'621, 622, 623, 624…'

In the heart of the unforgiving desert, the Sun loomed high in the vast, endless sky, its scorching rays relentless in their assault. They beat down upon the endless sea of sand dunes and on the lone pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Beads of sweat trickled down Shinji's furrowed brow, and dry pants escaped his parched lips.

'625, 626, 627, 628…'

The initial rush of joy at the sight of the Sun's return, whom he once believed to have been gone forever, had transformed into a burden, as the desert air danced with the relentless heat, distorting the distant horizon into a wavering mirage. Shinji felt as though he were ensnared within a suffocating embrace of scalding fervor, the Sun's unyielding grip refusing to release him from its blistering clutches.

'629, 630, 631, 632…'

He trudged on, each step sinking his shoes several inches into the unforgiving embrace of the desert ground. With every step, he could feel small grains of sand get inside his shoes, creating a gritty, persistent discomfort. Yet, he couldn't be bothered to dislodge the sand from his footwear, knowing all too well that they'd be filled with sand once again within a mere few paces.

'633, 634, 63-'

Suddenly, a steep slope caught one of Shinji's feet off guard. It felt as if the sand beneath him had abruptly sank. His eyes widened as panic surged through his veins, but with a deft reflex, something he picked up from his Evangelion pilot training, he managed to instinctively shift his weight onto his other foot, pushing himself back away from the edge of the slope.

He stood there for a moment, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down his racing heart, which felt like it would burst out at any moment. The fall wouldn't have been dangerous, with it just being a meter-high fall, but it would've most likely left his head and clothes covered in sand, something he'd rather not have to go through.

He opened his weary eyes again and looked at the narrow canyon, the only solitary sight he could see in this desert, which still remained an elusive mirage, shimmering in the far-off distance, with Shinji seemingly not getting any closer to it. A flicker of irritation crossed his face as he wiped sweat and grains of sand from his brow.

He had been attempting to keep track of the time to distract himself from the same boring yet unnerving sight, having mentally counted roughly ten minutes of ceaseless walking since he embarked on this endeavor, at least until he had almost fallen right now, causing him to lose his track of time. The journey towards the canyon had initially seemed so close to Shinji, yet as he pressed on towards it, it still remained frustratingly distant to him.

At first, he had believed it was close, just a short trek away. But yet, as time stretched on and the burden of each step felt heavier, doubt gnawed at the edges of his determination. He could only wonder if time had slowed down for him, or if the canyon was truly as distant as it now appeared.

Every muscle in his body ached with exhaustion, and his parched throat begged for a drop of water. Shinji's eyelids felt heavy, aching for the peacefulness of sleep that he hadn't experienced in days.

The notion of resting crossed his weary mind. A part of him yearned to surrender to the sand, to sink into its warmth and close his eyes just for a moment. But Shinji knew that if he gave in to that temptation, he might never find the physical or mental strength to rise again.

His abrupt stop following his near fall caused his mind to snap out of the monotonous stupor of merely counting the passing minutes and allowed new thoughts to take up residence within him, some of which proved to be detrimental obstacles to his sole goal of reaching the canyon as soon as possible.

For the first time since he opened his eyes up to the Sun's rays shining over his cold pale skin, he had found himself pondering thoughts that he hadn't bothered to think of initially and left neglected. The gentle caresses of the wind blew softly into his ear as he felt his fists unconsciously clench and unclench slightly with a sense of apprehension.

His brows furrowed into a worried look, betraying his internal turmoil to the outside world. His eyes kept looking around at the ground in front of him, anxiously sweeping it with his eyes as if he were searching for the single grain of sand that held the desperate answer he desired.

One specific thought tightly latched onto him with an iron grip. A thought that awoke a certain kind of fear that had long been forgotten by him.

It was a fear reminiscent of the first time he had piloted Unit-01 when he had confronted the Third Angel all those months ago.

'What is out there?'

As Shinji gazed at the sprawling Canyon before him, he couldn't help but reflect on the very same question that had once occupied his mind when he first piloted Unit-01 out of the EVA Elevator Transport Building and confronted the Third Angel on the surface of Tokyo-3. That lingering question would intertwine both the past and the present, giving him the familiar feeling of terror once more.

Up until now, Shinji had long been consumed by the singular quest to rise once more, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. His entire focus had been dedicated to the sole purpose was pushing forward, driven by the faintest glimmer of hope that perhaps, just perhaps, something indeed changed, and that Third Impact had somehow been reversed. He clung tightly to that glimmer of hope, the sole beacon that would pull him and rescue him from the clutches of an existence devoid of purpose, with only the embrace of death as his sole escape. The only thing he had feared at that moment was just the contemplation of whether anything had truly changed or not. But now, he realized there were plenty of other things that he hadn't thought of.

He had no idea what was within that canyon, or what else was in this place aside from him. He had seen the bird perched on his cheek when he woke up, a living testament to prove that something did indeed change. It was real, he had touched its feathers, which meant that somehow it returned from the Primordial Sea. But the question that lingered in his mind was, what else had returned from the blood-red sea?

He stood atop the sand dune, resembling a stoic statue, his eyes fixed on the canyon's dark interior, his heart filled with uncertainty. The vast desert expanse lay between him and the canyon, separating him from the dark mystery that left him at a loss for what his next move would be.

His expression revealed nothing, save for the occasional shiver that ran through him. But beneath that seemingly calm exterior, turmoil reigned within him. His mind was a pit of conflicting emotions, a chaotic whirlwind of confusion that threatened to engulf him once more.

He found himself adrift within the vast landscape of his thoughts, an unassuming mere passenger on a journey into the uncharted depths of his own 'train' of thoughts. The tracks of introspection stretched endlessly before him, winding through the maze of his psyche. His gaze remained fixed on the train's floor, observing how the floor seemed to be swirling with the orange sky outside. In this quiet carriage of his mind, the music emanating from his SDAT Player danced through the air, yet the notes remained unheard in the vacuum of utter silence.

Though he could sense a presence seated in the rows ahead, there was no need to lift his head and confirm their identity; he already knew exactly who it was. The two of them, like spectral companions, shared the solitude of the moment, their eyes locked onto the floor as if it held the secrets of their unspoken thoughts. Eventually, one of them spoke, breaking the silence that had enveloped them and their 'train' of thought.

'Why am I doing this?'

'Stop.'

'I could just sit down, and wait, maybe something-'

'Be quiet'

He could hear what seemed to be a train whistle but paid no attention to it.

'I don't have to do this, why do I keep doing this to my-'

'I don't wanna hear this!'

'I can't help but wonder-'

'Shut up!'

The train whistle began to ring more loudly in the distance. He still didn't pay any attention to it.

'-why we even try?'

'BE QUIET!'

'To fight for something-'

'WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!'

'-you believe in?'

'LET ME DO WHAT I WANNA DO!'

The train's bells had gradually intensified, transforming from a mere background hum into an ear-piercing clamor that reverberated through the train cab. Shinji's frustration boiled over, and he twisted his head upward, his eyes filled with anger. He was met with the sight of an empty seat in front of him. He looked both ways; the entire compartment had been deserted.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Shinji screamed both within his mind and in the desolate real-world landscape, his cry echoing throughout the vast emptiness, rupturing the adobe of serene stillness of the desert. He collapsed to his knees, slamming his fists against the gritty sand, leaving imprints on the golden ground, howling in anger from the emotional turmoil within him, the fractures within himself pronouncing themselves.

After a few agonizing moments, he felt the anxiety retreat from his body, leaving behind a weary emptiness. The landscape regained its adobe of eerie silence, though Shinji's racing heartbeat continued to drown out all the external noise.

He gazed at his trembling hands, his knuckles adorned with crimson scrapes earned from the relentless punches against the sand. The stinging sensation had arrived, and he couldn't help but wince in pain, gingerly wiping away the cuts inflicted by the sand with his shirt. With a weary sigh, he propped up his left knee and sought solace by resting his head against it, concealing his face as he exhaled slowly, trying to overcome the fit of anger raging within him.

It took a few seconds for his pulse to slow down for him to regain his hearing, and as it did, Shinji was able to once more experience the solemn serenity that the barren desert had to offer.

It took another couple of seconds for him to become aware that he could still hear the echo of the train whistle.

"Huh?" A slight noise escaped his lips as he lifted his head off the knee, confusion creeping over his face.

The source of the noise emanated from right in front of him, right where the sand dune's slope gave way beneath his foot, right where he nearly fell onto his face.

It took him a couple of more seconds to realize that it didn't sound at all like a train whistle, but rather something electronic, somewhat reminiscent of the noises that the computer equipment that was used to gauge the synchronization rates of the Evangelion pilots did.

His curiosity got the better of him, and before he knew it, he had found himself inching down the slope carefully, drawn right towards the noise. The noise came right underneath the sand, concealed from the outside.

'When I almost fell, there was something underneath that made the sand collapse under me.'

Now that he was closer, he could discern the noise better, morphing into a distinctive, ominous warning siren. A part of him wanted to back away, fearing the reason for the siren going off.

'Could it be an unexploded bomb?'

'Why is it making that noise?'

'If it were a bomb, it should've already blown up.'

'What is it?'

As he ventured closer to the small alcove nestled within the slope, curiosity drove Shinji to peer inside, his eyes straining to discern any secrets hidden within the shadowy confines of the shallow hole. Suddenly, a gleam of something metallic beckoned to him from within the depths of it, a tiny piece of a light hue barely protruding from the surrounding sand.

Shinji's gaze fixated on this small object, his mind awash with questions.

'Is this the thing making the noise?'

'Is it dangerous?'

After a few long seconds, Shinji exhaled slowly, his curiosity overwhelming caution. Without further hesitation, he extended a hand towards the gleaming object, prepared to uncover it from the hold of its sandy confines.

'I need answers.'

'I can't keep running away from everything.'

'I need to know the truth.'

'I mustn't run away.'

'I mustn't run away.'

Shinji found himself repeating those lines like a mantra, each word a whispered promise that he desperately needed to believe. The chill of apprehensive fears clung to him, threatening to engulf his courage. His hand trembled, inching ever so closer to the enigmatic object buried in the sand.

With his eyes tightly shut, he drew in a deep breath, feeling both the anxiety and anticipation mixing together and echoing in his ears. At last, Shinji's hand surged forward, guided by a resolute determination that overcame his lingering doubts.

Time seemed to stretch in that moment, as if the universe held its breath in anticipation. He braced himself, half-expecting an explosion or something to happen. Then, as seconds turned into a minute, Shinji hesitantly opened his eyes.

His hand was resting atop the object, cool and smooth to the touch. Shinji felt a relieved sigh escape from within him, unconsciously licking his dry lips.

With tender curiosity, he explored its texture, fingertips gingerly dancing over its surface. The sensation made him feel as if he were touching something alien to him. His hand ventured further into the buried part of the object, sinking his hand into the sand and feeling the rest of the metallic object.

He couldn't resist the urge to lay his other hand upon the enigmatic object, his fingers tracing the intricate grooves and mysterious features it possessed on its surface. And just as he delved his hands deeper into the sand, the confines around it collapsed, causing the object to tumble from its entrapment and come to rest at Shinji's knees, startling and causing him to jump back slightly.

It was a cuboid-shaped piece of metal, roughly the size of a human head, with two oddly bent appendage-like things sticking out of one of its sides, which ended with claw-like grips at the tip.

On the opposite side of the eerie appendages, a small metal protrusion jutted out of the otherwise smooth surface of the cuboid. At the very top of the protrusion, there was a tiny siren light that wailed relentlessly while flashing a crimson-red hue, as if signaling some impending catastrophe.

The contraption remained utterly motionless, its sole testimony being the piercing siren it produced. Shinji, unable to resist his curiosity, extended his hand once more towards it and gingerly grasped the mysterious device. He could feel the surface, but couldn't see what it actually looked like due to the burrow preventing the sunlight from hitting the object directly, only leaving a silhouette. He observed it intently, waiting for any sign of life within its metallic form.

'What is this thing?'

'What's with those arm things?'

'And why was it buried in the sand?'

It was only when a sudden, haunting wail of the wind overshadowed the siren itself that Shinji's scrutiny was broken. He turned abruptly, his eyes widening as he saw a massive cloud of dust billowing menacingly on the distant horizon, covering the blue sky that Shinji was just starting to get accustomed to.

'Is it not moving closer?' he wondered in his mind. He noticed that even though it was blowing sand around, the giant cloud did not appear to move from its place.

Shinji's mind raced back to what he had learned in geography class about these extinct natural phenomena that would occasionally sweep across deserts before Second Impact struck. He remembered the professor discussing how these storms could easily reach high speeds of 25 miles an hour. The storms' main danger wasn't just the high winds though, he recalled. The main danger came from how they completely obscured the horizon and made it nearly impossible to breathe as the floating sand particles would enter the lungs, leading to fatal consequences many times.

They were known as Sandstorms.

He remembered reading how there were occasions right after Second Impact before the deserts disappeared where Sandstorms would produce an optical illusion akin to a tornado where it was seemingly immobile when in reality that meant its trajectory was headed straight towards the direction the observer was in. This optical illusion occurred due to the weather pattern changes Second Impact caused.

'No.' he realized with a jolt of realization, his mouth gaped in shock.

'It's heading straight for me!'

'I need to get out of here now. I need to get to the canyon!'

Shinji turned back to cast another look at the mysterious metal object before him. He was ridden with his indecision, unsure whether to take it or leave it behind for another time.

'I need answers. This is the only thing that lets me know that there is something out there.'

'But it's going to slow me down. I don't think I'll make it to the canyon on time with this thing.'

A sudden loud roar of wind reminded Shinji that he was running on limited time. With each additional second that he took to decide his options, the consequences would become more grave.

'If I leave it, I might never find it again.'

'Why do I feel so attached to this thing?'

Shinji's heart raced as he found himself facing a choice reminiscent of that fateful day when he first stepped into EVA-01's cockpit. Back then, he had been given two options: leave and let an injured Rei pilot the Eva, or pilot it himself. To this very day, he remained uncertain about whether obeying his father's orders had been the right call. It seemed as though neither choice would have made much of a difference in a positive or negative way, a sentiment he believed would also apply to this current dilemma as well.

'Dammit.'

With a grunt, he positioned his arms around either side of the metal box, and using his remaining strength, lifted and hoisted the thing right into a tight embrace, taking a couple of moments to adjust his grip to the newfound weight he was now carrying. He turned around and without any further hesitation, stumbled out of the small hole and began sprinting towards the canyon. The distant howls of the approaching storm echoed behind him, but he paid it no attention, only reacting to it by pushing himself even harder despite the throbbing pain in his legs.

After what felt like an eternity, the canyon came into clearer view, just a few minutes away from him. The relentless sandstorm was now pelting his neck with grains of sand, a stinging reminder of what was pursuing him right on his heels. He nearly stumbled over an obstacle once more, but he quickly regained his balance and continued to run with unwavering determination. The sky was now rapidly vanishing into a swirling cloud of dust, urging him forward with a sense of panic.

"Come on, come on!" Shinji's desperate shout echoed throughout the desolate landscape.

With just a hundred more steps to go, he could already see the inside of the canyon, its intriguing, otherworldly formations shaping up in ways he had never witnessed before.

Fifty steps remained, and the relentless sandstorm scratched at his exposed neck even more, making the skin on his nape sensitive.

With a mere twenty steps to his destination, the once-still sand beneath his feet began to swirl and dance around him, forcing him to squint, shielding his eyes from the airborne sand grains.

Ten steps left, and the air was thick with stinging sand, forcing him to gulp down a deep breath of air and cover his nose and mouth shut to prevent any sand from entering his lungs or mouth.

At the last step, a sudden surge of energy coursed through Shinji. His vision blurred, and he felt as if he might collapse, but he paid it no mind. With a resounding shout, he propelled his weary legs forward, plunging deeper into the canyon.

Unbeknownst to him, the canyon's entrance was deceptively steep and he was unable to notice it initially thanks to the blinding swirl of sand. This sent him quite literally running into the air, and before he could realize his mistake, his face was hurtling towards the sandy ground.

A choked cry of pain escaped his lips as he collided with the floor, the impact sending him and the metal box away from the entrance and tumbling further into the canyon's depths, unwittingly escaping the relentless sandstorm that threatened to consume him alongside whatever was unfortunate enough to be out in the open desert, if there even was anything else to begin with.

As exhaustion and the impact of the fall threatened to take away his consciousness, Shinji's gaze wearily fixed upon the enigmatic metal box lying before him. Though the canyon's towering walls barely allowed sunlight to embrace the cold ground, there was still enough light for him to be able to now discern the object's features. It possessed a silver-grey hue throughout most of its entirety and bore a small inscription on its side.

Shinji would crane his head slightly forward, trying to read what the engraving said, but the characters were foreign, completely unfamiliar to him. They held no resemblance to the Japanese or Latin scripts that Shinji understood. If anything, it didn't even look like any other script he had ever seen before; it looked chaotic, composed of strange symbols he had never seen before in his life.

As his vision dimmed further, he noticed an inscription at the very bottom of the engraved script. There was a sole word written in the Latin Alphabet, a word that Shinji could just barely even read. It would be the last thing Shinji would see before exhaustion overcame his mind and gave way to deep sleep.

"YoRHa."


And that's a wrap! I know this chapter might have felt like it didn't add much, but you all have to wait and see. I got a good chunk of inspiration for the dialogue from the lyrics of the Evangelion song "Thanatos Part 4: Overcome" I felt it would tie in perfectly with the topic of this chapter. And to answer some questions, this story is based on the original Evangelion anime storyline, although I will borrow some things from the Manga that weren't included in the anime. And Shinji does indeed have to eat, he was drinking the LCL as his main source of nutrition when he was stuck on the LCL beach. Next chapter we're going to have some familiar faces from the NieR verse show up. Until next time!