Chapter 10: Definition: To Commune with the Incorporeal

… The soul is a defined unit, unable to be fully measured by current methods, that grows and projects an AT Field to define its individuality. However, its existence cannot be denied, and through the research efforts of Metaphysical Biologists such as Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki, it has also been shown that, without a doubt, the soul is most often found within the body of a sentient, usually sapient organism, such as a human being.

As for a soul's location when not present in a body, such a place, physical or metaphysical, has not been found, and studies conducted on the recently deceased show that even the specialized Fuyutsuki detectors created specifically to detect the presence of a soul fail to function in the absence of an AT Field…

- Confidential Report on the Theory and Application of Long-term AT-Field Manipulation, Section 1: "A Reiteration of the Known Mechanics of Souls and the AT Field"

Theisman Residence, Tokyo-3

Rei sat on the couch in the living room with Kaworu next to her, his hand in hers as they contemplated what they planned to do.

Shinji and Asuka, visiting from next door, looked at them with no small amount of concern, having heard what the two Nephelim, as Daniel had called them, wished to do.

"Kritzeln, I gotta tell you, even with all that you two have said has happened with Adam and Lilith, or Kadmonel and Suriel or whatever they want to be called, I still don't have a good feeling about this." Asuka finally said frankly.

"I understand." Kaworu replied. "But even still, I have had… questions. Concerning what I have been seeing, recently. About the clear views into others worlds, or even one other world, which I have been having."

Asuka pursed her lips, then looked over at Rei. "And what about you? We all saw what happened in that End of Evangelion thing. How you got swallowed up by Lilith. What if that happens again?"

Rei nodded slightly. "There is a chance, that is sure. But with how things have changed, not just for us, but for Kadmonel and Suriel, I would put the chances of that being very minimal."

Asuka nodded slowly. "Alright then… I trust you guys' judgment. But…"

Asuka sighed quietly. "If you need somebody to talk to after it… we're here. And we'll try and understand. Right, Shinji?" she said, glancing over at him with a meaningful look in her eyes.

Shinji nodded once. "Always." he said firmly. Then, he looked over at Rei with a questioning look in his eyes. "So… what are you going to talk to Suriel about, Rei?" he asked quietly.

Rei looked down at the coffee table silently, her brow furrowed slightly in thought. What, indeed? Kaworu had his reasons, but… what matter did she have that only the creator of humanity could solve?

"I am unsure." Rei said quietly. "But… it feels like the right thing to do. And," she continued as a slight smile turned up her lips, "I am sure she would appreciate having someone to talk to again."

"After all the hanging out she's been doing?" Asuka said with a slight smirk. "I can't say that you're wrong."

A quiet chuckle rippled through the room, breaking through the tension for a moment.

Asuka sighed quietly. "And are you going to be taking Ichigo too, Rei? I wouldn't be surprised if she has some things to iron out with her… creator, I guess."

Rei shook her head slightly. "No. She will be studying under Quelaan in order to become an Animist. And…" she smiled slightly. "I believe Kensuke is beginning his studies today, as well."

Shinji and Asuka's eyebrows rose for a moment, then Shinji closed his eyes and sighed. "Another friend that might be in the line of fire…" he muttered.

Asuka put her hand on Shinji's shoulder, a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Hey. If Quelaan's as good as I've heard Ichigo say, what little I've heard her say at least, then Ken's going to be fine. And besides, he won't be jumping into an Eva with us. We can keep him safe. You know that."

"Yeah." Shinji said. "Yeah. But…" he trailed off and left something unspoken in the air. His face was drawn, yet it betrayed no explicit emotion other than a deep weariness.

After a moment, Shinji took a deep breath, his face relaxing as he looked over at Asuka, a slight smile on his face. "Do I ever tell you thank you enough?" he asked quietly.

Asuka smiled back. "I would say not. But…" she leaned in for a quick kiss. "Then I would be lying."

Shinji snorted softly as a slight smile turned up his lips. "Maybe."

After a moment of silence, Rei and Kaworu stood. "We'll be going now." Rei said quietly. "I will have to go to Terminal Dogma, and Kaworu wishes to speak with Daniel and Eleanor in order to prepare." she paused for a moment. "We'll see you later."

Shinji and Asuka offered their goodbyes, and soon, they were alone.

Asuka looked over at Shinji with concern in her eyes. "There's something you haven't told me." she said softly as she nudged his arm. "So spill it. What's eating at you?"

Shinji blinked as Asuka said this, then nodded silently as he gathered his thoughts. "Have you ever…" he said, trailing off for a moment. "Have you ever wanted a normal life?"

Asuka sighed quietly after a moment. "Define 'normal'." she said, equally quiet.

Shinji took a deep breath as he held his hands out in front of him, palms up. "To be what we saw on the screen so long ago, of another world. To just worry about schoolwork. About what sort of job you might get after you graduate, or having how a date turns out to be the most important thing in a day. To live quietly and die peacefully, surrounded by the people you love. That kind of normal. No Angels, no Evas, no Interfacing or Scions or anything… just… normal."

Shinji looked up from his hands to Asuka's face. "Have you ever wanted that?" he whispered.

It was silent, a long, wanting silence, waiting for a desperately needed answer.

"Honestly…" Asuka said. "No."

Shinji's eyes widened at Asuka's determined expression. "Why?" it was a strangled whisper that escaped his throat.

"Because we would have never met." Asuka said firmly. "Because you would have been here alone and I would have been in Germany waiting for all the tears I never cried to shatter me. But we aren't alone, because we aren't normal, Shinji. And I am so grateful for that."

"But," Asuka continued as Shinji opened his mouth to reply, "I do like those little moments of normal that you make."

Shinji's eyebrows rose as Asuka counted on her fingers. "Our dates, your cooking, your baking, your music—our music—… that's our little island of normal here."

She drew herself up with a serious look. "So don't stop!" she said with a faux haughtiness. "For your sake and mine."

Shinji continued to stare wordlessly at Asuka, then closed his eyes and sighed. "You're right." he chuckled after a moment. "You're right," he repeated, "that is our normal. But even still…"

He sighed quietly. "I just want to be normal with you."

Asuka smiled slightly as she put an arm around Shinji's shoulder, pulling him close. "Yeah. Me too. So let's not waste this moment."

. . .

Quelaan's Residence

Kensuke walked by Ichigo's side as they approached the door of the otherwise normal apartment, and tried not to fidget.

Even with Ichigo's help in prepping him for this, he still felt unprepared for what lay ahead. He was, by all rights, an upstanding, modern Japanese citizen, but there was a part of him, old as his grandparents, that still cringed slightly at the concept of dealing with spirits. They were often wily, capricious things in the stories that he had heard growing up, liable to turn on you as grant you favor. But if he could master them…

"Kensuke."

He jumped slightly as he looked over at Ichigo, who gave him a slight smile. "It is very easy to tell when you are worried." she said, glancing down at a hand whose finger drummed on his pants leg.

"Oh, well…" Kensuke replied, chuckling as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Ichigo's smile widened just a fraction. "Do not worry. Quelaan would not put us in any unnecessary danger that she could not protect us from."

Kensuke gave a slightly wavering smile and an equally slight chuckle in return as Ichigo knocked on the door.

After a moment, the door slid open, and the pale-haired form of Quelaan, in a t-shirt and sweatpants, looked down at the two of them with a warm smile. "Well, hello again, Ichigo." she said quietly, in a voice that matched her smile, then looked over at Kensuke as she slightly arched an eyebrow. "And this must be young Kensuke who you've been telling me about."

"Uh, hi." Kensuke said somewhat bashfully. "I, uh… I hope what you've heard about me is good. I mean, coming from Ichigo and all, I'd be surprised if it wasn't, but…"

Quelaan cut off Kensuke with a quiet chuckle. "Yes, Kensuke. I've heard nothing but positivity concerning you. Both from Ichigo and from my mother."

Kensuke nodded. "Makes sense."

Quelaan stepped aside. "Please, come in."

As Ichigo and Kensuke entered, Quelaan looked back over at Kensuke. "Would you happen to have a Locus yet?" she asked.

"Oh, no, not yet." Kensuke replied, again somewhat bashful.

"Do not worry overly much," Quelaan said, reaching into a pocket of her sweat pants, "I have one for you. A gift to start your tutelage on the right path."

Kensuke regarded the iridescent frosted glass-like handle that Quelaan presented to him with wide eyes. He'd seen the ones that the others had, some of them slowly turning into something else, like metal or wood or light. But this… this was his.

He accepted it reverently. "Thank you, sensei." he said, equally reverently.

"Of course, Kensuke. Now," Quelaan said with excitement gleaming in her eyes, "let's begin."

. . .

NERV-HQ, Geofront

Kaworu and Rei waited patiently in an elevator as it descended into the depths of the Geofront, towards Daniel and Eleanor. Towards Lilith. Towards Suriel.

It was an odd feeling, Rei thought, as she got closer and closer to the being which was at least partially responsible for her existence.

The Call, once pulling her away from her current existence, now seemed to urge her to live to her fullest, to take each moment and make it the best it could. A far cry from wanting things to end.

It did make things difficult, however, when those moments included Kaworu in positions decidedly away from their private residence. She fidgeted for a moment as she took Kaworu's hand, and found that she was getting quite warm. She'd need to take care of this later tonight, or it would leave her decidedly… put out.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to a hallway that led down to Ritsuko's lab, the last line of defense between her and Suriel.

They walked slowly, appreciating the time that they had together silently. As the Call became more urgent, Rei's mind turned back to when she had first met Kaworu, and the far different urges that she had before certain things had come to light. She snorted softly.

"What is it?" Kaworu asked, breaking the companionable silence as he looked over at her.

"Oh, nothing really." Rei replied. "Just remembering things."

"Ah." Kaworu said with a nod.

After a moment of silence, Kaworu scratched the back of his neck as he began to blush.

"You feel it too?" Rei asked, her own blush appearing.

"Yes." Kaworu replied in an awkward tone. "Even with my relation to her being distant, I can feel her presence."

"She is awake, then." Rei said quietly, looking ahead. "She is waiting for me."

With that cheery comment, a door swished open, and Rei and Kaworu stepped into the lab proper. Ritsuko and Maya, naturally, were present, standing in the middle of almost a dozen carefully sorted floating holograms as they looked up at the entering pair. Another was there, however.

Rei's eyes widened slightly as Naoko Akagi turned around and regarded the pair. Unbidden, painful memories flashed through her mind, and her hand twitched as she kept it from going to her throat.

Naoko's eyes widened as well, a sad, forlorn look in them as she recognized Rei. There was even a little fear in them. Then, the image of Naoko became a swirling rainbow of light before collapsing, the colors fading away to reveal a small floating tube.

"Well, hello, you two." Ritsuko said, stepping outside of the rings of diagrams and images. "What brings you down here?"

"We're looking for Daniel and Eleanor." Kaworu replied.

"Oh." Maya chimed in. "They're handling some Eva maintenance issues right now. They'll probably be around in…" she bobbed her head from side to side. "About 20 minutes?"

As the two Children walked into the circle of holograms, studying the displays and diagrams, Rei caught out of the corner of her eye the mechanism that was once Naoko Akagi drifting away.

After a moment, Ritsuko looked back at the two of them. "So, what has you looking for Daniel and Eleanor, Kaworu?"

"I wish to speak to Kadmonel." Kaworu replied with a slight smile. "As Rei wishes to speak with Suriel."

It was quiet as Maya and Ritsuko regarded the pair with no small amount of shock. "I must say," Ritsuko said, an edge of caution in her voice, "I can't entirely recommend trying that. We have no idea how either of them will react to you. Especially to you, Kaworu."

"Perhaps. But that is part of why I am seeking out Daniel and Eleanor." Kaworu replied.

"And circumstances are far different from what we have seen, Doctor." Rei said. "We are both far different people. If there is any call to unify with our progenitors, we are more than likely able to resist it."

"Well…" Ritsuko said slowly. "As long as you're certain."

. . .

It was a quiet few minutes more before Rei watched Maya put a hand on Ritsuko's shoulder and whisper in her ear. Rei was tempted to sharpen her senses, to even use the Sight to look into their souls, but it would have been rude to do such.

But Rei didn't need such things to see the shock, the fear, the quick glances to her.

Then, Ritsuko breathed deeply, and stepped forward. "Rei?" she asked plaintively, quietly.

"Yes, Doctor Akagi?" Rei could already guess at where this was going.

"I…" Ritsuko took a deep breath. "I've needed to apologize. For what I've done to you. For quite a while now. Can we step aside for a moment?"

Rei nodded slightly. "Of course, Doctor."

They walked over into a side room of the lab, where the massive Magi backup was stored. As the door swished shut, Ritsuko sat down in the chair in front of the monitor for the backup with a heavy sigh.

"I don't need to explain to you what I've done to need this. You know that perfectly well." Ritsuko said morosely.

"Perhaps." Rei said as she found another chair to sit down in. "But I am glad that you feel that I should be apologized to. I understand that you, at least once, saw me as… an obstacle."

Ritsuko scoffed. "And I am guilty of that charge. But… with everything that's happened…"

"Yes. We now know far more than we once did. We have the benefit of hindsight as well." Rei said quietly.

"And with that," Rei said after a moment, "I forgive you."

Ritsuko gasped quietly as tears began to prick her eyes. "But… how can you…" she said in a hoarse whisper.

"Because you were broken. I was broken." Rei said simply. "And now… we are on the path to making ourselves new."

She looked towards the door with a slight smile. "With no small amount of help."

Ritsuko followed Rei's gaze, and a smile of her own began to form. "Yes." she said simply.

"She is good for you." Rei said matter-of-factly. "I can tell. So can the others."

Ritsuko nodded. "That she is. Too good for me most days. I've tried apologizing to her, too, but…" she chuckled softly. "She always just brushes it off."

"Because you have no real need to apologize to her." Rei replied. "She understands, if only somewhat, what you go through. And her soul is pure, and willing to help those she loves."

"Yes. But there are still people I need to apologize to." Ritsuko said, the smile disappearing. "The other Children, for instance, are probably not going to be so forgiving as you are."

"Perhaps." Rei said quietly. "But they will understand, even if they do not forgive as easily as I do. We were all broken in some way here. It seemed to be a prerequisite to working for NERV."

Ritsuko chuckled. "That seems about right."

She paused for a moment. "So… your other bodies. What do you want me to do with them? I would simply destroy them, but… they are copies of you, even without their souls. So, I want to leave the choice to you."

Rei blinked at the non-sequitur. "I… am unsure." she replied slowly. "I will have to think on that."

"Okay." Ritsuko said with a nod. "Let me know what you decide. I'll make sure it happens."

It was a quiet moment between them, perhaps not relaxed, but now somewhat relieved by what they had both said to each other.

"Thank you." Rei said quietly.

"It's the least I can do, really." Ritsuko replied.

As she finished, Ritsuko looked around and found a familiar-looking cylinder hiding in the corner. "Mother…" she said, standing and walking over to the device. "Did you hear us?"

It was a long moment of silence before Naoko Akagi answered. "Yes." she nearly whispered. "Yes, I did."

"Would you like to apologize, too?" Ritsuko asked quietly.

"How could she forgive me for what I did?" Naoko replied. "How could anyone?"

"With patience," Rei said, Ritsuko turning to see that she now stood behind her, "and understanding."

It was silent again, then the device floated forward slightly, and began to glow with a rainbow light that resolved into the form of Naoko Akagi. She looked down and away, shame clear to read from her posture.

"I… I killed you." Naoko whispered. "I killed you for such a stupid reason. And…" she chuckled softly. "Here we are, two different versions of the people who died because of it. We may as well be entirely different people..."

"Mrs. Akagi." Rei said firmly. "That we are not who we were is not an obstacle. It is a fact of life. Even if we had not died, such would be the case. Much has changed. I have changed, been given the gift of choice. And you have received the gift of hindsight. So, as I have forgiven your daughter, I now forgive you."

Naoko looked at Rei now, eyes so much like her daughter's, wet with digital tears.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"You are welcome, Mrs. Akagi." Rei replied.

. . .

Ritsuko, Naoko, and Rei emerged from the room to see Daniel and Eleanor conversing with Kaworu and Maya, as they looked up and noted their entrance.

Rei smiled slightly at Maya's expression of happiness, and quietly thrilled at Kaworu's smile.

"So," Daniel said with little preamble as the three approached, "you two are looking to talk to your progenitors."

"Yes, Daniel." Rei replied. "We would appreciate your assistance."

"Well, I can certainly tell that you won't be easily dissuaded, either, so I guess we'll help." Daniel said with a wry grin.

That grin shrank slightly as he continued. "We've talked to Kaworu already, and we're going to be present when he talks to Kadmonel. Call us somewhat paranoid, but we're still not entirely at ease with him."

"You, on the other hand," Daniel continued, "should be fine on your own. If something starts happening, let one of us know as quickly as possible. We won't be outside of time, so we'll be able to help in an instant."

Rei nodded. "Very well. Thank you."

"Of course, Rei." Eleanor replied. "So, what do you want to talk to Suriel about?"

It was quiet for a moment, the whir of machinery the only sound that accompanied Rei's pondering.

"I wish to simply speak with her, answer her questions." Rei finally replied. "She has been isolated within Terminal Dogma for some time now, and… I doubt the souls under her stewardship are exactly conversationalists." she said with a slight smile.

A quiet, somewhat grim chuckle rippled through the room. "No, I suppose not." Daniel said.

He looked over at the Akagi's. "We'll only be away for an hour or two, most likely. We'll let you know if anything changes."

Ritsuko nodded. "And we'll keep an eye on Rei."

"Good." Daniel said, nodding in turn.

He looked over at Rei again. "Good luck." he said quietly.

"Thank you. I may need it." Rei replied.

. . .

Quelaan's Apartment

Kensuke sat next to Ichigo on the couch of the apartment, the living room dim with the shutters closed and the main lights turned off allowing for a greater amount of focus.

It had been a slightly unsteady hour and a half, as Kensuke caught up with the basics, such as training in using his Sight to look into a place Quelaan called the Conceptual Realm, the realm of thoughts and dreams, along with tuning his Locus (Grip, whatever) to attract certain Spirits. Thankfully, both Ichigo and Quelaan had been patient with his many questions.

Now, under Quelaan's watchful eye, they focused and waited.

Kensuke continued to look into the Conceptual Realm that surrounded (or overlaid? Underlied? He wasn't sure) the apartment, and almost felt like he would get a headache. The space within the Realm stretched beyond the confines of the apartment walls, spilling into the streets surrounding them and even into some of the neighboring buildings, a compression of distance that Quelaan said continued into the Pneumaic Realm, where all things existed on a singular point.

Snatches of thought and emotion, ethereal, twisting things that pulsed and flared and dimmed into nothing, floated across his vision. It felt… strange, getting a peek into people's innermost thoughts. Thankfully, most of them were pretty boring.

But out there, floating in the distance, twinkling lights, each a different color, began to draw nearer.

"Remember," Quelaan said quietly, "try only to catch a single Spirit. Any more at once becomes… difficult."

Kensuke didn't even nod as he focused on one, a brilliant scarlet thing, and slowly fed more Metos into the Locus, brightening the beacon it had become in the Conceptual Realm.

It drew closer and closer, and Kensuke slowly created a Frame, the structure not unlike an opening flower, the different ways his mind saw it could be constructed flickering in and out of sight like ghosts.

It lit up with active Metos, and the Spirit drew closer and closer. 'Almost there…' Kensuke thought, then fought to still his mind. Any errant thoughts, Quelaan had warned, could frighten away the Spirits they were trying to catch.

The crimson Spirit backed away slightly, then slowly began to advance closer and closer.

Then, it tumbled into the Frame, down into the Locus, which Kensuke closed with a gleeful feeling. He'd done it. He'd done it!

His Sight faded, and the apartment itself came back into view as he turned to look at Ichigo with an ecstatic look in his eyes and a wide smile. "I did it!"

Ichigo smiled in turn, a warm thing that made Kensuke feel warm in turn. "Congratulations." she said.

"Yes, indeed, congratulations are in order." Quelaan said, drawing both of the children's attention back to her, a small smile on her face.

"Now," she said, "the true start of your learning has passed. Let's see how we can work with the Spirits you caught."

. . .

Infinity Box, Theisman Residence

Kaworu descended down the familiar stone steps with no small amount of trepidation. He had been confident with Rei by his side, almost overly so. Now, her absence, both physical and spiritual, weighed heavy on him as he passed into the long bare room of the Box itself.

"Again," Eleanor said as a pedestal holding a rainbow-colored orb rose out of the ground, "we're here if you need us to be."

"Thank you." Kaworu said as he stared into the swirling lines of the sphere, pieces of memories and feelings that were not his floating to the surface. Peace, within a blanket of darkness. Repose. Curiosity, as something tried to touch its shadow. Others? Others, within the blanket?

Kaworu pushed the memories aside, a backed chair appearing a few feet away from the pedestal as Kaworu sat down.

Kaworu took a deep breath, then closed his eyes as his Sight allowed him to see the souls in front of him.

Sight was not the only gift given to him. The souls all hummed and sang, their individual pieces unique, but the unified tone showing their heritage. He took a moment to listen to his own soul. The tone was there, but muted now, since Eleanor's ministrations after Arael.

He began to reach out a frame towards the soul at the center of the mass of Angelic cores, the others floating aside as they sensed his presence, heard his song.

After a moment of trepidation, looking on the swirling black, red and white soul, he connected with it.

"Ah." Kadmonel said. "Tabris. The prodigal son returns."

"Hello, Kadmonel." Kaworu replied. "It has been a long time since anyone has called me by that name. Please, just call me Kaworu."

"The name… the name SEELE gave you." Kadmonel growled. "Why keep it?"

"Because there are those I love that call me by that name. And so, it has become free of the taint of SEELE." Kaworu said, satisfaction and happiness in his tone.

"I see." Kadmonel said after a moment of peering into Kaworu's soul.

"I see." The words were quieter now, and Kaworu could hear the envy, slight as it was, in his voice. "You are quite esteemed among your brothers and sisters."

"Perhaps." Kaworu replied. "But that doesn't mean I do not have questions. For I have many."

A subtle impression of a nod. "Yes. I am not surprised, given your limited form, that you wonder at your potential. It is limitless. If you decided to shed the shackles that you wear, leave Suriel's creation behind, and truly step into your birthright…"

"That is not what I would ask." Kaworu said levelly. Firmly.

There was a moment of silence. "Of course." Kadmonel said morosely, the envy more evident in his voice now. "What would you ask of your father?"

"Why… why can I see other versions of me?" Kaworu asked. "Why, especially, one version of me in particular?"

Kadmonel turned the question in his mind—as it were—along with the memories, limited though they were, of what other worlds that Kaworu had seen.

"Ah, yes." Kadmonel said quietly, and Kaworu could almost hear resignation. "This part of your nature couldn't be tampered with, could it?"

"What is it?" Kaworu asked, anticipation building within him.

"It almost wasn't to be, before we left our home." Kadmonel replied. "But then, the backup plan was proposed. And we thought to reach beyond even what we could dream of."

. . .

Terminal Dogma, Geofront

Rei sat in a padded folding chair and regarded the white giant that stood crucified in front of her. Lilith. Suriel. Either name belied a deep power, the power that created this entire world.

And now, she would speak to her.

Rei took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, and opened her Sight.

It was like looking into the sun. The gathering of souls was tremendous, putting off a spiritual light that, even for its brightness, could not blind her.

Rei pursed her lips slightly. This was going to be somewhat difficult.

But, she thought as her view seemed to lift from her body, picking up speed as it headed towards the mass of souls, at least it would be an interesting journey.

The view of the massive globe of souls became larger and larger until she was stopped by… something.

Rei focused, pushing mentally against whatever was stopping her. She was… almost through…

Then she seemed to tumble through the barrier as she distantly heard a wet pop. as she looked around, she found herself within a clear sea with a flat bed of white sand.

As she stood, she found herself surprised that the action came to her, and looked down. She found herself quite naked, and looked around again, putting together the answer to her current predicament.

'Those must have been the Doors of Guf I was pushing against.' she realized. After a moment, she also realized what the wet popping sound would have been. 'Ah. I hope that Ritsuko and Maya aren't too alarmed by my sudden conversion into LCL.'

She forged ahead, looking up at the rippling surface of the water, and the source of light that shone down on it. After a moment, she tried to open up her Sight again.

The world was awash in the bright glow of souls and the Frames that connected them again, and the light that they emitted covered everything, making the Sight useless.

The Sight faded, and the water greeted her once again. This was going to be more difficult than expected.

So, Rei closed her eyes and listened. Kaworu had tried to teach her how to hear the songs souls sang, and she thought she was picking it up decently. But now, it would be put to the test.

Nothing, at first. The silence stretched on for a long while… wait.

Just out of hearing, a droning noise, like an orchestra just beyond the horizon. Rei focused, straining her senses as she began to charge her body's—soul's, really—Frame.

And then the music exploded to life, seeming to nearly bowl her over with its complexity and breadth and depth.

Rei took a moment to simply take in the music of humanity, how even in its chaos, there was unity, underlying motifs, and chords. She would have to thank Kaworu later. This was… entrancing.

But it was not why she was here. She turned her head from side to side, calling on every last scrap of her training in music to pick out… there.

She began to move towards the ancient melody she heard, and she dared to peek through her Sight again. The number of souls had gotten smaller and smaller, and she found that they were all connected by Frames. Frames leading to…

She had a destination now, and she willed herself to go faster.

She did not know how long she traveled, only that the souls became scarcer and scarcer until she came upon the source of the Frames. Upon Suriel.

Her soul hung in the air as her body did, linked all across her back with Frames that seemed to form a pillar that stretched into forever. She was pale and thin, almost skeletally so, naked as Rei was, and her face was gaunt, seeming to stretch across her skull as her eyes seemed to bulge beneath closed lids.

'She bears the weight of all these souls…'

"Suriel?" Rei asked tentatively.

The eyes snapped open. They were like hers, with red irises. But they were utterly empty. Or were they utterly full?

"Suriel…" the figure seemed to rasp.

"Yes. I am Rei Ayanami." Rei said, taking a step forward. "I've come to speak with you. Answer questions. Ask some of my own."

"Rei… you've come..." Suriel replied, and Rei saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes.

Then, Rei's eyes widened as Frames began to slowly grow from the pillar, reaching out towards her.

"Come home…" Suriel said quietly. "To Lilith…"