Chapter Summaries

Shinji Ikari and Black Rei explored Third Village with Toji Suzuhara, then joined his family and friends for a reunion dinner. The evening ended warmly as the old friends shared memories, while Shinji remained unsure what he feared losing.

• Shinji Ikari woke in Toji Suzuhara’s clinic, put on a tracksuit jacket, and agreed to go to Toji’s home with Black Rei.
• Toji Suzuhara showed Shinji Ikari and Black Rei the thriving Third Village, including its food center, school, and cats.
• Shinji Ikari and Black Rei arrived at Toji Suzuhara’s home and ate dinner prepared by Asuka and Hikari Horaki.
• Hikari Horaki introduced her daughter Yan, and Black Rei cautiously touched the baby’s cheek as Yan grasped her finger.
• Huang Zhetian, Asuka, and Kensuke Aida joined the gathering, and Shinji Ikari shared memories with the others over dinner.

Shinji Ikari stayed with Huang Zhetian, who planned to help him recover and prepare for the changes ahead. As Huang Zhetian weighed his own role in Gendo Ikari’s plan, dawn arrived and he resolved to act without overthinking.

• Huang Zhetian told Shinji Ikari to stay with him, choose a name for the baby, and meet someone the next morning.
• Asuka encouraged Black Rei to learn from others and follow her own thoughts instead of copying Rei Ayanami.
• Huang Zhetian explained to Asuka that Shinji Ikari needed guidance because he had missed years of experience and remained essential to restoring the world.
• Huang Zhetian taught Asuka to slow down and collect small points in her game, then caught a fish while she played beside him.
• Hikari Horaki explained the meaning of “good night” to Black Rei, while Shinji Ikari sobbed and Huang Zhetian spared the DSS Choker.
• Huang Zhetian considered Gendo Ikari’s plan to open the GUF Gate, then decided he would act when the time came.

Huang Zhetian helped Black Rei and Shinji Ikari take tentative steps toward new lives in Village-3, where Black Rei began discovering the satisfaction of work and comfort of bathing. Shinji learned about Kaji’s death and resolved to move forward, while Black Rei wondered whether she could keep living alongside Ikari.

• Black Rei worked in the rice paddies with Auntie Wheat and the villagers, felt a sense of accomplishment, and received a star necklace from Huang Zhetian.
• Huang Zhetian showed Shinji Ikari that he could destroy a Wanderer, then explained Kaji’s death and why Misato did not want Shinji piloting an EVA.
• Shinji Ikari accepted that he had to stop living in the past and asked Huang Zhetian to teach him, while Huang urged him to choose a name for Black Rei.
• Black Rei visited the bathhouse, experienced the warmth of bathing, and wondered why she remained alive without orders and whether she could stay with Ikari.

Black Rei learned that goodbye and holding hands could help people meet again and grow closer, while Huang Zhetian trained Shinji Ikari to face his trauma and prepare to pilot an EVA again. Shinji accepted the DSS Choker as a sign of resolve, endured waterfall training, and began confronting memories of his past.

• Black Rei asked Hikari Horaki what goodbye and holding hands meant, and Hikari explained that they were spells for meeting again and growing closer.
• Huang Zhetian showed Shinji Ikari the DSS Choker, and Shinji overcame his panic enough to fasten it around his neck.
• Huang Zhetian demonstrated spear techniques and set Shinji the task of piercing a boulder before taking him to train beneath a waterfall.
• Shinji repeatedly fell into the water while trying to stay calm, and his memories brought him to scenes from his childhood and the Unit-01 Hangar.
• Huang Zhetian ended the day's training, reassured Shinji about his past actions, and explained that Gendo had pursued his wish to see Shinji's mother.
• Huang Zhetian removed the DSS Choker because Shinji was not piloting an EVA, and Shinji understood that wearing it was a statement of intent.

Shinji Ikari trained with Huang Zhetian, confronted his feelings for Black Rei, and resolved to return to Third Village to spend her remaining time with her. He achieved mastery over his strength by piercing a boulder with his spear, ready to face his father and protect humanity.

• Huang Zhetian gave Shinji Ikari Misato's cross necklace, and Shinji continued training with the spear.
• Asuka finally matched Huang Zhetian's game score, while Black Rei began settling into village life and accepted a children's book to learn why Rei liked reading.
• Asuka told Black Rei that NERV had designed her feelings for Shinji, but Black Rei said she still thought those feelings were nice and asked Shinji to give her a name.
• Huang Zhetian told Shinji that Black Rei's body would soon return to its original form, and Shinji broke down before resolving to go back and stay with her.
• Shinji declared that he would stop Gendo Ikari's Impact Ritual and protect humanity, then pierced a boulder with his spear after mastering control of his strength.

Shinji Ikari returned to Ayanami after training, and they spent their days working and learning together in the village. At the ruins of Building N109, NERV Second Branch, Shinji feared losing her, while Ayanami promised she would stay by his side.

• Asuka showed Huang Zhetian that she had beaten his high score, and he praised her composure before telling her that Prototype Ayanami had come looking for Shinji Ikari.
• Shinji Ikari returned to Ayanami, gave her back the name Ayanami, and joined her in the village’s daily work.
• Ayanami and Shinji Ikari picked vegetables, chopped wood, gathered eggs, washed clothes, and talked about life and having a child together someday.
• Shinji Ikari reflected on how the world and his old friends had changed while he had remained in the past, then shared a happy afternoon with Ayanami.
• At the ruins of Building N109, NERV Second Branch, Shinji Ikari cried as he worried that Ayanami might disappear, and she promised to stay with him before he kissed her forehead.

Shinji Ikari settled into village life and resolved to keep searching for Ayanami, while Ayanami’s failing body made her realize she could only survive inside NERV. As she grew closer to the villagers and prepared a gift for Shinji, she faced the possibility that her time with him was running out.

• Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida discussed Shinji Ikari’s recovery, while Shinji helped Hikari Horaki with chores alongside Ayanami and promised to stay with her.
• Asuka urged Shinji to cherish his time with Ayanami, and Huang Zhetian encouraged him to keep hoping and endure what lay ahead.
• Ayanami collapsed when her combat suit’s warning alarm sounded, realized she could only live inside NERV, and thought about her emotions as blank clones rested in NERV’s storage chamber.
• Toji Suzuhara told Shinji about the hardships of village life and his work helping others, strengthening Shinji’s resolve to set things right.
• At the cemetery, Kensuke Aida urged Shinji to speak with Gendo Ikari if he could, while Shinji reflected on why WILLE hated his father.
• Ayanami tried on Hikari Horaki’s old school uniform and took a boy’s uniform to wash and give to Shinji as a farewell gift.

Ayanami said goodbye to Shinji Ikari and vanished into the necklace Huang Zhetian had given her, leaving Shinji determined to find her. Huang Zhetian brought Shinji aboard the Wunder, where the crew prepared for the coming battle and debated whether he could be trusted.

• Huang Zhetian stored Kensuke Aida's village records and Toji's letter in his System Inventory and promised to deliver them.
• Ayanami left Yan a farewell note, then took Shinji Ikari to the ruined NERV Branch and confessed her love before dissolving into the necklace around her neck.
• Shinji Ikari returned to Third Village, changed into his old clothes, and joined Huang Zhetian and Asuka at the Wunder's supply dock.
• Huang Zhetian carried Shinji aboard the Wunder and told him the necklace could help him find Ayanami; Sakura Suzuhara embraced Shinji before guards took him to the Blastproof Isolation Room.
• Asuka gave Sakura Suzuhara the Third Village records and Suzuhara family letters, and Sakura cried over a photograph of her family with Yan.
• The Wunder crew continued preparations for the second N1 Rocket connection operation, while Midori Kitakami argued with the others about Shinji's return until Apocalypse confronted her.

As WILLE prepared for the final battle, Huang Zhetian and Misato authorized the release of Kredit and the EVA units while NERV began Fourth Impact. The chapter left Huang sensing that events were moving too quickly as NERV reached the Old Antarctica Explosion Site and began its plan.

• Apocalypse rebuked Midori Kitakami for blaming Shinji Ikari and told the crew to continue their final meal.
• Asuka returned to Mari's room, discussed her restored humanity and Shinji's changes, and later let Huang Zhetian trim her hair.
• Huang Zhetian and Misato authorized Kredit's independent operation and the release of the two EVA units while reflecting with Ritsuko Akagi on Kaji and the ark's purpose.
• NERV carried the Black Moon to the Old Antarctica Explosion Site as Kozo Fuyutsuki prepared the Ayanami clones and Unit-13 for Fourth Impact.
• Misato chose to keep Shinji safe without meeting him privately, while Ritsuko challenged her about her feelings for him.
• Gendo Ikari told Fuyutsuki to proceed and hold Huang Zhetian back, and Huang stopped cutting Asuka's hair when he sensed time passing too quickly.

Misato prepared the Wunder Warship and its crew for an assault on NERV Headquarters to destroy Unit-13 and stop Fourth Impact. Shinji accepted Huang Zhetian’s Summoner and renewed his resolve, while Huang followed the ship toward the Old Antarctica Epicenter Ruins to confront Gendo Ikari.

• Misato received word that NERV was preparing to reactivate Unit-13, ordered the Wunder Warship to sortie, and shared memories and regrets with her crew as they prepared for battle.
• Ritsuko tied Kaji’s bloodstained blue scarf around Misato’s arm, while Midori, Asuka, and Mari gathered their keepsakes and prepared to leave for battle.
• Huang Zhetian gave Shinji a Summoner that could merge with an EVA and help him find Ayanami, then reminded him of their promise to meet at the Subway Station.
• Mari and Asuka visited Shinji, and Shinji declared that he was no longer afraid after hearing Huang’s encouragement and remembering Kaworu’s words.
• Misato launched the Wunder Warship’s assault on NERV Headquarters, and the crew deployed the seed storage units before entering Earth’s atmosphere.
• Huang Zhetian underwent Angelization, activated the New Special Unit, and descended behind the Wunder Warship toward the Old Antarctica Epicenter Ruins, determined to face Gendo Ikari.

The Wunder Warship fought through NERV’s ambushes beneath the L Barrier while Huang Zhetian’s New Special Unit covered its retreat. With enemy ships still pursuing and Unit-13 nearing reactivation, the Wunder reached its launch position and fired every guided missile at NERV Headquarters.

• As the Wunder Warship entered the L Barrier, Kozo Fuyutsuki sent Salvation to attack, but Huang Zhetian damaged it with sword strikes and drove it away.
• The Wunder Warship pushed through the Infinity swarm, rammed Original Sin, and used its wings to hurl the enemy ship into the swarm.
• The Wunder reached the Black Moon and spotted NERV Headquarters beneath it as ships two and three pursued from behind.
• The pursuing ships battered the Wunder, but Huang Zhetian’s New Special Unit struck them with two sword waves and helped the Wunder escape their firing range.
• Misato ordered every guided missile launched at NERV Headquarters.

Misato’s forces launched an assault on NERV Headquarters, and Asuka, Mari, and Huang Zhetian fought through the Mass Production Units to reach Unit-13. Huang Zhetian tried to use the Forced Shutdown Signal Plug, but Asuka’s A.T. Field blocked it as a mysterious blue opening began to form below.

• Misato ordered Huang Zhetian to clear the Mass Production Units while Asuka and Mari launched in Units 02 and 08.
• Asuka and Mari fought through the swarming EVA-07 Series with Huang Zhetian’s help, and Huang destroyed the rising cone of units with his layered A.T. Field.
• Asuka and Mari landed at NERV Headquarters, where new two-armed machines attacked them as they moved toward Unit-13.
• Asuka gave Huang Zhetian the Forced Shutdown Signal Plug, and he flew to Unit-13 above the LCL lake.
• Huang Zhetian found that Asuka’s A.T. Field protected Unit-13 from the plug, then opened his third eye and forced his power against the barrier.
• A blue black hole and an angelic pattern appeared in the pit as the other warships descended, alarming Mari and Misato’s crew.

Huang Zhetian transformed into an Angel and confronted Unit-13, but the Shikinami Original Soul captured him and carried him away. Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari’s forces seized the Wunder Warship and began the impact ritual as Shinji left his cell and Asuka and Mari retreated under attack.

• Misato stopped the Wunder Warship from firing after Ritsuko realized a fourth NERV warship was missing, but the Prayer ambushed and crippled the ship from below.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki pinned the New Special Unit with an Imitation Spear, but Huang Zhetian awakened it and transformed into an Angel to attack Unit-13 with the Forced Shutdown Signal Plug.
• Unit-13 broke free, captured Huang Zhetian, and carried him into its Entry Plug; Asuka’s New Unit-02 tried to intervene but was pinned down.
• Inside Unit-13, Huang Zhetian met the Shikinami-Type Original Soul and took her hand, promising to lead her to the outside world.
• Mark.09 seized the Wunder Warship, restored its Repentance designation, and imprisoned Misato and the crew as the four warships activated their wings of light around the Spears of the Black Moon.
• Gendo Ikari arrived aboard the Repentance, Shinji left his holding cell, and Mari helped Asuka retreat as a spear strike destroyed NERV Headquarters.

Gendo Ikari began Fourth Impact by spreading Infinity across Earth, while Shinji Ikari resolved to stop him and pilot Unit-01 again. After Misato supported Shinji and took a bullet meant for him, he departed with Mari and Asuka to find Huang Zhetian and confront Gendo.

• Ritsuko Akagi shot Gendo Ikari, but he survived and revealed that he had used the Key of Nebuchadnezzar to transform himself.
• Gendo deified Unit-13 and launched Fourth Impact, sending purple Infinity across Earth to turn souls into cores for EVA Infinity.
• The Sealing Pillars held back the Infinity at Village-3 as Kensuke Aida, Toji Suzuhara, Hikari Horaki, and others faced the approaching threat.
• Shinji told Misato he would stop his father, but Sakura Suzuhara shot at him; Misato took the bullet and accepted responsibility for letting him pilot an EVA.
• Misato entrusted Shinji with the mission, and he embraced her before boarding Unit-08 with Mari and Asuka to search for Huang Zhetian and Unit-13.

Shinji Ikari and Asuka entered Unit-13 to confront Gendo Ikari and find Huang Zhetian, while Mari stayed behind in Modified Unit-08. Shinji’s awakened Unit-01 pursued Gendo into the world of memories, where father and son faced off with their spears as their battle began.

• Misato ordered the crew to keep working despite the Wunder’s damaged hull and failed engines.
• Shinji and Asuka entered passages leading into Unit-01 and Unit-13, while Mari urged them to return safely.
• Rei Ayanami met Shinji inside Unit-01 and entrusted the rest to him, while Asuka entered her memories alongside her childhood self.
• Shinji awakened a modified Unit-01, seized a spear from Unit-13, and tried to persuade Gendo to stop pursuing his wish.
• Gendo drove Unit-01 and Unit-13 into the Golgotha Object, revealing a world of memories where he demanded Shinji remove Unit-01’s armor.
• Unit-01 emerged in a recreated New Tokyo-3, and it clashed spears with Unit-13 as Shinji and Gendo began their battle.

Shinji fought Gendo across shifting locations, then stopped relying on force and asked his father to talk about his plan for the Additional Impact. Later, Shinji read Rei’s diary while waiting alone at a subway station, with fourteen minutes until the train returned.

• Unit-01 and Unit-13 clashed with their spears as Gendo tried to overpower Shinji and take Unit-01.
• Gendo argued that he wanted to end the corrupt world and unite everyone in a shared consciousness, then seized Unit-01 and hurled it into a mountainside.
• Remembering Huang Zhetian and the people he cared about, Shinji released the Spear of Cassius and asked Gendo to talk instead of fighting.
• Gendo explained that he planned to trigger the Additional Impact through the Golgotha Object using the final two spears.
• Shinji read Rei’s diary at an empty subway station and checked that the train would return in fourteen minutes.

As Gendo Ikari began the Additional Impact, Misato and Ritsuko tried to forge a new spear aboard the Wunder while Mari fought the sacrificial EVAs. Huang Zhetian guided Asuka toward facing her past as the world-changing plan continued.

• Ritsuko Akagi and Misato decided to use the Wunder’s spinal coupling system to make a new spear, and the crew began replacing the ship’s spine before evacuating.
• Gendo Ikari fused the Spear of Longinus and the Spear of Cassius, began the Additional Impact, and transformed Lilith as the Wunder crew witnessed the event.
• Mari confronted the sacrificial EVAs, defeated Mark.10, and pursued Mark.11 as Unit-08 evolved by consuming its opponents.
• Kozo Fuyutsuki let Mari leave the Original Sin, then dissolved into LCL after looking at a photograph of Yui.
• Misato ordered the crew to abandon ship, stayed at the controls, and drove the Wunder toward Lilith while Ritsuko promised to manage the spear system.
• Huang Zhetian encouraged Asuka to understand and accept herself as she returned to the Ferris Wheel and saw the snowmen and little Asuka.

The narrator described his financial struggles as a novelist, the criticism he faced from his mother, and the support and sacrifices of his father and sister. Living alone, he resolved to finish his book, survive until his next project, and keep pursuing writing despite the risk of failure.

• The narrator struggled to cover rent and utilities with writing income below 500 yuan and repaid money he had borrowed from a friend.
• His father supported his writing, while his mother repeatedly criticized him and urged him to find a job.
• The narrator recalled his sister celebrating his birthday and helping with college applications, and regretted that he had disappointed her.
• Unable to endure his mother's remarks, the narrator moved out and lived alone while updating his novel every day.
• The narrator planned to reach one million Chinese characters and finish the book for its completion bonus and final payment.
• The narrator vowed to persist with writing and hoped to begin a new book after surviving his financial hardship.

Asuka reclaimed her memories and awakened while Shinji and Huang Zhetian sent her Entry Plug away, and Shinji confronted Gendo with the pain and love that had shaped his life. As Misato rammed the Wunder into Lilith, a new Spear of Hope appeared, and Gendo prepared his Spear of Substitution.

• Huang Zhetian comforted little Asuka as she faced the loneliness of her childhood, and adult Asuka awakened beside him on the shore before waking again inside the Entry Plug.
• Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari, removed and ejected Unit-13's Entry Plug, while Huang Zhetian told Kaworu Nagisa and Shinji that they would meet again.
• Shinji confronted Gendo Ikari in his memories, helped him recover his memories of Yui, and listened as Gendo admitted how fear and loneliness had driven him away from his son.
• Shinji realized Misato, Huang Zhetian, and the others were acting at the GUF Gate, and Gendo saw that a new spear had appeared despite the loss of the Holy Spears.
• Misato drove the Wunder into Lilith and named the Spear of Hope Cassius and the Spear of Despair Longinus, while Huang Zhetian announced that his Spear of Substitution was ready.

Shinji Ikari and Huang Zhetian helped end Instrumentality and create a world without EVAs, where the dead and transformed returned to ordinary life. The chapter ended with Shinji reuniting with Mari and Huang Zhetian reuniting with Asuka, while the story promised further side stories.

• Mari piloted Unit-08 and delivered the fused Miracle Spear through Lilith, while the Wunder Warship was destroyed and Misato died in the explosion.
• Gendo apologized to Shinji and embraced him before recognizing Yui; Shinji then chose to help others and began undoing the cycle with Huang Zhetian.
• Shinji and Huang Zhetian helped Kaworu Nagisa find release from the repeating cycle and discussed a future without EVAs with Rei Ayanami.
• Shinji used the Miracle Spear to pierce the EVAs, ending Lilith's hold and restoring transformed people and animals to life as Earth returned to blue.
• Shinji awoke in the new world and left with Mari to return to his wife and daughter, while Huang Zhetian reunited with Asuka and proposed marriage.