Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

Kaworu's thoughts were interrupted by the noise, and his expression showed a rare look of disgust as he looked at the SEELE elders who had already merged into the Tree of Life.

Look at them, they're the complete opposite of Shinji!

Break down defenses, maintain composure, conceal jealousy, arrogance, and foolishness.

Ah, no wonder that god thought the world should just be destroyed when he saw these people!

Kaworu shook his head, then looked longingly at the sky before closing his eyes.

On the ground, countless tiny crosses suddenly burst forth with light, sending countless souls into the enormous white Lilith.

This action perfectly avoided the mushroom clouds that would bloom all over the world. Although the destruction of the city seemed inevitable, no one died in the disaster.

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The body, unable to sustain itself without a soul, transformed into pools of LCL solution, which naturally coalesced to form an orange-red ocean.

Wow, so much orange juice!!!

At this moment, the souls of everyone in the world were forcibly returned to Lilith, and their bodies were broken down and then brought together by the anti-AT force.

But there was only one exception among them—Asuka.

Because she was hiding inside Unit 2, the scope of the repair did not include her.

"What the heck?! This is ridiculous! This scene is way too much like a B-movie!!!"

Just as Asuka was inside Unit-02, watching this scene in shock and making sarcastic remarks, a strange piece of music suddenly sounded in her ears.

"The whole world is doomed, turning into orange juice everywhere! Don't panic, eat first, let's see who's the unlucky one~~~~"

"Shinji and Asuka, you don't need to shout. Just bring Rei along, let's fill the cans together!"

Asuka's eye twitched, because she knew that the abstract lyrics of "Hell's Song" were sung by Tsugumi.

She felt that the image of an angel in her heart had been completely shattered today.

"Hehe, doesn't it sound good?" Tsurugi teased.

"...It's inappropriate to sing this song at such a sacrificial and eerie time!" Asuka said in a pouty voice.

"Ha, I just saw you were nervous." Tsugumi appeared in front of Asuka, floating in the cockpit filled with LCL solution, and said with a smile.

"Don't be so tense, Asuka. Relax, it's not a big deal."

"It's not like aliens are dragging around planet-destroying weapons to annihilate humanity, it's a trivial matter."

"...Am I really inferior to those two?" Asuka looked up at the enormous Lilith Rei Ayanami and asked sadly.

She felt as if she was isolated from all of this. Compared to the other two qualified candidates, she had no special identity or special abilities. Although she had excellent grades, she was still a completely ordinary person.

"Emmmmmm, would you be interested in joining my ranks of demon-slaying angels?"

Instead of offering simple words of comfort, Tsurugi extended an olive branch directly.

Asuka blinked, didn't ask what the position was, and readily agreed.

At this moment, humanity's Instrumentality Project has been completed.

Human souls have returned to Lilith, but Lilith has not merged these souls with the Water of Life indiscriminately. Shinji Ikari is also struggling with the feeling of being integrated into this vast collective.

At this moment, Shinji Ikari has become what this world calls a god.

He became the core of the Instrumentality Project, the master who controls the souls of all life in the world, and the souls of these three billion lives were under his control.

Unlike the original Shinji Ikari, whose soul was weak as a human, the Shinji Ikari who was given the mark by Tsugumi can now control these souls for his own use.

He closed his eyes, and the enormous Lilith Rei Ayanami followed his thoughts and acted accordingly.

The Gate of Gaff opened above his head, and the Chamber of Souls blossomed; whoever entered could make an omnipotent wish.

In that brief moment, Shinji Ikari seemed to see himself in countless timelines.

In almost every world, Shinji Ikari struggles to find true happiness. He always perseveres through hardship, is called a coward, yet always insists on being the first to step forward.

He passed through the doors of every soul, walked through the worlds of every person, and watched as some happily and joyfully integrated into this perfect world, while others struggled to prevent the invasion of other souls.

He saw Misato Katsuragi's world, a world where her father had neither died nor left, a world that had accompanied her as she grew up.

He saw Kaji Ryoji's world, the world where he had resisted torture and torment, did not betray his comrades, and finally escaped to live happily with his companions.

He even saw the world that Ritsuko Akagi and Naoko Akagi, who was now just a brain and served as the MGAI host, shared—a world that made Shinji Ikari feel ashamed of his father.

The myriad aspects of human nature were laid bare before him.

This is the result of Human Instrumentality: when countless people converge into one life form, and one thought becomes one cell, they achieve collective ascension, experiencing a perfect dream that transcends life in the infinitesimal state of consciousness.

The only way to wake up from this never-ending dream is to confront the gaps in your own heart, deny the world that arises from your inner desires and shortcomings, and complete the process of filling the void.

But such resolute people are few and far between, even among three billion people.

He traversed countless worlds, walking for an unknown amount of time, passing through the dreams of countless people. And finally, he arrived at the deepest part of his own soul, that of Shinji Ikari.

He possessed a world that was perfect for everyone.

A world without EVA, a strict but gentle father and a doting mother, a perfect childhood, a wonderful youth, and an ordinary yet happy life.

He could even arbitrarily shape the future of the world; his own life and the shape of the world were entirely in his control.

Shinji took one last, wistful look at the world before continuing on his way.

He did not immerse himself in the illusion of the perfect world that he envisioned; Shinji Ikari's soul and self were complete in order to achieve perfection.

Surrounded by refugees and children in that town, he learned about responsibility and understood the meaning of bearing burdens. Through personally executing his father, he learned the decisiveness that some evils must be eradicated.

A soul that has completed its self-completion will not be trapped in this beautiful dream.

He walked through his own dreams, his own world, and into the depths of his own heart.

There, he saw a fig tree laden with bright red, juicy fruit, and beneath it, Tsurugi stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the tree and smiling at him.

"Wow, that was fast! I thought you'd be walking for much longer."

"Lord Tsugumi..." Shinji sat down on the ground in front of him and said softly.

"I have a question, I..."

"This is your path. I've said it before, I won't make any more choices for you." Tsurugi sat opposite him, patted his shoulder, and said gently.

"As for your concerns, Shinji, you have no obligation to make any of anyone's decisions, but you are capable of doing so. I only have one question for you: do you consider yourself a human being or a god?"

"......I see."

Shinji Ikari smiled at Tsugumi. In fact, he had already made up his mind, he just needed this gentle push.

After humanity is restored, many, if not most, will willingly indulge in this beautiful collective dream. Even if they are told that the ultimate consequence of such indulgence is nothingness, they will still gladly accept it.

If their choices are respected, Shinji Ikari should perhaps leave them be. And for him, these souls are what he needs most right now.

However, Shinji Ikari does not consider himself a god, a merciful god who will not interfere in anything concerning humanity.

He is a human being, a selfish human being, and as such, he will do what he believes is right, even if it is selfish!

"Go, Shinji Ikari, do what you believe is right!!!"

Tsugumi's existence vanished completely along with the fig tree, signifying that Tsugumi's mark had completely left Shinji Ikari's soul.

He is now an absolutely free and completely self-existent being!

His consciousness rose back into Unit-01, piloting the enormous body of the Mother Goddess Lilith.

At the same time, on Earth, which was floating on a sea, a dazzling light also gathered and took shape.

The dazzling light, blinding and captivating, instantly...

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Even Lilith's enormous body was obscured from its light.

When the light faded, what appeared was a giant over sixty meters tall, with silver and red patterns, tall and perfect!

The figure resembles a pure, smooth giant, with deep red lines on its silvery-white skin. Its face, which should be as compassionate and sacred as a Buddha statue, exudes an indescribable evil aura due to the black lines.

At that moment, it opened its arms as if embracing the whole world, and let out a deafening roar of laughter.

"Hahaha, finally, finally I succeeded!!!"

"We have finally evolved from those tiny humans into eternal, immortal gods!!!"

Even on the path to godhood, there must be killing! :278. A person who compares himself to a god

The bound giant suffers pain, anger, sorrow, and struggle.

What he saw was Earth engulfed in nuclear flames.

This is the behavior of a small minority of humans who rule the Earth. They trample on their own planet, slaughter their own kind, and do everything simply to preserve their meager power!

Even with his deepest love for humanity, the Giant of Light had to admit—

He desperately wanted to destroy these damned humans on his body!

But he couldn't; his weakened body was completely captured by the Kabbalah Tree of Life. Adam's body and soul had become one, and the technology belonging to the First Progenitor was relentlessly suppressing and absorbing him!

His will remains, and his sense of self endures.

But perhaps it would be better to eliminate them.

Because he no longer wanted to witness how the despicable person who had taken his power would use his own strength and body to trample on everything.

"It's alright," Kaworu Nagisa said gently.

"In the very end, even that 'god' will not allow the most tragic ending to happen."

"Perhaps he himself is the creator of countless terrible tragedies, but he will not allow anyone other than himself to succeed."

The dazzling light swallowed everything.

The old men of SEELE dissolved into this light; their bodies and their souls completely merged! And their existence entered into this light!

"Yes, that's it, that's the power!"

"Light, turn us into gods!!!"

They laughed wildly, their bodies completely merging into the giant's stone statue, and with a deafening roar, the statue came back to life!

The giant of light stands tall on the earth once more!

Without hesitation, SEELE, who had already merged his evil soul into one with the body, which was now no different from a god, flew out of the ground and into space!