Creation began on 08-10-18

Creation ended on 09-26-18

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Sword of Destruction, Sword of Life: Enter Inhumanity

A/N: Do you control the power you obtain…or does it control you?

Gendo was feeling crossed right now. Not only was there another Angel approaching the city, but Unit-01 had refused to sync with both Rei and an upgraded Dummy Plug. Worse was that Major Katsuragi was permitting the Third Child to use his swords to dispose of the threat instead of forcing him to pilot Unit-01! At the very least, Unit-02 should have been used as a decoy to lure the Angel into a false sense of security.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Shinji," Misato told the boy as he was being escorted by Unit-02 to the Tenth Angel's current location, just a mile away from the city.

"Please, don't pressure me, Misato," Shinji responded, holding the Tenseiga in his left hand. "If this Angel's like the last one, this should be resolved soon."

But Gendo prayed for the Angel to show the boy how pathetic he seemed to be relying on some petty swords to save them when the Eva was what was truly necessary.

-x-

"How are you even sure that this sword will kill it?" Asuka asked Shinji as they were within two feet of the Angel's ring of light-like body.

"It looks like it's made of light," he explained his reason. "Light is intangible. Tenseiga is a sword that cuts the intangible."

But you said that it represents life, so it can't harm the living, she thought to herself, unless the views on "life" and "intangible" are as separate as light and darkness.

Suddenly, the Angel turned into a string-like form and flew towards them!

"Shinji!" Asuka yelled.

"I see it," he responded, the Tenseiga pulsating. "Brace yourself! Aaaaurgh!"

He swung the blade and unleashed a wave of light from Unit-02's right hand at the Angel.

CLASH! It collided with the Angel and reduced it back into its ring-like state.

Once more, Shinji realized, and swung the sword again. "Aaaaurgh!"

CLASH! The blade of light cut right through the Angel and it faded from sight, causing Tenseiga to cease its glow as Shinji fell to his back in Unit-02's hand, exhausted.

"Asuka, the Angel's blue pattern has vanished," the redhead heard Misato over the intercom. "You did it, you two."

"No," she replied, "Shinji did it."

In her Eva's hand, Shinji had lost consciousness as Tenseiga disappeared from sight.

-x-

"…If he'd just let us study those swords, maybe we'd find a way to get them to work for an Eva," Ritsuko suggested, but Misato waved it off.

"No way, Rits," she responded as they were in the hallway in the trauma ward after it was confirmed that Shinji was just out cold from overexertion. "There's no need for that. Plus, I'd rather not cross a line with an amateur swordsman that can, literally, take out large monsters with the swing of a powerful sword that he was just handed from off the streets by a stranger that gave it to him. So long as he's able to do what he does and helps us deal with the Angels, I'm okay with him possessing swords that only he can use."

"And if Commander Ikari disagrees?"

"He'll have to live with his disagreement because he can't use the swords, even if he did have them. If Shinji's the only one that can use them and it's because he has a compassionate heart and doesn't seek some recognition or expect rewards or favors in return, then Shinji is the only one deserving of these swords. Nobody else can or should have them."

As the faux-blond hoped that her purple-haired friend knew what she was saying, she hoped that nothing would befall any of them with Commander Ikari. Right now, she wasn't sure which was more frightening: The threat of Third Impact…or the wrath of Commander Ikari, as both seemed worse than the other.

-x-

GASP! Shinji awoke in the dead of night, drenched in sweat and panting.

What was that sword? He wondered, feeling like he had experienced an intense showdown between himself and an obscured man that wielded a sword unlike any that had existed in known history. It felt like an ancient evil was coursing through it and its wielder to a degree unlike anything in the past.

The sword he saw in his nightmare, while partially obscured, didn't look like a Japanese sword in the regular sense. Its blade resembled a Japanese version, but its hilt looked like sculpted ivory with a large pearl or gemstone embedded at the bottom. A feeling of immense dread emanated from the blade and Shinji could've sworn that he saw what looked like some sort of dragon.

Checking his clock, he saw that it was two hours before morning and tried to go back to sleep.

It seems peaceful enough outside, he thought as he looked out his window, yet I sense some discord. I can't predict the future, but I get the feeling that something is going to happen soon…and it's going to be major.

-x-

Someone staggered into the streets of Tokyo-3, carrying something in their hands…and leaving behind a trail that was unlike what was considered normal for people.

I sense you're here, the new master of Tessaiga and Tenseiga, a voice reverberated across the streets, and I will exact vengeance now that I've escaped from Hell. All I need to achieve the goal…is a wielder of my own that is willing to pay the ultimate price for vengeance. And I know where to find such a wielder willing to pay.

To be continued…

A/N: Uh-oh! I'm sure you can guess what is to be expected now. As soon as this story gets updated with another chapter, I'm sure things will escalate. I just experienced my first Chicago Wednesday, and man, am I looking forward to the next one.