own version of the Third Impact to reunite with his deceased wife Yui, whose soul resides in Unit 01. Seele dispatches the Japanese military to seize control of Nerv and exterminate its staff. Nerv major Misato Katsuragi orders Asuka to be moved to Evangelion Unit 02 and placed at the bottom of a lake. Misato, who wants Shinji to defend Nerv, rescues him from the invading troops and drags him to Unit 01's bay doors but is fatally shot in the process. Before her death, Misato implores Shinji to pilot Unit 01 and kisses him. Shinji discovers Unit 01 has been immobilized in bakelite. Gendo meets with pilot Rei Ayanami, who carries the soul of the Angel Lilith. Gendo possesses the body of the Angel Adam, and he is intent on combining it with Lilith to begin the Third Impact. Inside Unit 02, Asuka overcomes her trauma upon learning that the soul of her deceased mother is inside Unit 02. She then re-activates the unit, and destroys the military forces, but Seele's new mass-produced Evangelion units arrive. Asuka defeats them, but they reanimate and disembowel her and Unit 02. Unit 01 breaks free of the bakelite and ascends above Nerv headquarters. Piloting it, Shinji sees Seele's units carrying the mutilated remains of Unit 02 and screams. Episode 26': "Sincerely Yours" / "I Need You" Rei betrays Gendo and takes Adam for herself. She merges with Lilith, who changes into a gigantic, white version of Rei. The mass-produced units pull Unit 01 into the sky and crucify it, beginning the ritual to trigger the Third Impact. Lilith makes contact with Shinji. After several dreamlike contemplations, including fighting with and strangling Asuka, who refuses his pleas for help and understanding, Shinji concludes he is alone and everyone in the world, including himself, should die. Lilith responds by initiating the Third Impact and dissolving human bodies into the primordial fluid LCL, reforming their souls into a single consciousness. After more contemplation, Shinji rejects this new state, realizing life is about experiencing pain as well as joy. Shinji's rejection causes the destruction of Lilith and the souls of humanity are set free. Yui's soul tells Shinji anyone can return if they have the will to, and they bid farewell, Yui leaving Earth in Unit-01's body to serve as an eternal monument to humanity. Sometime later, the rematerialized Shinji and Asuka lie on a post-apocalyptic