Recaps

After NERV defeated the Horror Angel, Huang Zhetian arranged a two-week trip to China, with Asuka joining him and Misato planning to keep Shinji company. As everyone prepared for the trip, Gendo Ikari reflected that his plan to see Yui had moved another step forward.

• Akagi told Misato that MAGI contained three conflicting versions of her mother, and Huang Zhetian noticed that Gendo Ikari had received the Adam Embryo implant.
• Huang Zhetian asked Misato for leave to return to China for two weeks, and she approved it after asking him to wait two days for the paperwork.
• Asuka begged Huang Zhetian to take her to China, and he agreed as long as Misato approved.
• Misato agreed to arrange Asuka's trip and said she would take Shinji and Rei Ayanami out together while Huang Zhetian and Asuka were away.
• Asuka packed the gift box with a pocket watch, while Shinji felt lonely about staying behind and Rei Ayanami received Gendo Ikari's message to spend time with him.
• Gendo Ikari privately told Yui that his plan had advanced and that he would soon see her again.

Huang Zhetian and Asuka traveled by ship from Japan to Guangdong, where he hoped to revisit his hometown and family. Asuka gave him her late mother's pocket watch and asked him not to leave her, while Huang Zhetian silently feared he might have to part from her.

• Huang Zhetian woke Asuka, and the two prepared to leave while Misato got ready to drive them to the pier.
• Misato drove Huang Zhetian and Asuka to the pier, where she said goodbye and hoped they would bring back local specialties.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka arrived in Guangdong at dusk, and Huang Zhetian felt that the shore was both familiar and strange.
• Asuka gave Huang Zhetian her late mother's pocket watch and asked him to treasure it as he would protect her.
• Huang Zhetian embraced Asuka, promised to make her happy, and kissed her while silently wondering whether he would have to leave her someday.

Huang Zhetian took Asuka to his former hometown, where he found his old home empty and learned that his family was gone. As they explored the lively night market, Asuka comforted him, then shared her own grief over her mother’s death, and they left promising to support each other.

• Huang Zhetian showed Asuka his former home, but found no one there and realized his family was gone.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka explored the bustling night market, sampled local food, and spoke with a sweet-soup vendor who treated them kindly.
• Asuka asked Huang Zhetian about his family, and he admitted that he had lost them and could barely remember them.
• Asuka told Huang Zhetian that her mother had died in front of her, and he held her while she cried.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka comforted each other and promised to build a future together.

Huang Zhetian and Asuka bought the house where he had lived in his previous life and discovered a diary describing its former owner’s losses, illness, and recruitment by a mysterious organization. The discovery deepened Huang Zhetian’s suspicions about his identity and NERV and SEELE, while he and Asuka began preparing the house as a future home.

• Huang Zhetian read the system’s warning that the real Spear of Longinus had replaced its replica, mass-production Spears were ready, and seven Angels remained, including humanity.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka bought his former home for two hundred thousand and found that it had been left empty since its previous owner died.
• Huang Zhetian found a childhood photograph with his parents and sister, but it vanished as soon as he touched it.
• Asuka found the former owner’s diary, which described his family’s deaths in the disaster, his later cancer diagnosis, and mysterious visitors who recruited him for an experiment.
• Huang Zhetian told Asuka to keep the diary secret and wondered whether his body was a clone, while deciding to return to NERV headquarters to investigate his records.
• Huang Zhetian noticed someone watching him and said NERV and SEELE would not expose one another while they could still use each other.

Huang Zhetian and Asuka restored their building and shared a cheerful meal as he considered Gendo Ikari’s role in the dangerous events around them. In Japan, Shinji and Misato reflected on how he and Rei Ayanami had changed, while Shinji noted that his father had not.

• Huang Zhetian and Asuka finished cleaning and repairing the building, restoring its water and electricity.
• Asuka cooked Chinese food, and she and Huang Zhetian ate together and laughed.
• Huang Zhetian reflected on the system’s revelations that the original Huang Zhetian’s soul was in the Special Unit and that Gendo Ikari had likely orchestrated the events.
• Shinji thanked Misato for supporting him, and Misato told him he had become more sensitive and better at getting along with people.
• Shinji and Misato observed that Rei Ayanami had become more proactive, while Shinji said his father had not changed.

Huang Zhetian and Asuka spent their last day in Guangdong enjoying Riverside Island before returning to Japan to prepare for the approaching Angel. They left their home and a photo album behind, along with letters Huang Zhetian secretly placed there.

• Huang Zhetian received Misato Katsuragi's message about the approaching Angel and reflected on the risks of changing the story and the challenge of defeating Night Angel.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka shared breakfast and affection before he took her to Riverside Island to enjoy their final day away.
• Asuka and Huang Zhetian explored the island, tried snacks, took photos together, and planned to make a keepsake album.
• Huang Zhetian told Asuka they had to return to Japan that afternoon, and they agreed to meet Misato's helicopter at the pier.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka tidied the house, left the camera and album behind, and departed with their luggage; Huang Zhetian secretly placed letters on the album.

Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki discussed Seele’s impatience, their projects, and how they would handle Kaji and Huang Zhetian. Kaji investigated a Marduk-linked shell company in Kyoto, while back at school Asuka tried to call him and Huang Zhetian made a mysterious phone call.

• Fuyutsuki told Gendo Ikari that Ghil Lorenz had complained about delays and threatened to dismiss him, while Gendo cited progress on the Adam Project and Dummy Plug.
• Fuyutsuki questioned Gendo Ikari about Zero and Huang Zhetian, and Gendo said Kaji and Huang Zhetian should be left alone for now.
• Kaji met an informant in a Kyoto warehouse and learned that Shannon Bio was among 108 companies connected to the Marduk Institute, with Gendo Ikari, Kozo Fuyutsuki, and Ghil Lorenz listed as directors.
• The informant told Kaji that the Fourth Children had returned to China and was now traveling back to Japan with the Second Children, then asked Kaji to watch him for anything unusual.
• At school, Asuka repeatedly tried to call Kaji while Huang Zhetian watched, and Shinji was unsettled by the sight of Rei Ayanami wringing out a towel.
• Huang Zhetian went to the rooftop and called a shop, asking whether its watermelons were guaranteed ripe.

Shinji struggled with the thought of seeing his father and visited his mother’s grave with Gendo, hoping for a meaningful conversation. Gendo left by helicopter, and Shinji was glad they had spoken but remained confused about his feelings.

• At Headquarters Base, Misato and Akagi discussed what Misato would wear to a wedding while the pilots completed Dummy Entry Plug tests.
• In an elevator, Shinji asked Rei Ayanami what his father was like, and told her that her way of wringing out a cloth reminded him of his mother.
• Misato encouraged Shinji to face his father, while Huang Zhetian met Kaji and warned him to stay careful as events drew closer to the real plot.
• At the wedding, Kaji arrived late and Misato straightened his tie as Akagi teased them about looking like a married couple.
• Shinji visited Yui Ikari’s grave with Gendo, who explained that the grave held no remains and that he kept Yui in his heart.
• Before Gendo boarded the helicopter with Rei Ayanami, Shinji called out that he was glad they had talked; Gendo left, and Shinji walked away still confused.

Huang Zhetian gave Shinji a single-use Simulation Disc that could project his deceased mother, while Asuka desperately wanted one too. After Asuka wounded Huang Zhetian and demanded that he leave, he agreed to her call to break up, leaving all three of them distressed.

• Shinji played his cello for Asuka and Huang Zhetian, then revealed that Kozo Fuyutsuki had taught him.
• Kaji and Akagi talked at a bar about Misato, and Akagi warned Kaji to tell Huang Zhetian not to get too involved after defeating the Angels.
• Kaji carried a drunken Misato home, where she confessed why she had left him, and they kissed.
• Huang Zhetian gave Shinji a one-use Simulation Disc that could project his deceased mother for five minutes, but Asuka begged for it and scratched Huang Zhetian's arm.
• Huang Zhetian promised to find Asuka another disc, but she told him she had always been alone and demanded that he leave; he agreed to break up, and Shinji realized their relationship could not return to how it was.

Kaji took Huang Zhetian aside to discuss Akagi’s orders, Asuka, and Misato before handing him a ring for Kaji to give Misato. The next day, Kaji led Misato into Terminal Dogma and revealed Adam, while Huang Zhetian sensed that events had begun to unfold.

• Kaji helped the drunken Misato into her room, then invited Huang Zhetian outside to talk privately.
• Kaji told Huang Zhetian that Akagi had ordered him to stop sending information and return after finishing his work, and Huang asked for Asuka to be sent back when her work was done.
• Huang Zhetian gave Kaji a pale blue ring for Misato and asked him to handle Misato’s plans, then returned to the apartment.
• The next day, Shinji noticed Rei Ayanami’s empty seat, while Rei awoke in an LCL tank as Gendo Ikari watched her.
• Misato confronted Kaji at Terminal Dogma, but he opened the restricted door and showed her Adam, the First Angel.
• Huang Zhetian sensed the events beginning from beside the classroom window and worried that matters would become complicated.

Shinji used Huang Zhetian’s disc to speak with a simulation of his mother, who comforted him and urged him to accept himself. The next morning, Asuka’s anger over her breakup erupted at breakfast, while Misato quietly cherished the ring Kaji had given her.

• Shinji placed his cello on Huang Zhetian’s disc and saw a simulation of Yui Ikari, who held him and told him to trust himself and accept who he was.
• Huang Zhetian studied the necklace he had given Asuka and worried that the coming Angels would be difficult to defeat.
• At breakfast, Asuka insulted Shinji and Misato, then admitted she had broken up with Huang Zhetian because he had not put her first.
• Kaji called Misato and invited her out for drinks, intensifying Asuka’s resentment toward the adults and Huang Zhetian.
• Asuka left without eating, and Misato reminded the others to prepare for their test at headquarters before smiling at the ring Kaji had given her.

During the attack by the Twelfth Angel, Night Angel, Shinji and Huang Zhetian were caught in a vast shadow that swallowed their EVAs, while their comrades failed to rescue them. The chapter ended with Shinji and Huang Zhetian trapped underground with only sixteen hours of life support remaining.

• Shinji learned that he had achieved the highest test results, while Asuka grew resentful of his success and Huang Zhetian’s unchanged performance.
• Night Angel appeared above Tokyo-3, and Misato ordered the four pilots to approach cautiously and try to draw it away from the city.
• Shinji and Huang Zhetian attacked Night Angel, but it vanished and reappeared beneath them, trapping their EVAs in a spreading shadow.
• Rei and Asuka tried to help, but the shadow swallowed Huang Zhetian’s Special Unit, and Misato ordered both pilots to retreat without rescuing him or Shinji.
• Akagi reported that Shinji and Huang Zhetian had sixteen hours of life support remaining, and Misato prayed for them as Night Angel’s shadow covered the city.

As Shinji and Huang Zhetian remained trapped inside the Night Angel, their life-support fluid deteriorated and their strength and hope faded. Misato opposed Akagi’s plan to destroy the Angel at the risk of the pilots’ lives, struck her, and demanded the truth about the EVAs before Akagi took command of the operation.

• Asuka blamed Shinji and Huang Zhetian for entering the Night Angel, and Rei challenged her for dismissing their situation.
• Shinji and Huang Zhetian searched the vast inner space without finding each other, while their life-support countdowns dwindled.
• Shinji panicked when his LCL turned cloudy and smelled like blood, and Huang Zhetian struggled to endure the foul fluid.
• Akagi proposed dropping all remaining N² Mines and using Rei and Asuka’s EVAs to disrupt the Angel’s imaginary-number circuit, despite the danger to Shinji and Huang Zhetian.
• Misato slapped Akagi, demanded to know what the EVAs were, and accused her of lying before Akagi took command of the rescue operation.

Night Angel invaded Shinji Ikari’s and Huang Zhetian’s mental worlds, forcing them to confront painful truths about themselves. Huang Zhetian defeated the figure embodying Night Angel’s soul and left the blood-red illusion resolved to keep moving forward.

• Night Angel led Shinji through memories of rejection and self-deception until Shinji broke down in his mental world.
• Akagi noticed Shinji’s life-support readings falling and ordered the scheduled plan moved forward by twelve minutes.
• Huang Zhetian confronted his other self, summoned the Formless Sword, and shattered the figure’s AT Field.
• Huang Zhetian realized Night Angel had become a soulless puppet and revisited an imagined home where his family urged him to press on.
• His family faded away, and Huang Zhetian returned to his chair, listening to the recorder and continuing without tears.

Shinji found the strength to survive after Yui appeared to him, while Unit-01 tore free of the Night Angel and destroyed it. Huang Zhetian and Shinji reunited, but Huang told Asuka they would go their separate ways; afterward, Akagi and Gendo discussed their suspicions about Unit-01 as Shinji recovered in the hospital.

• Shinji gave up struggling in the rotten LCL until a vision of Yui comforted him and helped him endure.
• Unit-01 burst out of the Night Angel's sphere, drenched in blood, and the Angel ruptured and died.
• Asuka opened Huang Zhetian's entry plug, slapped him, and demanded that he not risk himself like that again.
• Misato found Shinji alive, and Huang Zhetian visited him before telling Asuka they would go their separate ways.
• Akagi and Gendo watched Unit-01 being cleaned and discussed whether the EVA was truly on their side.
• Rei Ayanami visited Shinji in the hospital, where he awoke troubled by the lingering smell of blood.

Misato faced SEELE’s questions about the Angel incident while Gendo ordered a Dummy System based on Rei Ayanami’s and Huang Zhetian’s data. After Evangelion Unit-04 and its research facilities vanished in a suspected Dirac Sea incident, NERV prepared to take Unit-03 and test the Dummy System, leaving Akagi troubled by Gendo’s affection for Rei.

• Misato told SEELE that there was no evidence the Angel had tried to contact humanity, and SEELE discussed its plans while shifting surveillance toward Shinji Ikari and Kaji.
• Toji visited his hospitalized little sister, while Shinji learned that Kensuke was away and was tasked with delivering handouts to Rei Ayanami.
• NERV learned that Branch 2, Unit-04, its associated facilities, and several thousand people had vanished, and Akagi suspected a Dirac Sea had swallowed them.
• Misato and Akagi discussed taking Unit-03 and using the Dummy System, and Gendo ordered Rei Ayanami’s and Huang Zhetian’s data loaded into the plugs.
• Gendo and Akagi discussed choosing a fourth child as a test pilot, then Gendo invited Rei Ayanami to eat with him while Akagi felt hurt by his affection for Rei.

At school, Huang Zhetian and Shinji were assigned to deliver handouts to Rei Ayanami, and the three boys ended up cleaning her apartment before she returned. Rei thanked Shinji and privately remembered that she still had not thanked Huang Zhetian, while Toji sensed that he was approaching something he could not avoid.

• Asuka scolded Huang Zhetian and Shinji for not bringing her lunch, then left after Toji teased them about a lovers' quarrel.
• Akagi told Misato that a fourth pilot had been chosen for Unit-03, and Misato discovered the pilot was a child she did not want drawn into the EVA program.
• Hikari Horaki asked Toji to deliver handouts to Rei Ayanami, and Toji brought Shinji and Huang Zhetian along instead of her.
• Shinji and Huang Zhetian entered Rei Ayanami's apartment with Toji, delivered the handouts, and helped tidy the neglected room.
• Rei Ayanami returned, thanked Shinji for cleaning, and watched Huang Zhetian as he drank orange juice.
• As the three boys walked home, Toji wondered whether he was a weirdo, while Rei Ayanami remembered she had yet to thank Huang Zhetian.

Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki discussed Unit-04’s destruction, while Misato learned that NERV controlled the nonexistent Marduk Institute. As Unit-03 arrived and Toji was summoned to NERV, Huang Zhetian considered how he might prevent the danger awaiting Toji.

• Gendo Ikari told Fuyutsuki to report Unit-04’s destruction as an accident with an unknown cause, and dismissed the loss as unimportant.
• Kaji told Misato that the Marduk Institute did not exist and urged her to investigate code 707.
• Kaji took Shinji and Huang Zhetian to his melon patch, where he talked with them about pain, kindness, and happiness.
• Akagi and Misato noted that Shinji’s synchronization rate had fallen and that Toji would soon need to be told about Unit-03.
• Toji was summoned to the principal’s office, then returned to class unusually quiet; Hikari Horaki offered to make him lunch.
• Asuka found five pilots listed in the synchronization data, Unit-03 was flown from the United States, and Huang Zhetian wondered how he could save Toji.

Misato and the others prepared to activate Unit-03 while Shinji and his friends struggled with what they knew about the coming test and Toji. Unit-03 transformed into the Angel Shamshiel and destroyed the Matsushiro test site, and the system ordered Huang Zhetian to protect Toji.

• Misato left for Matsushiro without telling Shinji that Toji had been selected to pilot Unit-03, while Huang Zhetian warned Kensuke not to ask questions.
• Huang Zhetian and Toji spoke with Rei about Shinji, and Toji reflected on Hikari’s feelings for him.
• Misato and Akagi prepared Unit-03 for its activation test as Toji arrived at the experimental site.
• Unit-03 activated, resisted its restraints, and revealed itself as the Angel Shamshiel.
• Shamshiel exploded the Matsushiro test site, and Huang Zhetian received a mission to protect Toji Suzuhara.

NERV sent the Evas to stop Unit-03 after it was transformed into an Angel, while its pilot remained trapped inside. As Shinji refused to attack and Huang Zhetian struggled against the Angel’s A.T. Field, Gendo activated the Dummy System in Unit-01, leaving Shinji unsure what would happen next.

• NERV identified the moving object near Matsushiro as the Angel-possessed Unit-03 and ordered the Evas to intercept it.
• Unit-03 disabled Asuka’s Unit-02 and injured Rei Ayanami, whose Unit-00 lost its left arm when Gendo ordered it severed.
• Shinji hesitated to fight Unit-03 because he believed Toji Suzuhara was still inside, while Huang Zhetian attacked but could not break through its A.T. Field.
• Gendo ordered the synchronization between Shinji and Unit-01 severed and directed Ibuki to activate the Dummy System.
• The Dummy System took control of Unit-01, whose eyes turned crimson as the system began its attack.

Unit-01’s Dummy System killed the Thirteenth Angel, malfunctioned, and forced Huang Zhetian to fight it until its power ran out, leaving the Special Unit catastrophically damaged. Shinji learned that Huang was alive and that Unit-03’s pilot was Toji, while Misato and the others faced the aftermath.

• Unit-01 killed the Thirteenth Angel, and Huang Zhetian intervened to stop it from mutilating the corpse.
• The Dummy System malfunctioned and made Unit-01 attack every living thing; Huang pulled Unit-03’s Entry Plug to safety and fought Unit-01 after severing its power cable.
• Unit-01 severely wounded the Special Unit before its power ran out, leaving Huang unconscious and the Special Unit unable to fight.
• Misato learned that the Special Unit and its pilot had suffered catastrophic damage, while Shinji escaped Unit-01 in its ejected Entry Plug.
• Shinji learned that Huang was alive and then discovered that Unit-03’s pilot was Toji, prompting him to break down again.

Shinji confronted Gendo over the Angel’s attack on Toji and Huang Zhetian, but Gendo dismissed him, leaving Shinji devastated. As the injured recovered and Rei challenged Shinji to face his feelings, Huang Zhetian dreamed of a double who warned him that changing the ending would bring backlash; Huang remained resolved to change it for her.

• Shinji threatened to hurt himself and demanded an explanation from Gendo, who blamed him for being weak and indecisive before leaving; Shinji vowed never to pilot an EVA again.
• Misato learned that Shinji had been rescued and Huang Zhetian had suffered serious nervous-system and meridian damage, while Asuka and Rei worried over the unconscious Huang.
• Toji woke in the hospital, learned he had been unconscious for two days, and asked Hikari Horaki to tell his younger sister he was all right.
• Rei questioned Shinji about his fight with Gendo and challenged him to stop running away from things he hated.
• In his mental space, Huang Zhetian rejected his double’s warning about backlash and said he would change the ending for her before listening to music.

After deciding to leave NERV and never pilot EVA again, Shinji said goodbye to Misato and Huang Zhetian and learned that his classmates had been selected as EVA pilots. As Shinji waited to depart, an Angel attack warning sounded, leaving his departure uncertain.

• Shinji told Gendo Ikari he would not pilot EVA again and left headquarters after Gendo ordered his records erased and Zero assigned to Unit-01.
• Huang Zhetian discussed the coming Power Angel with Kaji, gave him a letter to destroy, and learned that Asuka was isolating herself.
• Shinji received a Purification Chain from Huang Zhetian before saying goodbye to him and Misato at the subway station.
• Misato told Shinji that his classmates had been candidates to pilot EVA and admitted that NERV had placed its hopes on him, but Shinji refused to return.
• An emergency warning announced an Angel attack as Shinji waited at the subway station.

The Power Angel breached NEVR’s defenses, and Rei Ayanami volunteered to sortie in damaged Unit-00 after Unit-01 rejected her neural connection. Asuka and Huang Zhetian fought the Angel in the underground base, where its cloth-like weapon struck down the Special Unit.

• The Power Angel destroyed NEVR’s armor layers while Misato ordered Unit-02 to intercept and Huang Zhetian to support it with the Special Unit.
• Unit-01 rejected Rei Ayanami’s neural connection, so Rei volunteered to pilot damaged Unit-00 instead of using the Dummy Plug.
• As the Angel devastated New Tokyo-3, Shinji headed toward a shelter but resolved not to pilot an Eva again.
• Asuka fired repeatedly at the Power Angel while Huang Zhetian’s Ion Cannon struck its A.T. Field without damaging it.
• Huang Zhetian and Asuka charged the Angel with blades and spears, but its cloth-like strip sliced off the Special Unit’s head.

Huang Zhetian unlocked a divine sword skill after Asuka’s Unit-02 was destroyed, then fought the Power Angel with his restored vision as NERV watched. At the shelter, Kaji offered the shaken Shinji the story of his past to help him decide whether to pilot an EVA.

• Huang Zhetian used One Glance, Certain Proof to evade the Power Angel’s attack, but the skill damaged his eyes as the Special Unit’s synchronization rate surged.
• NERV’s Dummy Plug failed to activate Unit-01, while Asuka rushed toward Huang Zhetian and the Power Angel severed Unit-02’s head.
• Huang Zhetian blamed himself for holding back, redeemed the Sword God Trial Card, unlocked Ten Thousand Swords Become One, and healed his eyes.
• Huang Zhetian attacked the Power Angel with the Greatsword as its ribbons struck toward the Special Unit, while NERV struggled to analyze the battle.
• At the shelter, Shinji saw Unit-02’s severed head and agonized over abandoning his teammates; Kaji took him to his melon patch and began telling him about his past.