The Trash Returned from Warhammer

Huu—

With a sharp, sudden intake of breath, Shinji sat bolt upright. His constricted pupils were filled with vacant confusion. In an instant, his fists clenched as if he were drawing a power sword.

But then he froze. There were no cold, formidable traitors before him; he was sitting in his familiar living room.

A sweltering summer breeze ruffled the curtains. Instead of the sounds of gunfire and clashing blades, there was the rhythmic chirping of cicadas. If he listened closely, he could hear soft snoring coming from the bedroom.

The world was so beautiful and peaceful, devoid of even a single speck of glaring blood.

’Was that a dream? I was dreaming??’

For a long time, he covered his face, his eyes glazed with a sense of trance as he stared blankly at the floor.

The dawn was peeking through the gaps in the curtains, casting a brilliant glow on the brown floorboards. Shinji watched it until the sunlight hit his shins; the warmth caused him to snap back to reality.

No, that wasn’t a dream. It was a missing piece of my memory.

Searching his mind, he found that a blank space had been filled, linking the past and present together.

”I entered an asteroid operation and fell into an ambush, but I fought my way out, annihilated all enemies, and returned to the Chapter. Then everything else followed.”

His pupils contracted. Some things seem fine if you don’t think about them, but once you do, you realize how bizarre they are.

Yes, he didn’t remember how he had escaped that death trap, but the dream just now had provided the answer.

’The Emperor. It was the Emperor who saved me.’

Then the previous breakout operation must have been the same. No wonder the Black Legion spent so much to set that trap.

Shinji’s expression became pious. After all this time, it turned out that His Majesty the Emperor had granted him a ”cheat,” upgrading him directly from a Company Champion to the Emperor’s Champion. No wonder those traitors had to die.

What an honor.

A sense of excitement threatened to burst from his heart. To be chosen by the Emperor was an indescribable glory; his previously wavering heart became completely steadfast.

’As expected, everything is guided by the Emperor!’

He now felt like punching himself unconscious just to keep dreaming and get all the answers—like how he returned, why he returned. After thinking for a while, he slowly lowered his hand.

’It shouldn’t be that simple. Otherwise, why would I not dream sooner or later, but specifically now...’

Shinji turned his head and saw a young girl sleeping on the other end of the sofa. Her white gauze dress was slightly curled up; her fair thighs radiated a dazzling light under the sun. Her ice-blue hair covered her cheeks, and her rosy little mouth was breathing softly.

Rei Ayanami was in a deep sleep, unaware that the boy was looking at her with a strange gaze. After a long time, he looked away.

”Her secrets are deeper than I imagined.”

Shinji was no fool. The anomaly just now definitely had something to do with Rei. But he wasn’t in a hurry; she clearly knew nothing. After a brief thought, he rubbed his chin.

’It seems I should sleep with her more often in the future.’

.

.

.

Soon, having finished washing up, Rei sat at the dining table, already changed into her usual school uniform. She blinked, looking at the busy figure in the kitchen.

”Ikari-kun, did you sleep well last night?”

Shinji’s hand frying the eggs paused for a moment before he nodded gently.

”Not bad.”

In truth, he was exhausted, as if he had actually fought all night. He touched his face; in the dream, half of the skin on his face had been blasted away by a power fist.

”Did you dream?”

Shinji set the plates down, looking directly into those red eyes. His tone was soft: ”I did. It was a beautiful dream.”

”Oh? You can have... er, beautiful dreams? Who did you dream of?”

The one asking was Misato Katsuragi. She had just emerged from the bedroom, her hair a mess, rubbing her stomach with one hand.

”The Holy Emperor.”

Shinji’s answer was firm and devout.

’Dreaming of a giant golden dude counts as a ”beautiful dream”?’

The woman paused, blinking. She looked at Rei, then at Shinji, and slapped her forehead.

’This kid is beyond saving.’

Ignoring Misato’s ”blasphemy,” the three ate their meal peacefully as usual. Misato rushed off to work in a panic, while Shinji, under the envious and jealous gazes of onlookers, walked to school side-by-side with Rei.

Because of last night’s dream, reality felt even more surreal. Sitting in the bright classroom, watching Mr. Yamada teach methodically, he rested his head on his hand, his mind wandering elsewhere.

There were no adrenaline-pumping battles, no blood filling his vision, no pain tearing through his body. Everything was like a dream.

He looked at his fist. Just ”now,” this hand had snuffed out hundreds of lives. If it were these fragile humans before him, a single punch would likely obliterate them.

The two worlds were completely incomparable, with zero overlap. Perhaps the only similarity was the ”aliens.”

’My departure to the galaxy didn’t cause a single ripple, as the 40K universe is too vast with countless planets. But my return is different. There is only one Earth here. What kind of butterfly effect will it trigger?’

This thought led nowhere. Without a reference point, what was there to compare? Only one thing was certain:

’Using the Angel’s Core as a medium, I contacted the Negative Universe. It will surely bring about change.’

He pondered this for the entire morning, only snapping out of it during the lunch break. He took out his bento as usual, giving a portion to Rei. Then, Kensuke Aida, Toji Suzuhara, Hikari Horaki, and the others moved their stools over, gathering around to eat lunch.

Life seemed to have two boundary lines: NERV and daily life, the past and the present. Shinji had grown used to this rhythm, preaching to Kensuke while listening to the others chat.

”Hoshino-san invited us to the Music Club. Ayanami-san, are you interested?” Hikari found a topic.

”Class Rep, aren’t you in the Literature Club?” Toji immediately shouted.

”Can’t I go to two clubs?” The girl rolled her eyes at him and explained, ”The school festival is coming up. Ibuki-san and her band need people, and I happen to know how to play the guitar.”

Because of Shinji, the previous Angels hadn’t caused massive damage to Tokyo-3, so not many people had transferred from Municipal Junior High School No. 1, and the teaching order was normal.

”But I don’t know how,” Rei said softly, eating a piece of curry-flavored potato, then peeking at Shinji. ”And I have missions after school.”

”Oh, it won’t take up time every day. Please, please!” Hikari clasped her hands together and then said to Shinji, ”Lend Ayanami-san to me for a while. The band members are all girls, there won’t be any problems.”

Shinji looked at her. He had zero interest in bands; or rather, hearing ”band” reminded him of the Noise Marines under Slaanesh, whose sonic attacks could turn a person into meat paste through their power armor. Even more ironically, before their betrayal, they were called the ”Emperor’s Children.”

Shinji’s mind wandered, recalling many things from the past, before finally looking at Rei.

”Do you want to go?”

”But I have training missions.” The girl looked at him, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

”If you’re curious, go try it. You’ve already learned many things.”

Shinji’s gaze was somewhat paternal. He had watched Rei transform from a blank slate into a vivid person. Seeing Hikari cheer and hug the girl, he took a soft breath.

Truth be told, compared to his memories, this reality was indeed much more colorful. The ”loyal beyond words” battle-brothers had been replaced by noisy boys and girls, and that innocence and vitality made him feel comfortable.

Beep, beep, beep.

After a moment of sentiment, his phone rang. He pulled it out and held it to his ear. Before he could speak, a high-energy female voice erupted.

”HALLO, Third Child! This lady is finally coming to Japan! Just you wait—I’ll show you what a real Ace looks like!”

”Yes, I heard from Misato-san. Unit-02 will be assigned to Headquarters.”

”And? Are you nervous? Have you been practicing in secret lately?”

”Why would I be nervous? I look forward to the arrival of a new battle-brother.”

There was a long silence on the other end, as if she were digesting the unique term ”battle-brother.”

”Who is your battle-brother?! Dammit, just wait! You just wait!”

The line went dead. The total call time was less than 20 seconds. Shinji frowned and put the phone down, noticing the stunned looks on the others’ faces.

”Is there a problem?”

”Uh, Shinji, did you offend someone? That Second Child seems very unhappy with you.” Kensuke adjusted his glasses; he could tell from the call that the girl was difficult to get along with.

”How is that possible? It’s a good thing for a warrior to have a strong competitive spirit. Such a spirit is to be admired.”

Shinji answered matter-of-factly. Isn’t that how relationships between Astartes were? Even those from the same parent Chapter wouldn’t appear overly intimate.

’Something feels weird, but I can’t put my finger on it?’

Kensuke and the others exchanged looks until Rei spoke in her cool voice: ”The Second Child is coming to Headquarters?”

She was expressionless, but a faint chill radiated from her, causing Hikari to sit a bit further away.

”Yes. Asuka Langley Soryu will be arriving with Unit-02, escorted by the Pacific Fleet.”

Shinji keenly sensed the change in the girl’s mood and asked, ”Ayanami, are you dissatisfied with something?”

”I... am not dissatisfied.” Rei also felt she was acting strange; why had her tone suddenly turned so icy?

”If you are, you are. If you aren’t, you aren’t. There is no need to hide it.”

”But I can’t say... I don’t know why, but I feel a bit uncomfortable in my heart.” Rei looked at him for guidance.

’Is Ayanami-san learning how to be jealous???’

Hikari’s face turned slightly red. She was pondering how to word an indirect ”assist” when she heard a thump. Shinji, having thought it over, stood up abruptly.

”I see. Currently, the Angels are at a disadvantage. Picking us off one by one during the transport of Unit-02 is the best tactic. EVAs aren’t good at maritime combat, and that Pacific Fleet is defenseless.”

The more Shinji thought about it, the more the possibility increased.

The Fifth Angel had already shown tactical instinct, knowing how to use ”fishing” to destroy conventional forces. Why couldn’t subsequent Angels adopt a high-end tactic like ”divide and conquer”?

”Ayanami, your intuition is quite sharp. To think you linked the mutation of the Fifth Angel to the possibility of the Sixth Angel ambushing Unit-02... not bad, you’ve made progress.”

Rei stared at him blankly, words stuck in her throat. After a long while, she finally nodded woodenly.

”Yes.”

This statement made Hikari gape. She looked back and forth between them, suddenly questioning her own existence.

’Is... is that it?!’

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