Chapter Summaries

Akagi explained how Gendo Ikari’s grief over Yui Ikari shaped his plans and entangled Naoko Akagi and Ritsuko Akagi in their own painful attachments to him. As Shinji Ikari remained trapped inside Unit-01, Huang Zhetian entered his Mindscape to rescue him, while Asuka, Misato, and Kaji waited above.

• Akagi told Ibuki that her plan to rescue Shinji drew on research from Naoko Akagi’s time, then reflected on Gendo Ikari’s grief for Yui Ikari and his manipulation of Naoko and Ritsuko.
• Huang Zhetian scanned Unit-01 and learned that Shinji had become LCL, entered the Mindscape, and was being consumed as Yui prepared to awaken.
• Huang Zhetian left Asuka on the walkway and went to the restroom to enter Shinji’s Mindscape, while Asuka hid her affection for him from Kaji and Misato.
• Misato worried that Ritsuko could not rescue Shinji, and Kaji comforted her by urging her to trust Ritsuko and Shinji.
• Huang Zhetian activated the system’s entry prompt and prepared to use the Purification Chain to reach Shinji.

Shinji relived painful memories and resisted returning to the EVA, then was tempted to remain forever in an apparition-filled sea. As his Entry Plug neared ejection, Huang Zhetian appeared and urged him to wake up and return.

• Shinji recalled his mother's disappearance and confronted Gendo Ikari, then attacked him with a Plasma Vibrating Knife in his vision.
• Shinji encountered an apparition of Yui Ikari, who embraced him and offered him a life with apparitions of Misato, Rei Ayanami, and Mana Kirishima.
• A blue figure carrying Huang Zhetian's necklace tried to lead Shinji back to reality, while visions of NERV staff and Gendo urged him to fight.
• In the Command Room, Ibuki warned that Shinji's Counterwave was trapped in a loop and the Entry Plug was about to be ejected, and Akagi ordered an override.
• The blue figure revealed himself as Huang Zhetian and told Shinji to come back with him.

The narrator recalled how his mother's encouragement helped him improve his middle-school exam score through months of disciplined study, and resolved to face the college entrance exam with the same determination. He then shared spoilers about the novel's ending and its upcoming Rebuild of Evangelion storyline before signing off.

• The narrator remembered earning low scores in middle school and his mother telling him that effort mattered more than results.
• He began waking early to study, asked teachers for help, and kept reviewing despite classmates mocking and discouraging him.
• He raised his final high-school entrance exam score to 511.5, surprising classmates and making his family celebrate.
• The narrator said he would return to studying for the college entrance exam, carrying his family's hopes and his fans' encouragement.
• The author revealed that Huang Zhetian would die in a poignant ending, Asuka would avoid her anime fate, and the Rebuild of Evangelion arc would begin in 2005.

Misato met Kaji at a hidden bar, where he gave her documents connected to her past and she burned them after reading. Kaji gave Misato a ring and they confessed their unchanged love, though his unresolved investigations and responsibilities still kept them from fully sharing a life together.

• Misato left Huang Zhetian and the others to meet Kaji, reflecting on her lost childhood and the vanished winter snow as she walked to the bar.
• Kaji gave Misato a small envelope of documents, and she read them before burning them in the ashtray.
• Kaji and Misato walked together through the alley, where he gave her a deep-blue ring and told her his love had not changed.
• Misato kissed Kaji and said she still loved him as she had when they first met, and Kaji put the ring on her finger.
• Kaji and Misato continued strolling hand in hand, while Kaji remained burdened by investigations and responsibilities he could not set aside.

Shinji went to the beach with Misato and Rei Ayanami, where he wondered why he piloted EVA and grew closer to Rei. The outing ended with Shinji feeling he had found an answer and Rei experiencing an unfamiliar stir of emotion.

• Misato took Shinji to meet Rei Ayanami, who said Commander Ikari had asked her to keep Shinji company.
• At the beach, Misato urged Shinji and Rei to relax, and they decided to collect seashells together.
• Shinji wondered whether he piloted EVA for his father's praise or to make it easier to talk to people.
• Rei gave Shinji a striped shell as thanks for the miso soup, and he offered to make it for her again.
• Misato watched Shinji and Rei talk while thinking about Kaji, and Shinji later felt he had found what he had been searching for.
• Rei saw Shinji looking at her and felt an unfamiliar uncertainty before smiling faintly.

Asuka recognized the boy from her recurring dreams in her father’s photographs of China and received the dream’s red-bead necklace from him. She decided to move to China in a year to meet Huang Zhetian, and that night she dreamed of him turning into starlight and saying goodbye to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

• Asuka told Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin about her recurring dream, but a doctor found nothing wrong with her.
• Asuka’s father returned from China with photographs of Guangdong, and Asuka recognized the alley, house, and boy from her dreams.
• Her father identified the boy as Huang Zhetian and gave Asuka a necklace Huang Zhetian had exchanged for her father’s pocket watch.
• Asuka persuaded her father to let her go to China in a year, and he gave her Huang Zhetian’s house key to return.
• Asuka dreamed that Huang Zhetian turned into starlight, smiled at her, and said goodbye to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Huang Zhetian left his home and met Aika, Asuka’s father, while trying to accept that he would soon be separated from Asuka. After spending a day with Aika and learning about Asuka’s happy life, Huang Zhetian watched her find fourteen emerald leaves in Germany as he quietly disappeared from her world.

• Huang Zhetian left his home despite the system’s warning and stepped into the outside world as its barrier shattered into emerald leaves.
• Huang Zhetian met Aika, learned he was Asuka Langley Shikinami’s father, and agreed to guide him around the city.
• At Riverside Island, Huang Zhetian remembered his time with Asuka, cried while eating her favorite rice cakes, and saw her briefly before she vanished.
• Aika showed Huang Zhetian photographs of Asuka and described her happy childhood, while Huang Zhetian asked him to leave an item behind when he departed.
• Huang Zhetian gave Aika a key, then spent the night with the lilacs and bought orange juice for himself and the flowers.
• In Germany, Asuka found fourteen emerald leaves, took them home, and placed them on her window as one leaf dissolved into green motes.

One year later, Asuka sailed to China to uncover the secret behind her dream and find Huang Zhetian, while Huang Zhetian prepared to leave for Japan as his body began to collapse. They met by chance at the dock, but Asuka did not recognize him, and he boarded his ship without revealing who he was.

• Asuka left for China, carrying the necklace Huang Zhetian had given her and believing her dream would make sense once she reached his city.
• Huang Zhetian prepared to visit Shinji in Japan, used the Infinity Gauntlet to restore his fading body, and arranged for the elderly neighbor to take care of his home.
• At the dock, Asuka and Huang Zhetian collided, but he was disguised and she did not recognize him.
• Huang Zhetian let Asuka leave without stopping her, then boarded his ship and hoped she would find him before he had to depart.
• As Huang Zhetian sailed away, he listened to music and reflected on how it helped him forget his sadness.

Shinji traveled toward Tokyo while searching for Rei Ayanami and reflecting on the people he had lost. After a fortune-teller comforted him and vanished, Shinji discovered the man was Huang Zhetian, then reunited with Rei as Huang watched from nearby.

• Shinji left for Tokyo and told a Chinese fortune-teller about Rei Ayanami, Huang Zhetian, and his uncertainty about the past.
• The fortune-teller gave Shinji two verses, urged him to live hopefully, and promised that Rei would find him.
• The fortune-teller left the train and disappeared, and Shinji found a note signed by Huang Zhetian on the back of the verses.
• Shinji continued into the city, where he saw Rei and hurried through the crowd to meet her.
• Rei told Shinji she had come to find him, and they embraced while Huang watched before disappearing into the crowd.

Huang Zhetian awakened Rei Ayanami and explained that her body had only four years left, then prepared her to live in the restarted world and reunite with Shinji. As Rei began learning ordinary routines in the village, Huang Zhetian reflected on his approaching departure.

• Huang Zhetian awakened Rei Ayanami, gave her documents about the restarted world, and told her that her body had four years left and that she would see Shinji in a week.
• Rei Ayanami asked about Commander Ikari, and Huang Zhetian told her that he had not wanted to return.
• Huang Zhetian instructed Rei Ayanami to try farmwork and keep a diary, then left her to begin living differently.
• Rei Ayanami spent the day tending the garden and caring for the cat, then wrote a diary and asked whether she could show it to Shinji.
• Huang Zhetian listened to a song in the yard and privately lamented that his own time was running out.

As Huang Zhetian’s body began to weaken, he spent his remaining days teaching Rei Ayanami everyday skills and preparing her to reunite with Shinji. He left Japan for China with a letter and gifts for Rei, while longing for Asuka and wondering whether he would ever see her again.

• Huang Zhetian noticed his body fading and decided to return to China before arranging for Rei Ayanami and Shinji to reunite.
• Huang Zhetian helped Rei Ayanami learn household skills, cooking, and makeup, and told her to treasure her remaining time with Shinji.
• Huang Zhetian told Rei Ayanami he was leaving Japan, left her the house and instructions for finding Shinji, and asked her to care for Xiangxiang.
• Rei Ayanami read Huang Zhetian’s farewell letter, which included a key, a Star-Shaped Necklace, and an ID card, then resumed her daily chores.
• Aboard the boat to China, Huang Zhetian looked at a photograph of Asuka, took a picture of himself holding it, and wondered whether he would see her again.

Four years after Huang Zhetian brought Rei Ayanami back, Shinji and Rei lived as a married couple with their daughter, Aiko Ikari. Rei revealed that she was dying and had only three days left, leaving Shinji to spend their remaining time together as she fell asleep in his arms.

• Shinji returned home to Rei Ayanami and their sleeping daughter, Aiko Ikari, and the couple remembered Aiko's birth and how they chose her name.
• Rei told Shinji that Huang Zhetian seemed to come from beyond their world, then asked whether Shinji would remember her if she left.
• Rei revealed that Huang Zhetian had brought her back only temporarily and gave Shinji the letter he had left; Shinji read it and broke down sobbing.
• Rei comforted Shinji and explained that she had kept her limited time secret so they could be happy and have a child together, then asked him to spend her last three days with her.
• Shinji and Rei sat together in the yard as snow fell, recalled how they had found each other, and Rei asked him to care for Huang Zhetian's cat.
• Rei fell asleep in Shinji's arms, and he carried her to bed; as they slept, snow blanketed the city and a tear slipped from Rei's eye.

Shinji and Rei Ayanami spent what they believed would be their final day together, but Rei began fading early and vanished as crystalline snowflakes on the beach. Shinji was left grieving, while Rei’s last request was that he care for Riko and wait for her return.

• Shinji took leave from work, and he and Rei Ayanami prepared to visit the places they had shared while Asuka watched Riko.
• Rei told Asuka that she had only been able to remain in the new world for four years, then left with Shinji for the beach.
• At the beach, Rei’s hand turned intangible, and Shinji desperately called for Huang Zhetian as Rei realized she was leaving sooner than expected.
• Shinji and Rei took photographs, shared a final kiss, and Rei asked him to care for Riko and wait for her return.
• Rei turned into crystalline snowflakes and disappeared, leaving Shinji screaming in grief as the flakes drifted across Japan.

Gendo watched Rei emerge from the Liquid Chamber and treated her as a reflection of Yui, while Rei began questioning her obedience and hurried to Unit-01's hangar. In Unit-01's mindscape, Huang Zhetian protected Shinji from a terrifying manifestation of Unit-01 as they waited for help to arrive.

• Gendo wrapped a towel around Rei and said he had left Shinji's condition to Dr. Akagi, adding that only EVA might know what would happen to him.
• Gendo mistook Rei for Yui and touched her cheek, but Rei slapped his hand away and left; he resolved that she would eventually have to make a sacrifice.
• Rei reflected on her growing concern for Shinji, resisted waiting for Dr. Akagi's examination, and headed to Unit-01's hangar.
• Huang Zhetian used his Purification Chain, AT Field, and Necklace to shield Shinji from Unit-01's monstrous persona as it tried to lure him closer.
• Shinji rejected the persona, which began arguing with itself, and Huang Zhetian told him that help had arrived.

Yui Ikari sent Huang Zhetian into a disturbing vision of his former life while Shinji confronted memories of his family and chose to return to reality. As Misato, Asuka, Kaji, and Rei waited at Unit-01, Shinji passed through the golden light, and Huang Zhetian faced the appearance of his original self.

• Yui Ikari sent Huang Zhetian into a vision of his former life, where he realized the scene was a repeating, bugged hallucination.
• Huang Zhetian sensed someone behind him, turned, and reacted with fear when he saw who had appeared.
• Shinji remembered his mother, Yui Ikari, and watched her reassure Gendo Ikari beneath a tree.
• Yui Ikari told Shinji to choose his own path, and Shinji decided to return to reality and face what awaited him.
• Misato grieved over Shinji's clothes as Asuka, Kaji, and an exhausted Rei waited for him to return.
• Huang Zhetian saw his original self walking toward him.

Huang Zhetian defeated the fused original and Special Unit in Unit-01’s Mindscape, then returned as Shinji was rescued from Unit-01. As the others celebrated, Rei Ayanami noticed Huang Zhetian, and he exchanged a silent signal with Kaji.

• Huang Zhetian confronted the original, who transformed into a giant fused being and attacked him in a recreated street.
• The fused being raised an AT Field and tried to take Huang Zhetian as his host, but Huang Zhetian shattered its defenses and cut it apart with sword energy.
• Huang Zhetian vanished from the Mindscape after telling the watching presence in the sky that he would help where he could.
• Shinji was expelled from Unit-01’s core and embraced by Misato while the Command Room celebrated his rescue.
• Rei Ayanami noticed Huang Zhetian after he returned to the hangar, and he met her gaze before Asuka questioned him about his absence.
• Huang Zhetian and Kaji passed each other in the hangar, and a slip of paper appeared in Huang Zhetian’s palm.

Huang Zhetian watched Kaji depart to kidnap Fuyutsuki, while Shinji reunited with Rei after emerging from Unit-01. NERV learned that Fuyutsuki had been kidnapped and detained Misato, as Huang Zhetian prepared to act on Kaji’s message.

• Huang Zhetian watched Kaji leave and recognized that he was heading to kidnap Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki.
• Gendo Ikari visited the hangar and glanced at Unit-01 before Huang Zhetian left.
• Shinji woke in the hospital, reunited with Rei Ayanami, and told her he was glad to see her again despite his missing memories.
• NERV intelligence officers told Misato that Fuyutsuki had been kidnapped and suspected Kaji of orchestrating it, then took Misato in for questioning.
• Huang Zhetian read Kaji’s note to run, hide, and wait, added the words seize and kill, and burned the note.

SEELE interrogated Kozo Fuyutsuki about Evangelion Unit-01’s unexpected S² Engine, but Kaji freed him and was later shot while fleeing. Huang Zhetian killed the agents sent to retrieve Kaji’s body, used a Soul-Returning Pill on him, and left Kaji at a safe house, where his ring-bearing hand eventually twitched.

• SEELE detained Kozo Fuyutsuki and pressed him for information about Unit-01’s S² Engine and Gendo Ikari’s plans.
• Kaji freed Fuyutsuki, explaining that he had abducted him to get closer to the truth, and Gendo Ikari learned that Kaji had gone missing.
• A pursuer shot Kaji in a Tokyo-3 ventilation tunnel, and an agent prepared to deliver his body to a designated contact.
• Huang Zhetian used Kaji’s ring activation to locate the agents, killed the body-retrieval team, and destroyed the bodies and vehicles in an explosion.
• Huang Zhetian took Kaji’s body to a safe house, used a Soul-Returning Pill, and left a letter before returning home.
• After Huang Zhetian left, Kaji’s ring-bearing hand twitched.

Shinji and Rei Ayanami shared a heartfelt moment in the garden as she asked him to hold her hand, while the three sides argued over Kaji’s disappearance and suspected one another. Misato grieved over Kaji’s recorded message, Asuka remained unaware of what had happened, and Huang Zhetian warned Shinji to keep the truth from her as an ominous presence wondered whether Gendo Ikari would suspect it.

• Rei Ayanami told Shinji how her feelings had changed through their encounters, then asked him to hold her hand, and he agreed.
• SEELE, Gendo Ikari, China, and the United Nations debated Kaji’s missing body and the deaths surrounding its disappearance, while China refused to send combat troops for the coming operation.
• Misato listened to Kaji’s recorded farewell and broke down crying as Asuka demanded to know what had happened to him.
• Huang Zhetian refused to tell Asuka about Kaji, then sent Shinji a message telling him to keep the secret from her.
• In the darkness, a pair of blue, pupil-less eyes appeared and wondered whether Gendo Ikari would suspect them.

Huang Zhetian gave Misato Kaji’s coded message, then comforted Asuka as she confessed how lonely and afraid she felt. After leaving her room, he struggled with his feelings for her and uncertainty about how the altered story would unfold.

• Huang Zhetian gave Misato the Voice Recorder containing Kaji’s coded message and left her to listen to it.
• Asuka asked Huang Zhetian to talk with her and told him she felt she had nothing beyond piloting EVA.
• Huang Zhetian reminded Asuka that she still had people around her and offered to be someone she could entrust herself to.
• Asuka pushed Huang Zhetian away, insisting she was not fragile, but cried after he left and admitted to herself that she loved him.
• Huang Zhetian sat outside Asuka’s room and wondered how to protect her and handle the plot changes.