[EVA] Eva Manga Stage 73

[M]

And here it is.

"M"
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Stage 73: The boundary line that has been arrived at*
(*i.e. Reached at last after a long and tortuous journey)

Cover: Close-up of Kaworu in front of the Mask of Seele on the Giant  
in Terminal Dogma

Lead-in text: Kaworu and Shinji ultimately face off

Scene: Eva-01’s prog knife stopped just in front of Kaworu by an  
A.T.Field
Shinji: An A.T.Field!?
Kaworu: Why are you so surprised? As if you did not have one, too.
Shinji: (shocked)
Kaworu: A sacred province inviolate to anyone - the light of the  
soul. You should also be aware - that the A.T.Field is the barrier of  
the heart that everyone has.
Shinji: I don’t understand those things! The only things with  
A.T.Fields are the Evas and Angels!
(Eva-02 lunges with its prog knife and plunges it into Eva-01’s left  
chest. Shinji grimaces in pain as the blade drives deeper.)
Shinji: Uuaa... ku...
Shinji (thinking): Asuka... sorry
Shinji: Uuoooooo!!
(Shinji clutches the induction levers and Eva-01 plunges its prog  
knife into the base of Eva-02’s jaw. The two Eva units struggle  
against each other with sparks and blood flying from the prog knife  
wounds.)

Scene: Command Center
Announcement: Both Eva units have reached the lowermost level! 20  
seconds until the target reaches Terminal Dogma!!
Misato (softly): ... Hyuga
Makoto: Yes.
Misato: If Eva-01’s signal disappears, and another change occurs...
Makoto: I understand. Then we self-destruct the entire place, right?  
Because it’s better than letting Third Impact occur.
Misato: I’m sorry.
Makoto: It’s all right - as long as I can die with you.
(Suddenly a shockwave courses through the Command Center.)
Misato: What’s happening!
Makoto: An A.T.Field - the strongest ever detected!
Shigeru: Light waves, electromagnetic waves, particles - everything  
has been shut out! We can’t monitor anything!
Monitor display:
      TERMINAL DOGMA
      A.T.FIELD
      GENERATION [DETECTED]
      ENERGY LEVEL HIGHEST EVER RECORDED
      MAGI - 1•2•3
Maya: Target and Eva-01 both lost! Contact with the pilot also  
impossible!
Misato: A complete barrier...

Scene: The two Eva units, still struggling, descend through a hole in  
the center of a domed ceiling and fall with a splash into a lake with  
scattered white stalagmite-like shapes. Shinji is knocked back by the  
shock, but looks up to see Kaworu floating onward.
Shinji: Ku... Nagisa! Wait!
(Kaworu does not look back, and Eva-01 reaches out for him, but is  
stopped abruptly.)
Shinji: U...
(Shinji looks back to see Eva-02 grabbing Eva-01’s ankle. Eva-01  
struggles to free itself.)
Shinji: Let go! Damn it!
(Kaworu floats toward a door and glances at the lock, which changes  
with a click from LOCKED to OPEN.)
Shigeru: Final safety system released!
Makoto: Heaven’s Door is opening!!
(The door opens to reveal the giant on the cross, and Kaworu floats  
to a position in front of it. The door closes behind him)

Scene: Command Center - All personnel stare at the screen
Misato: So an Angel finally reached it...
(Gendo and Fuyutsuki watch silently)
Misato: Please, Shinji... We’re counting on you...

Scene: Kaworu floating in front of the giant on the cross
Kaworu: As I thought, this is not Adam. The Black Moon... Lilith... I  
see - You have been here from the beginning. This Geofront was  
created when you first arrived. And you have been waiting all this  
time - for a successor to come this far.
(Kaworu hears a creaking noise behind him, and turns to see Eva-01  
smash through the door with the incapacitated Eva-02, which falls  
into the chamber with a splash. Eva-01 stands in the doorway, and  
Shinji gasps for breath in the entry plug and faces off against Kaworu.)
Shinji: If you go even the slightest bit further... I won’t hold back.
Kaworu: I wonder... Even if I am an Angel, can you lay hands upon  
something with the shape of a person? But, if I make contact with  
this, it seems that Third Impact will occur. All forms of life,  
including the one that made contact, will perish in an instant. Of  
course that includes you Lilim as well. Either way you have a tough  
choice.
Shinji: If you stop now we don’t have to fight. Turn back!
(Eva-01 reaches up for Eva-02’s prog knife still stuck in its chest.)
Kaworu: Don’t have to fight... huh, as self-serving as usual.  
(pauses) Let me tell you something else interesting. Even if Third  
Impact occurs, people will not simply perish. They will be reborn in  
a new form - merged into one as a single life form. (Background image  
of the Earth) And that will bring about exactly the kind of world you  
have been wishing for. (Background image of a large tree) A.T.Fields  
also will be unnecessary. Wars and conflicts, the suffering and  
sadness of losing people - you will be freed from all of these. And  
despite that, you say you will stop me?
Shinji: ... I won’t let Third Impact happen!
(Eva-01 pulls out and brandishes Eva-02’s prog knife.)
Kaworu: That knife is not a threat to me at all. You understand that  
from earlier, don’t you? This is my destiny - for I am a fated/ 
planned child that was born for this time from the very beginning.  
(starts to turn slightly)
Shinji: Stop!!
(Eva-01 reaches out to grab Kaworu, but its hand does not close, and  
Kaworu floats beside the open palm.)
Kaworu: However, I also have a will. And I can choose by my own will  
to defy destiny.
Shinji: .....
Kaworu: Don’t get me wrong - I'm not saying this for your sake. If I  
turn around now, the old men won’t let it go unchallenged.
Shinji: Old men?
Kaworu: They’ll probably eliminate me at once. After all, they have  
virtually held my life in their hands from the outset. Well, whether  
I cause Third Impact or not - either way I will cease to exist as an  
individual. Truth be told, I really don’t care either way about  
Third Impact. (Glances off to the side) The only absolute liberty  
left to me... is that I can choose the form of my death by my own  
will. (Looks back at Shinji/Eva-01) So I want you to kill me - by  
your own hand.
(Shinji is shocked, but his hand remains on the induction lever.)
Shinji: Want are you saying...?
Kaworu: Didn’t you hear me? I said I want you to kill me. If you  
have even the slightest feelings for me, then kill me with that hand  
- like that cat back then.
(Shinji stares with widex eyes, but his hand remains on the induction  
lever.)
Shinji (flustered): That’s... not fair (a dirty trick)... If I’m  
told like that, there’s no way I can do it, is there!?
Kaworu (serious): It’s my final request. And if you like me at all,  
you will grant it.
(Shinji = shocked/troubled)

Ending text: How will Shinji respond to Kaworu’s words...!?

- End Stage 73