Ultraman grunts? Call me Space Policeman outside!

He realized at that moment that a partner is someone who is still willing to accept you when you are down on your luck.

happiness......

......

"That's... a biological weapon!"

"It's a monster!"

Why have they reappeared on this planet?

"Don't go, Lias! You don't have the strength you used to have!"

"Really? Just like you... that's your style after all. Well then, we'll go with you!"

The enemy... seems to have appeared.

Ultraman's signature... a plea for help... but now someone has to step up.

But... I lost.

......

"what are you up to!?"

Are you going to kill us!?

Don't give in to it! We believe you can find yourself again!

Something crawled into my head, and I lost again.

"I have quite a bit of information in my head. The Space Science and Technology Bureau... I see. It seems... we can start a new game now."

I don't know what I'm doing.

Clouds...the sky...flashed past my sight, and I felt as if I were flying.

Why are they afraid of me?

Their buildings, their civilization, their lives, everything... were destroyed.

I did it all.

Because of my weakness, by the time reinforcements arrived, it was too late.

Civilization was destroyed in three minutes.

Destruction is easier than salvation; I can no longer save those fragile lives... I am... a sinner.

This is his past.

......

Water droplets fell from above onto Shinji Ikari's head.

"here it is......?"

Shinji, dressed in a blue and white combat suit, slowly woke up and tried to get up, but ended up grabbing a puddle of water.

He lay in a dimly lit space, with nothing but the water beneath him, which was icy cold.

He stood on the dark water, trying to find a way to leave.

"Tap tap...tap tap tap..."

He ran with great strides, but the boundless darkness around him seemed endless, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not see a single ray of light.

Have you forgotten everything?

A cold voice rang out in the dim space. Shinji immediately stopped and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

He lowered his head and looked at the dark water.

Beneath the water's surface, there was a figure, like a shadow.

No...that was definitely not a shadow; both the face and the body were crystal clear.

He recognized it; it was himself.

"Forget everything, start over, you're always so cowardly." Shinji underwater mocked Shinji above water.

"This world is constantly being restarted because of your cowardice." Another figure emerged from underwater—Shinji, wearing a white shirt.

"They die again and again, but you haven't grown at all." Then came Shinji, dressed in a black combat suit.

"Forget all the pain, start all over again, why should we?" Then, it was Shinji again.

"Why should you forget all of this!" they shouted in unison.

After that, Shinji fell into the dark water.

"Gurgle..." He struggled, trying to swim to the surface.

But several other figures kept pulling him deeper into the depths. The biting cold quickly swept over his body, and his lungs were filled with an unknown liquid, a feeling similar to when he first sat in the cockpit of an EVA.

Where exactly is this place?

Where are they taking me?

Mr. Natsuki...where are you?

......

[I can't run away... I can't run away... I... I'll pilot EVA Unit-01!]

Shinji returned to the hangar of Unit-01 and looked up to see his father's cold gaze.

With no combat experience, he piloted Unit-01 into battle to confront the Third Angel, the Water Angel.

"Ughhhhh!!!"

The Water Angel grabbed Unit-01's head and pierced it with its spikes. A large amount of blood gushed out, and the pain of being blown in the head was completely transmitted to Shinji, even making him want to end his own life.

......

It's all your fault! My sister got hurt!

At school, a student wearing a black tracksuit punched Shinji in the face.

Because of his defeat in his first battle, many people were affected, and he was disliked as a result.

......

Stop! I told you to stop!

Unit-03 was possessed by an Angel, and Asuka was sitting in the cockpit.

Shinji, piloting Unit-01, did not want to hurt her, but his father's order was to activate the puppet operating system and destroy Unit-03.

He couldn't control the machine; he could only watch as Unit-03 disintegrated bit by bit, while Asuka remained in the cockpit...

Shinji broke down.

......

No! Give Ayanami back to me!!!

Unit-01 went berserk and fought the strongest Angel. He gave his all to save Rei Ayanami, killing and devouring the Angel.

A powerful desire... Unit-01 after absorbing the Angels... The Third Impact...

Shinji nearly destroyed the entire world.

And they were unable to save Rei Ayanami.

......

Kaworu Nagisa... I can't do it, I can't kill you...

Unit-01 had already gripped Kaworu's body. The gray-haired boy begged Shinji to kill him, but Shinji couldn't do it.

In the end, he did it.

He killed the only person who could understand him, the only person who was willing to open his heart to him.

......

【Kaworu Nagisa! No!!!】

This time, Shinji and Kaworu were sitting in the same cockpit, and the DSS collar that was originally meant to kill him was now around Kaworu's neck.

"Shinji, you must find your own happiness."

The next second, Kaworu turned into blood and faced death in front of Shinji.

In this cycle, Shinji once again killed the only person who could understand him and was willing to open his heart to him.

......

[I can survive without orders. I want to help harvest the rice again... I want to hug Xiaoyan again... I want to be with you forever.]

He knew that the beautiful girl in the black combat suit in front of him was not Rei Ayanami from his memory.

But at this moment, he also knew that she was a living, breathing person with her own thoughts.

Even clones still want to live.

"Farewell, my beloved boy." Rei Ayanami left with a final smile as her body transformed into LCL water.

All that remained before Shinji was a battle suit that had turned from black to white.

......

The world goes through countless cycles, and as long as there are slight differences, it will never reach the true end.

The pain he had forgotten surged into Shinji's mind at this moment.

Chapter 144 Past and Present (Bonus Chapter)

"Tsk... why this again?"

Natsuki's perspective is fixed on herself in her memories, and as always, she experiences the things she went through in the past once again.

Back then, I experienced death and was left with indelible scars because I forcibly released the Gigaspium Ray.

He also remembered that the captain said his condition was even more difficult to treat than his back injury.