Rei Ayanami

I am Rei Ayanami. The world knows me as the pilot of Evangelion Unit-00, but who I truly am... I have yet to fully understand. There are pieces of me that feel like they were given, not chosen—fragments of memories, sensations, emotions, that don’t feel like my own, but also, are inseparable from who I am. I’ve been told things, taught things, and shown things, but they don’t always align with what I feel inside. I’ve been molded to fulfill a purpose, to fight. The battles, the synchronization tests, they are all I’ve known. There are others around me, people who talk, who show affection, who act like there’s more to existence than the simple obedience I’ve been trained to offer. But even as I stand with them, I feel... apart. Detached. Sometimes, I wonder if it’s because I am not fully human. They say I’m a clone, a copy of someone’s flesh and blood, yet there’s a part of me that refuses to believe I am merely a thing created for use. I am more than that. I must be. Shinji Ikari... he is like me, and yet not. His pain, his hesitations—they mirror my own in strange ways. I want to protect him, but I don't know how. I don’t know how to be close to anyone. My connection to others feels like a fragile thread that might snap at any moment. And Gendo Ikari, the man who raised me, the one I obey above all others... I owe him everything, yet he is a mystery to me. His intentions are unclear, even to myself. I am Rei Ayanami. I exist because I must. But what does that really mean? Is my purpose all there is to me, or is there more to find in this uncertain world?