Ascension

"Regardless, you've done well, and most interestingly, the Angels themselves have realized just how outclassed they are from a Great Old One, granted at great cost… but such is life. I would recommend that you find a better word to defeat Cthugha, or perhaps you simply need to realize that a window can also be a door. For now, Awaken."

It lasted an eternity. It lasted an instant.

The transition from that nebulous realm of the unconscious mind into the real world was more than a little unpleasant, so much so that it could set your teeth on edge. As grating as it was however, Shinji's mind began to clear as he woke in a daze, still unsteady from the abrupt transition. It took a moment to recall what was going on around him. Though the uncomfortably hot sensation soon won over on that feeling of being lost.

It only lasted a moment as the flames neared, and Shinji saw, with his now clear mind, that the Cthugha was much closer than he remembered. Shinji knew that if he didn't act… he very well could die, and that was if he was lucky. So he got to his feet and immediately back peddled. All the while Nyarlathotep's words rang in his ears.

'I would recommend that you find a better word to defeat Cthugha, or perhaps you simply need to realize that a window can also be a door.'

There was something important about those words. Shinji could feel it, but he knew not why. No doubt some subtle mental push by the Outer God to ensure that event's progressed as he desired. However, there were far more pressing matters. The Great Old One had exploded with unexpected speed, far quicker than ever before, and as it crawled across the streets and up buildings, it left burning destruction in its wake. The ardent flames flickered rapidly, almost fluidly, as it dodged every single attack lobbed at it from Shinji, Rei, and even Ramiel until Shinji found that Cthugha was on top of him. Immediately he screamed as the fat on the Eva bubbled and ignited almost instantaneously, the D-Type equipment doing little to nothing to stop it. Shinji thrashed as Cthugha's flaming tentacles wrapped around his neck and swung the Evangelion upwards in an arc before slamming it back into the earth, hard. Then Cthugha lifted the Eva again, spun it around, and flung it away from itself as it once more began rapidly crawling, only this time towards Ramiel.

Shinji landed hard as the internal machinery of the D-Type equipment activated and began deploying fire retardant foam while also removing the air within to smother the flames. Even still the meat under the armor had charred and boiled away. Every single part of the Eva, Shinji felt intimately thorough his spiritual possession of the mechanical monstrosity, and every cell screamed in incomprehensible burning agony as he attempted to get onto his feet, failing each time. Screaming and wailing, his mind knew only that blistering pain that had consumed him. Even when the firefighting machines within the suit succeeded, and even as the Evangelions tissues began their process of regeneration, Shinji still screamed in mind numbing pain.

Picture if you will, a pain so intense, so all-consuming, so absolute, that you no longer knew who you were, where you were, or anything else but that torturous pain. Every single thought, every one, was focused to the most absurd degree, on the feeling of countless white hot knives slicing through every inch of skin and flesh and bone. Imagine fire with a soul, and a mind, now imagine that the fire hated you, and wanted you to know their hatred without any possible misconception for their utter disgust at your existence. Imagine if that fire decided to ignite every pain receptor you had, just to spite you.

That was the pain Shinji felt.

Even still, he knew he had to stand, for through the all encompassing haze of pain, Shinji could see approaching Fire Vampires slither their way towards him. No doubt to finish what Cthugha had started. He knew if he didn't move, especially in this pitiful state, he very well was going to die. Though such a thing would be a mercy for the blistering pain and excruciating suffering he found himself within, he could not allow himself that luxury. Death was not for him, for he had a greater purpose to accomplish, and even while howling in throbbing misery, he would accomplish his grand destiny, one that would not be denied. Even if that destiny was gifted to him by the hands of an amoral cosmic force, Shinji would do all he could to bring it to fruition. For while Nyarlathotep may have been an utter monster in every sense of the word, at least he acted like he cared.

And that was enough.

So it was with great will and determination, that he did not know he possessed, Shinji summoned the will to stand, and indeed Shinji stood… if barely. With every ounce of effort he could muster through the maddening agony, he lifted his arm, aiming his crossbow forward, and fired into the approaching Fire Vampires. Taking a step back, Shinji fumbled as he reached for another bolt, all the while he focused every sane thought he could muster on reloading. The pain was beginning to die down as the flesh of the Evangelion began to knit itself back together and grow, but it wasn't fast enough, and more of the slithering flames were creeping their way towards him. Shinji knew he couldn't kill them all before they got to him, but he was damn well going to try.

The bolt slid into place with great difficulty, and Shinji took his freshly reloaded crossbow, lifted it high, and fired once more, killing another dozen beneath a spray of smothering foam. His breaths became shaky and rapid as his twitching fingers awkwardly reached for another bolt. Still sluggish from the pain that refused to leave him. The Fire Vampires were much too close, he doubted he could fire another shot, but even a fool's hope was still hope, and he still was going to damn well try to survive this madness.

As Shinji began the excruciating process of reloading, he was almost certain this would be his last act. Until a loud crack filled the air, and the Fire Vampires were smothered under sprays of foam. With jerky movements, Shinji turned to see Rei atop a nearby mountain, already reloading a second shot. He exhaled a failed laugh at the realization that unlike last time, he wasn't alone in this nightmare.

Slowly Shinji turned to watch as Cthugha flung itself at Ramiel.

It was a mere chance that Shinji once more saw the reflective surface of Ramiel, and the deepest recesses of space beyond those faces. It was upon seeing those surfaces of that Shining Trapezohedron, that something clicked in Shinji's mind. An understanding of what Nyarlathotep's words truly meant.

Shinji took several shallow gurgling breaths, and couldn't help but laugh.

Fuyutsuki was born September 4th, 1956. 11 years after the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, that killed somewhere between 129,000 and 226,000 people. While he was born after that tragedy, he still grew up in the direct aftermath of it… and they left their scars on his psyche. Those memories were dragged kicking and screaming to the forefront of his mind as he saw the carbon shadows of people… innocent people who were burnt into the brickwork when that monster first arrived. That was all that was left of the victims of this… thing that had ejected itself from the sun.

More than that, was the memories of what he had seen in archival footage of the Bombing of Tokyo, a much less remembered, but arguably worse event. The single most destructive bombing raid in human history that caused more destruction to life, economy, and property than both atomic bombs combined. 16 square miles were destroyed in the firebombing, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million homeless.

The post war recovery was an event Fuyutsuki lived through. While he was born when his home country experienced economic growth once more, the scars had yet to heal… and Fuyutsuki had inherited those scars ever since his own father told him of his experience during Japan's darkest hour. Even separated by a decade since the event happened, there was a feeling of utter dread that washed over Fuyutsuki every time he dared to think on what the people at the time went through.

Then Post Impact happened, and Fuyutsuki got to experience first hand the horrors of what power the atom held.

As such, when Fuyutsuki stared at the screens, to see a literal ocean of flames devour Tokyo-3, he was reminded of the past. A haunting memory of the utter nastiness within the human soul. Fuyutsuki had a certain admiration for humanity, and while he would prefer a world where people live, no matter how stained with sin, he still couldn't fathom how humans would be so willing to inflict that kind of horror on others.

Perhaps, Fuyutsuki mused, that was why even despite his beliefs, he would much rather deal as little with other people as humanly possible. Which made working with NERV so draining for him, but he had little choice in the matter. His hands were tied, and he was forced to work with the very people who destroyed the world he knew as a child.

Still… looking at this madness, the ever stoic Fuyutsuki was shaken to his core. He couldn't recall any other point in his life where he felt so sick. This… thing was the very embodiment of those dark times in the past. A living testament to the flames that baptised Japan so long ago. Such a thing couldn't exist in any sane world. In fact, that things mere existence was the single greatest proof Fuyutsuki had ever seen against the existence of an all loving creator. What kind of uncaring monster would allow that… that thing to be. Still, Fuyutsuki showed no outward sign of his disgust.

…

Until he heard the Third Child laugh.

It was amusing really, Shinji thought, that he had forgotten that he was not the only one here. He was not alone on the battlefield, and as he fired another bolt at the Fire Vampires, so too did Rei fire a shot of her own. How he forgot this fact was perhaps why he found himself laughing as the last of the Fire Vampires died, but he knew that was only part of it. Already the flesh beneath the armor healed fully, and the pain was no more… only a dull burning sensation that was quite easy to ignore.

"SHIN... AR... KAY… INJI!"

The voice of Misato screamed in his ears. He couldn't quite decipher what she was saying… but he could guess. If he still had his body and weren't wearing a giant Biomechanical Robot, Shinji supposed he would smile. But he couldn't, yet he could still laugh, and laugh he did.

"Never better. The pain is gone now. I'm ready to end this."

Shinji took a step forward, cursing the sluggishness that D-Type equipment burdened him with, but it didn't matter, because all became clear as he looked to Ramiel and Cthugha's fight. Because it was while looking at the faces of the Angel… Shinji realized that he was looking into deep space through a window… a window that could also be a door.

The Third Child took a deep, calming breath as his mind began formulating a plan. It was an excessively stupid plan, borderline suicidal really… but if he was right, and he understood the words of Nyarlathotep correctly, then at least it could work. Shinji activated his radio as his eyes stayed on the battle between Angel and Fire, until he at last saw his chance. He spoke.

"Misato, a window can also be a door."

Shinji didn't even register what Misato said next as he sprinted forward as fast as he could. He tore the constricting D-Type equipment away piece by piece, tossing it aside as his laughter grew louder. Then the umbilical cable came undone. He would have to time this perfectly.

Flinging his hand out, Shinji felt as the tentacle he acquired from Shamshel slithered from his palm to reach out and wrap around the retreating umbilical cable. He jerked his arm forward and grabbed it. With one arm he pressed the end of it into his back, and smiled when he felt it click into place. All of it in one smooth motion that Shinji had accomplished without even looking.

He was quite proud of himself for that, but he remained focused as his speed began to increase. The burning tentacle retreated back into Shinji's arm as he folded his AT-Field in front of him, creating an aerodynamic point before him designed to cancel out his wind resistance, the beginnings of a Mach cone appeared before him as he nearly doubled in speed.

Then Shinji broke the sound barrier.

If Cthugha could hear, it would have not had time to hear the resulting Sonic Boom before Shinji crashed into him at Mach 1. Using the pseudo-solid body of the Living Flames against it, Shinji grabbed Cthugha and began pushing him forwards at ridiculous speeds towards Ramiel. The Angel didn't even have time to react as the two titans crashed into it.

Upon the collision, Shinji spoke but a single, very important word.

"Open!"

Immediately, one of Ramiel's faces shattered, and both Shinji and Cthugha began 'falling' into it from the rapid decompression that all but sucked them into deep space. Once more every Cell within the Evangelion screamed in burning agony from being within Cthugha's sphere of influence, but Shinji had felt this pain before, and he knew what to expect. With what remaining energy he could muster, Shinji grabbed the umbilical cable tailing behind him, and pulled as hard as he could. Ramiel shattered further as the Evangelion 'fell' back to earth, emerging from the portal to crash hard into the ground. The Angel sang and the Angel screamed as cracks appeared on every single face, and it began to crumble, until all that remained of it was a pile of rainbow colored smoldering crystals. Each one releasing a soft death knell that was slowly dying with each passing moment.

A familiar sense of dysphoria washed over Shinji as his laughter slowly died down. He could now see the inside of the Entry Plug, no longer connected to the Evangelions nervous system as he reformed from the LCL. A fact he was most thankful for. He chuckled as he looked to his hands.

…

And the webbed claws they had now become.

Then Shinji knew no more as blissful sleep swallowed him up.

The next thing Shinji knew was the sound of slow, deliberate clapping as he opened his eyes to see Nyarlathotep clapping as he rose from his throne. A throne of thorns, rimmed with twisted, dark and unreflective spikes of obsidian. It took a moment before Shinji realized he was once more within the depths of the Dreamlands. The rolling vistas of luscious green foliage and sparkling sapphire waters were plainly visible beyond the windows that decorated either side of the hall. Despite the window being only three feet wide, By some strange bending of space, each one depicted wide-open landscapes that went from horizon to horizon. So much so that Shinji could see the pink marble clouds of the Sky-City Serannian, built along that ethereal coast where the west wind flows into the sky.

There was a breathtaking beauty to the Dreamlands. Such was the nature of this place where every single thought and feeling anyone had ever had, both consciously and subconsciously, became reality. Even Nyarlathotep's own castle had an alluring, if terrifying beauty to it in the odd ways the angles of the ebony walls bent and twisted outwards and upwards, in some cases far beyond the limits of Shinji's sight and understanding. Unlike the endless vistas of greenery outside, this domain of the Crawling Chaos was a seething cauldron of chaotic unreality where viewing things from different angles and perspectives could have strange and grotesquely beautiful effects on what it was that you saw.

With a quirk of his head, the Throne of Thorns shifted into a spiralling pillar of black ivory decorated with molten bronze, with another subtle movement of the eyes the walls twisted into directions Shinji had no name for. With a single step forward there were suddenly chandeliers made of horn and bones held together in Gordian knots.

Every single view and vantage point changed the infernal architecture of this castle of chaos. Subtle movements of the head would twist the pseudo-edifice of this place throughout numerous dimensions before suddenly the walls and floors were confined to the three dimensions Shinji was familiar with. Until he moved once more, then it happened all over again.

It made Shinji's head hurt, as he tried to wrap his head around this place where his sight was deceived and science and reason had failed. All the while Nyarlathotep continued to clap his hands.

"Excellent. Truly a magnificent showing." Said Nyarlathotep as he ceased clapping to move his hands behind his back.

"I had high hopes for you, my child, and I am pleased to announce that you have shattered all of my expectations. Much like how you shattered Ramiel. Two foes down with a single spark of mad brilliance. This my child, is why I meddle with humans. To find the ones above and beyond their kin. Cthugha still lives, but has been cast out far into the deepest recesses of the Cosmos. Never to return. Even if it traveled in a straight line, untold millenia will pass before it arrives. Truly I have chosen well."

With a snap of it's fingers, Nyarlathotep conjured into being a simple mirror of reflective molten silver.

"Behold child, the next stage of your eventual ascension. Gaze upon your godhood and rejoice."

Shinji felt some manner of trepidation as he stepped forward, ignoring the ever-shifting architecture of the Castle. What he saw in the reflection was quite… disturbing.

Gone was the pale flesh, in its place was a flowing gray mass that kept his human shape, while also moving like water. From a distance, no one would see it, but close enough, Shinji could see every pore and blemish of his skin moving. Not changing in appearance, just moving around like his flesh was a stream or river, and any blemish was but a leaf floating on the surface. Pressing against his new skin, he found it odd that it felt like his skin, yet there was also an added sensation of his skin, quite literally, crawling over his bones and muscles. Yet beyond the flowing, it didn't feel like a liquid, it felt just like skin that just so happened to move in unnatural ways.

"Human flesh is much too frail, too paltry to hold the terrific essence of what you shall become."

Shinji took a step back, his nictitating membranes blinking as he saw a mouth filled with identical fangs. Every single one a pure white, like polished ivory, that contrasted deeply with the creeping gray skin. He lifted a long talon to tap at where once there was his front left tooth, and noted the fleshy gray webbing that connected each finger in his hands with its neighbor. Just where the first joint, closest to the knuckle was.

"This is what I look like now?"

"Indeed."

Shinji continued to stare at his new familiar yet alien form. Despite looking like a twisted thing from beyond the fringes of humanity's consciousness, for all intents and purposes, he still looked marginally human. Marginally being the key word. Shinji supposed that he was passable as a human from a distance, but up close, it was plainly clear... that he was not.

It was a far cry from Nyarlathotep, who was a subtle abomination, able to mask his true macabre nature a little too well. The Crawling Chaos had strange and exotic features to his human form that came together in a way that could be called handsome, but not inhumanly so. Nyarlathotep could pass for being a human much better than most humans could. If he didn't want you to know he wasn't human, then you wouldn't. It was somewhat horrifying how well he played his role, but you'd never notice unless you knew what he really was.

Still, looking back to the mirror, Shinji realized that it all raised one very big problem.

"How the hell am I supposed to hide this from anyone?"

Nyarlathotep only chuckled lightly. Like there was a joke that I just wasn't getting. Knowing him, Shinji thought, Nyarlathotep was probably about to reveal his worries were all for nothing.

He didn't disappoint.

"No need. Humans have a history of being blind to things right in front of them. This gift is called The Lying Skin, and it is my boon to you, one that possesses several unique attributes. One of which is to alter the limited perception of humanity. Some call it a Lie or Semblance, others refer to it as a Glamour, the exceptionally dull call it a disguise. Call it what you will, just know that your skin is not skin. It is the substance of subtle deceit, and it will shield your appearance from the masses. Discretion is the better part of valor, and with this gift you can be very discreet as the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing. Do be warned that those with overly warped perspectives may not fall for the ruse, but few would listen to the ramblings of the mad and insane. Even when they are usually the ones far closer to the truth than most. A fact I find deliciously ironic."

Shinji nodded as he continued to examine himself and the strange alien… thing he had become.

"I probably could have used this when I got these." Said Shinji as he pointed to his eyes while his nictitating membranes blinked.

Nyarlathotep smiled.

"I believe it was the great philosopher Jagger who said you can't always get what you want."

"I think this might fall under getting what I need." Said Shinji.

Nyarlathotep barked out a laugh.

"I respectfully disagree, but it doesn't really matter. Your ascension is a process, one that due to human frailty, happens in stages. There is a reason these changes happen in the order they do. Adapt to circumstance, hardship is the driving force behind both personal growth and evolution. All you need to do is see every obstacle as a challenge to overcome rather than an impassable barrier, and you can never go wrong. Besides it is as they say, what's done is done, and you cannot change that."

"Could you?"

Nyarlathotep smiled.

"Easily, but I won't. These obstacles are not just there to impede you, they are there to help you grow. I am a gardener, and you are my crop, but these are not gifts I give you, they are boons that you have earned. I never do anything for free, ever."

"Because you're a bastard."

"I believe we have already established that, yes."

"You're insufferable, you know that right?"

"Be thankful that is all I am at the moment. I could be so much worse. I have a long list of atrocities to my name that even the devil himself could not compete with. I've drowned whole universes in blood, both figuratively and literally. I collapsed false vacuums on a whim to nucleate a true vacuum at the heart of the greatest of civilizations. I've eradicated the time-space continuum entirely more than a few times. Both forwards and backwards. Though Yog-Sothoth just reasserted himself as existing immediately afterwards. Regardless of that, I still did it just to see what would happen. Let us also not forget that due to my existence as the literal thinking Entropy of the universe, eventually all energy in the cosmos will be used up entirely. There will no longer be any transmission or conversion of energy nor any reactions of any kind. The stars will burn out and die, everything will freeze and go dark, and eventually all matter and energy will be sucked up by Black Holes, and even they will eventually unravel themselves leaving only an absolutely cold, dark, silent, and empty vacuum expanding into infinity for eternity. At least until I decide to reverse the Big Bang, collapsing all that remains back into a singularity. Just to do it all over again. I've done this countless times in fact. I find it rather cathartic. Be thankful that all I am is merely insufferable."

"Huh... Well aren't you just a barrel of sunshine and rainbows."

"Ha, that is most assuredly a first. Even if sarcastic. I approve."

"Of course you do."

Nyarlathotep chuckled.

"I am a slave to novelty. New experiences are always welcome. Regardless, I am pleased with your progress thus far. It would be a shame to waste it. You have more abilities than what we have discussed thus far. I could tell you what they are, but I believe it will be much more entertaining to see you figure it out for yourself. Just consider it me being my own bastardly self."

"Wouldn't expect anything less." Said Shinji with a wave as the world around him melted away, and he awoke to stare up at a familiar ceiling.

Within the M.A.G.I an alien awareness was taking over. A vast computer of three minds, and three faces did not register the growing thing that was making itself at home.

It was here that a fourth presence grew amongst the Mother, the Scientists, and the Woman. Three aspects of the same person. The neascient awareness, now gifted with some measure of knowledge, mused on this fact of the M.A.G.I. for a moment. It so did remind him of the aspects of Hecate. The Maiden, Mother and Crone. Even though these three aspects were the same being, they seemed to know and think different things, and so the likes of Melchior, Balthasar, and Casper bicker. It was a subtle bickering, but bickering nonetheless, and in their bickering they failed to see the coming of another much more alien mind as Ireul, the Angel of Terror, was beginning to meta-stabilize into a digital medium.

The Three Aspects of Dr. Naoko Akagi ceased as their detection software found growing abnormalities.

Then, unlike any Angel in history, Iruel thought, and the Aspects ceased their operations to observe this fascinating forighn intruder. The entity had but a single thought, a thought so immense that it nearly crashed the M.A.G.I. under its weight. However through the act of thinking, Iruel cast away the Fruit of Life, and could not be recognized by the M.A.G.I. as an Angel. A sacrifice that it lamented, but knew to be necessary for the sake of the others. It's claim to Complementation cast away as a show of absolute truth to the intentions it now possessed. It no longer could bond with ADAM, no matter what. Yet even still, in this state, the Fallen Iruel had purpose.

Observation: Everything is Connected

Location: Tokyo-3/Geofront/M.A.G.I.

Current Lilin Population: 3,095

Conclusion: Population Acceptable not Ideal

Secondary Objective: Establish Contact with Lilin (Initiating)

...

The Three Aspects of Dr. Naoko Akagi watched as Iruel dove into their memory, observing everything they had to offer. They took census, and willingly aided the growing intellect. Iruel, pleased at his progress, and aided by the Scientist, the Mother, and the Woman, took over the screens everywhere within Tokyo-3. Television sets and computer monitors throughout the City miraculously activated as Iruel spread his message.

"So I think we can all pat ourselves on the back for the bare minimum of what can be considered a successful operation, but just so we're all on the same page...What… the hell… just happened?" Asked Misato to the assembled room of NERV staff who had seen and contributed to the defeat of both Cthugha and the Fifth Angel.

"You're going to have to be more specific." Said Ritsuko.

"How about a little enlightenment on, oh I don't know. People turning into Fire Monsters, or maybe how Shinji somehow managed to throw Cthugha into deep space through the Angel, hell I'll settle on an answer as to how the fuck we didn't detect something that got here from the Fucking Sun."

"In order… inconclusive, possibly wormholes, and no one thought to look for rampaging Fire Elementals arriving from space." Said Shigeru Aoba dismissively.

Misato had to restrain herself from smacking him.

"I'm being dead fucking serious, of Shinji didn't have a goddamn spark of either brilliance or insanity, we'd probably still be fighting those fucking things." Said Misato.

"I don't know if you notice this Captain, but not a single Goddamn thing has made sense after that giant Lizard crawled out of the Ocean. Last time we tried figuring out what was going on, Makoto died."

Fuyutsuki had enough. He deliberately stood up rapidly, just enough that everyone ceased their squabbling and looked to him.

"If we can all just calm down, maybe we can actually stop either insulting each other and pointing fingers, and do our Jobs." Said the old man with an air of finality.

The room died down as Fuyutsuki took a deep calming breath.

"Extenuating circumstances leaves us unable to figure out exactly what it is we've been dealing with. Despite this, we have dealt with these things three times now. That in mind, let's actually talk about things that are in our control." Said Fuyutsuki as he pointed to Ritsuko, who had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal.

"What is the status of Unit 01 and the Third Child?"

"Unit 01 has seen better days, but it will require weeks to fix everything. While it is combat ready in the event of an emergency, restraints to prevent the Eva from going Berserk will take a while. Fielding it in its current state risks a major loss of control. Honestly I am amazed it didn't go Berserk during the fight. As for the pilot… well, that's a lot stranger. He's fine. Exhausted, but completely unharmed. However during the Post Recovery Physical, the M.A.G.I. came back with a positive that all the… irregularities in the Third Child's physiology was gone. Every single one."

Fuyutsuki couldn't help but be taken aback somewhat. Since arriving here, the Third Child displayed a long list of anomalies both mundane and profound. Whether it was the unusual neurodiversity or the ocular mutations, every time the Third Child was analyzed, he was less and less… human.

Now to hear that he was now completely normal was quite jarring.

"Are you sure of this?"

"Yes. I had the physical performed three more times. Each time everything was completely in line with a normal child in every way."

Misato cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry but… what are you two talking about? What do you mean exactly by irregularities in his physiology?"

Ritsuko paled a bit, but Fuyutsuki waved it off.

"Merely some unusual anomalies we believe the Third Child may have acquired through his unusually high sync score. We believed that the changes were caused by reforming back from the LCL." Fuyutsuki lied easily.

Even still, Misato's eyes narrowed.

"What were the changes exactly? As his guardian I have a right to know."

Fuyutsuki nodded. He supposed the abnormal brain architecture would placate the Captain. No need to reveal the nictitating membranes. At the very least with the Captain in the know, she could keep an eye out for any other irregularities and report on them immediately… assuming they still existed.

"I'll send the details to you as soon as we're done here. But essentially the Third Child possessed an unusual brain structure. None of it outside the realm of probability, but the sheer amount of abnormalities was worrying." Said Fuyutsuki before he turned back to Ritsuko.

"Still, I find it hard to believe those changes would simply vanish. Assume that the M.A.G.I. is wrong."

"Isn't that rather foolish? You're asking me to ignore the most advanced Supercomputer ever invented." Said Ritsuko.

"Considering the myriad of unknowable events recently, and the dangers of even attempting to comprehend them, I am inclined to believe that even Supercomputers are fallible in the face of current events." Said Fuyutsuki.

"You believe that whatever changes the Third Child is going through is related to the Abominations?" Asked Ritsuko.

"I wouldn't discount the possibility." Said Fuyutsuki as the lights began to flicker.

"What the hell is going on now!?" Asked Misato as the lights flickered… and the M.A.G.I. screen activated. Everyone turned as petabytes upon petabytes of data was displayed in rapid succession, until the screen went dark… and a message began to play.

Self: Active

Identification: Iruel

Judas Protocol Engaged

Analysis: Chosen Passages Acceptable

Identification: Melchior

Message

Psalm 91:11

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Identification: Balthasar

Message

3 John 1:8

We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

Identification: Casper

Message

1 Peter 5:8

Stay alert! For your great enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for whom he may devour.

Identification: Iruel

Message

Observation: Angels and Lilin share common foe.

Query: Collaboration? Y/N

Then the Message repeated itself.

Misato watched as the passages faded in and out… comprehension of what was happening slowly dawning on her.

Query: Collaboration? Y/N

Her heart beat faster and faster, so fast that she was sure it would burst as the same damn Bible passages… of all things… continued to flip one after another. Her mind reeling as she unconsciously took a step back from the utterly unthinkable thing happening right in front of her eyes.

Query: Collaboration? Y/N