei as calmly as ever. "Right now... no one knows."
"Perhaps only EVA knows."
Gendo spoke as though this were perfectly normal, yet made no effort to learn about his son Shinji Ikari's current condition.
Rei raised her head to look at Gendo, confusion and a trace of disbelief in her red eyes.
Gendo also looked at Rei as