Three months later.
Across the boundless sea of stars, the dust had settled.
More than ninety days had passed since the divine showdown that had torn heaven and earth apart.
Over those ninety-odd days, the Earth, once drained by Almaloz until it had shrunk several sizes, had flourished anew under divine authority.
The cracked earth had healed, the depleted oceans shone blue again, and the life stolen away flowed back along the starlight. Oases bloomed in deserts, and extinct species cried out once more.
The moon, which had strayed from its orbit and loomed close at hand, had also slowly returned to its place, guided by an irresistible will.
The white moon had regained its modest size and revolved around the blue planet.
Its silver radiance spilled down, restoring the rhythm of day and night, as quiet and peaceful as it had been for countless trillions of years.
The creator of all this, Shinji Ikari, stood in the void in geosynchronous orbit.
The white radiance lent the giant's purple armor a touch of purity, while a faint golden sheen flowed around him.
There were no earth-shattering surges of energy, only a serenity that transcended the laws, as though he himself were part of the cosmic order.
Once he had truly entered the divine realm, victory in his final battle with Almaloz had become an inevitable, foreseeable fate.
He had truly entered the divine realm-not as a false god dependent on an EVA, but as a true god who commanded the laws and reshaped all things.
Almaloz, in the end, had been nothing more than an embodiment of the rules.
The rules of this world could not shake Almaloz, but absolute divine authority had been more than enough to crush Almaloz with ease.
Now, Shinji Ikari was the acknowledged deity of