Re:Vangelion - Re: Life to a World of Mechs

Chapter 1: First loop

I woke up gasping, feeling a chill run down my spine. My heart was pounding, and my breathing was uneven. For some reason, I had the sensation of having my arm ripped off very vividly, the excruciating pain of having my arm ripped off, something so real that I instinctively looked at my arm. It was whole. There were no wounds, no blood. Only my hand, intact, shaking as I held it.

"But... w-what was that?" I mumbled confused. I looked around, realizing that I was no longer in the rubble or near the destroyed robot. I was back in the shelter, lying in the same place as before. The familiar ceiling loomed over me, and in the background I could hear the distant murmurs of people. For a moment, I wondered if it had all been just a dream. It seemed more like a nightmare.

I got up a little shakily, trying to understand what was happening. I looked around and saw the same people as before, talking or resting. There was something disconcerting about all of this, as if time had gone backwards without me knowing how or why. But I wasn't the type to just sit around waiting for answers: I needed to act.

Determinedly, I walked to the exit of the shelter, determined to check what was happening outside. If this was a dream, I would find out soon enough.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" - the boy from before said, with a firm tone. It was Toji Suzuhara. The same Toji I had met before, who had tried to stop me from leaving. But there was something strange: Toji didn't seem to recognize me.

I looked confused. - "Toji? What are you doing? You know I have to leave, I can't stay here."

Toji raised an eyebrow, clearly disconcerted. - "How do you know my name? I've never seen you before." - He crossed his arms, his expression suspicious. - "Listen, I don't know who you are, but going out now is dangerous. I don't know what you think you're going to find out there, but you're going to end up dead."

The confusion only grew. - "Don't you recognize me? We talked a few hours ago... You told me the same thing... I went out, I saw the city... the red sea... the angel..." - The words came out in a disorderly flow, but to Toji, it all sounded crazy.

"What are you talking about? Angel?" - Toji shook his head, clearly thinking I was delirious. - "Look, if you're feeling sick or something, sit down and rest. But I'm not letting you go out. It's not safe."

I took a step back, stunned. This all felt incredibly familiar, but also wrong. - "I... need to go out..." - I insisted, more firmly this time. - "There's someone who needs me out there."

Toji hesitated for a moment, his expression softening briefly before returning to rigidity. - "Are you talking about someone who was trapped outside? Who is it? Are you sure they're still alive?"

I clenched my fists, feeling the memory of that blue-haired girl take hold in my mind. - "I don't know. But I can't stay here knowing that I can do something. Even if I don't understand what's happening, I have to try."

Toji's gaze changed slightly, as if something in my words had touched him. He took a step back, but kept his expression hard. - "Okay... If you're going to leave, it's at your own risk. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

I nodded determinedly. I crossed the exit of the shelter, once again, ready to face whatever was waiting outside.

When I left the shelter, it was already daylight. - "So you mean I fell asleep? Has it already been a day or was it just a dream?... Although this giant robot and angels thing, yeah, it was just a dream." - I reflected as I walked calmly through the empty streets of this city that resembled Tokyo.

As I passed by the places, they were strangely familiar, just like the dream I had. Until I decided to take a different path, where I saw a small bridge that crossed the avenue was broken.