April 23rd, 1909, 203rd Battalion Barracks Testing Grounds, Central Outskirts, Amestris – Flint POV
Automail Specialist Neil Flint walked through the barracks with trepidation, glancing nervously at everyone and everything. All around him, soldiers, alchemy researchers and automail craftsman worked without the concern he was currently experiencing. It aggravated him that he felt such fear just walking around his workplace – especially after 2 months, especially after his time “toughening up” in Briggs – but he could not help it.
There were a number of causes. First was the sound of gunfire in the distance; it seemed adamant that he not have a good night’s sleep. As a night-hawk, he liked sleeping in, but the 263rd Artillery Battalion did their testing in the morning. That alone would have just been a mere inconvenience, but it was the implication. This was not just a live-fire exercise, but was done against real, living people. Supposedly, the new “Mark 20 Operation Orb” could handle the strain… but that does not change the fact that it was tested in live-fire scenarios first.
‘Do these people have a death wish?! It’s common sense to test prototypes in a controlled environment with no chance of death! I’ve met with tons of soldiers, and every one of them made one thing very clear: they would follow a sensible and capable commander into the depths of hell, but only if it made sense. They weren’t stupid or fanatical, even if it might seem that way to outsiders. Major General Armstrong became the “Northern Wall of Briggs” because she valued the lives of her men and is a capable leader, not because she can drive her underlings to suicidal fanaticism… so who the hell is Colonel Tanya Degurechaff?’
It was just the first of many “abnormalities” surrounding the 203rd Battalion. When he questioned the Mythril Alchemist about the testing, she said it was “Something that her subordinates wanted”, yet when he questioned the soldiers, they said it was “What the Colonel wanted”. That relationship only got more confusing as he delved deeper. The soldiers seemed to be fanatically loyal to their commander, yet there was nothing he saw about the Colonel that could have earned their loyalty. She seemed like the typical “hands off” leader he had been used to from the military before Major General Armstrong took control of Briggs. The Mythril Alchemist rarely worked with her soldiers and instead seemed to be focused solely on the development of her “pet project” making her strange automail alchemy mechanisms.
This frustrated him because of the second cause for his nervousness: he was taking part in this project under false pretenses. The Ice Queen had tasked him with learning the secrets of the Operation Orb and the successes the of the unit that fielded it. It was the General’s greatest strength as a leader in Neil’s opinion: she had a “sixth-sense” about developments in strategy and technology and ruthlessly exploited them. Whether it was there new winter-warfare tactics, winterized automail, armored vehicles, static-defense architecture, artillery improvements and coordination, or radio protocol, no skill was too insignificant to master, no technology too trivial to harness if it meant even one more soldier would survive their next engagement. It was a philosophy Neil wholeheartedly supported.
‘So – like an idiot – I just had to jump at the first opportunity I could use my skills to help the Ice Queen. Argh, I’m so in-over-my-head it isn’t funny. Oh sure, I graduated from the prestigious Aerugan Automail Technical Institute, so obviously it would be trivial for me to figure everything out and hop on back to Briggs. Earn myself a promotion and maybe even earn the admiration of our hot doctor… Stupid, of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Instead I’ve barely scratched the surface of this insane place, with its insane people and insane technology-’
“Hey! Specialist Flint! I need a hand over here.”
His reminiscence was cut short by the voice of a nearby officer calling out to him. Neil was busy and should not have responded… but he also wanted could not risk making an enemy out of any of the officers. His mission would be in danger if one of them decided he should leave.
Turning to walk towards the source of the voice, he could see that a few technicians were working with an officer wearing one of the new “Mark 20 Armor”. Simply put, the thing was a network of metal joints and bars attached to the arms and legs which all connected to the new Mark 20 Orb in the center. The Colonel called the thing an “Exoskeleton”, but that reminded everyone of creepy insects, so people just called it “Armor” which the solders liked because of the connection to knights of old.
He recognized that the officer was actually one of the leading members of the 203rd: Captain Rhiner Neumann. He did not interact with the man much, but his boisterous and friendly personality made him a favorite among the non-military people in the barracks.
“Sure, I can help… what do you need, sir.”
The tall soldier rolled his eyes at him.
“No need to call me sir, I know you guys aren’t part of the military. Anyway, there’s a problem with the armor that I need your help with. The technicians don’t know what’s wrong. Anyway, here, let me show you.”
Captain Neumann stood up and activated his Orb. A faint blue glow illuminated small parts of it and he could see faint traces of it flow through cables connected to mechanisms attached to the soldier’s arms and legs. Once the “exoskeleton” was primed with alchemy, the Captain bent his arms, but halfway through the bend, the armor “locked up” stopping him from completing the motion. He did the same thing with his other arm and legs. Each time, he would get about 80% of the way towards completing the full movement before being suddenly stopped by the iron suit. After he completed the motions, he deactivated the Orb, allowing him to move freely again.
“As you can see, the armor’s locking up. The technicians said it was something wrong with the Orb.”
Neil turned to the other people here and raised an eyebrow. That sounded like they were trying to push their job onto him.
They could see what he was implying and were quick to respond.
“We investigated everything ourselves and it’s the only outcome we can think of. It seemed really unlikely that all the joints would have the same failure at the same time without the Orb being the issue, but we checked anyway. Everything’s working normally. The armor was working perfectly fine this morning, but another mechanic came in, made some changes, and left. Ever since, the thing hasn’t been working properly.”
Before Neil could respond, the Captain laughed and shook his head.
“Now, now, before you go blaming the mechanic, I want to apologize first. Colonel Degurechaff has been having me go through “performance exercises” double-checking the limits of the Orb this morning and I think I pushed things a bit too hard. If the mechanic did something wrong, it was only because he was fixing problems that I started.”
Neil paled at that. He had seen this Mark 20 suit enable soldiers to hold trucks over their head and punch through stone like it was made of sand. The Orb could do that for hours. He could scarcely imagine what he must have been doing to “push it too hard”.
“Ah, I see… let me see what I can do.”
Like most of the things he experienced with the 203rd, he ignored the insanity and focused on his work. Kneeling in front of the officer, he unscrewed the harness holding the Orb in place and took it out of the armor to get a closer look. The thing was a work of a genius or a madman and was not so much a break from previous work in the field, as it was an outright refutation of the very concept of “Automail”. A multitude of spider-like automail limbs inside the Orb was not controlled by a connection of nerves and tendons, but remotely by communication with dozens of small alchemic “antennas” which translated simple alchemy into signals for the automail “nerves” to control.
He did not understand quite how that worked, but he did not need to: so long as he understood the expected function and form, he could reverse-engineer the problem to the source of the issue and fix it. In this case, the Orb used the cables connected to the joints in the arms and legs as “inputs” letting it know where the limbs were at all times. It then compared this value with the Operator’s innate proprioception. In other words, it always kept an Operators limbs where they wanted to be. For example, if an arm was being pushed down by a heavy rock it was holding, the Orb would recognize the external force and cancel it out, allowing the Operator to hold the rock like it was nothing. If the “locking limb problem” here had anything to do with the Orb, it was due to receiving wrong inputs and triggering its internal “safety”. This safety function occurred when the Orb was being told to move a limb further than that limb should be able to go and stopped the limb in place. Without this, a faulty Orb might break an Operator’s bones.
Neil Flint did not waste any time in correcting this problem before it killed someone.
‘How could that mechanic sign off on something so horrifically wrong?! Doesn’t anyone realize just how dangerous these things are? Of course, a miraculous state-of-the-art system like this only works if every piece of the puzzle fits together perfectly… okay, there isn’t any obvious defects in the parts… nothing is stuck or out of place… maybe an issue with the gears? Will need to consult the manual, damn.’
He was still hoping it would be an “easy fix” where he could swap out a bad part with a good one. He unclasped a latch on one of the pouches of his toolbelt and took out an oil-stained booklet. Flipping through the pages, he located the table of values he was looking for. Taking out a micrometer, he measured the diameter of gears in the Orb, converted them into other values using a slide-rule, then compared those values to the ones on the table to verify if they made any sense. After a few minutes of this, he found the issue.
That “Eureka Moment” must have shown up on his face because the Captain spoke up.
“I see you figured something out something.”
Neil took out a piece of paper and began to write things down about the problem and what parts needed to be replaced so that one of the technicians could fix the problem. Not wanting to be rude to the Captain, however, he responded to his question while he worked.
“The Orb’s calibration was done for a someone smaller than you. It’s possible that this Orb was used by someone like Captain Serebryakova and was exchanged for your broken one with no adjustments. With the tolerances the Mythril Alchemist has put in, it probably wouldn’t have done any damage, but if that mechanic had done anything else, he could have killed you.”
Captain Neumann seemed to understand the gravity of what he was saying and nodded solemnly.
“I understand. Please make a complaint about the problem and I’ll make sure the Colonel-”
The man cut himself off and suddenly stood up and gave a salute. Neil turned and almost found himself saluting as well. Despite not being in the military, the sight of the Mythril Alchemist, her Adjutant Captain Serebryakova and another alluring female officer walking side-by-side had him surrounded on all sides by the best talent Amestris had to offer.
The Mythril Alchemist looked comically small next Captain Neumann and had to look almost straight up to make eyes with him, yet she seemed completely unfazed by the disparity.
“So Captain Neumann. Everything ready?”
The Captain nodded.
“Just finishing up. There’s been a problem with the Orb but Specialist Flint here will be giving everything a once-over before I head out.”
He gestured to Neil who coughed in his hand. He fumbled putting his tools in his belt.
“I’ll have everything ready, uh, s-soon, sir.”
She nodded and gestured to the beautiful dark-haired woman to her left.
“This is Major Solaris. She’s here on behalf of the Fürer to oversee my progress before I undertake my State Re-Certification Exam in a few days.”
The Major’s lips curved into a smile. Despite the cute Captain next to her, he was entranced by the woman in ways he could not put a finger on. He normally liked “tom-boys” like the doctor back in Briggs, but he could not deny that the woman before him had an appeal of her own.
“You’ve all proven to be incredible so far and I’m very impressed. Please, just pretend I’m not even here and I’m sure things will turn out just fine.”
Solaris’ tone completed the package. Far from pretending she was not there, if it was not for the Adjutant Serebryakova looking cute next to her, he would struggle from even pulling his eyes off the Major.
‘Gah, what do they feed the women in Central?!’
Wiping his hands on his uniform, he thought of an excuse and made a quick exit.
“I’ll be, uh, I’ve got to go grab some things to make repairs on, uh, Captain Neumann’s Orb…”
Either ignoring his yammering, or having sympathy, the Colonel nodded.
“Of course, but please hurry. The demonstration will begin soon.”
Neil nodded and rushed off before he did something foolish.
‘I need to figure all this out and rush back to Briggs soon! All of this is driving me crazy!’
---
April 23rd, 1909, 203rd Battalion Barracks Testing Grounds, Central Outskirts, Amestris – Lust POV
Lust watched Specialist Neil Flint leave with a hint of amusement. Since she did not know who might be acting as an intermediary for Mythril’s possible backers, she had to keep a close eye on everyone and he was the first person she found who showed signs of deceit. How irritating, then, to find out he was merely communicating with that rogue Armstrong General that the Centralists had sent to Briggs. That irritation turned to humor when she found out his goal was not trying to join forces with Mythril, but merely to take any innovations they could get their hands on.
The “Ice Queen” thought she was clever for building a power-base outside of Central Authority, but it only served to alienate her from any potential allies. The Centralists under Wrath’s control used her recluse behavior as a means of controlling the narrative. The Academics in the West were told she was a dangerous radical working on mad research projects without State oversight and that hundreds had died from her experiments into new weapons. To the various traitors and terrorists in the East, the Centralists spread that the Briggs men were all dogs of the military who raided Drachma and ruthlessly butchered anyone they found. From there, the General’s lack of tact and trust in others only reinforced their gossip. Ironically, despite the power and technology the woman had accumulated, she was one of the least threatening people to their cause.
She turned to Major General Armstrong’s opposite in the form of a small child next to her. The Mythril Alchemist was comparatively weak, but an enigma of the worst kind: one which only grew the deeper she investigated. She was clever enough to become a State Alchemist with a method that bypassed Wrath’s approval, but was foolish enough to get caught in the act. She had the charisma to recruit and lead a unit of loyal soldiers, but flaunted that loyalty without using it for anything. She could convince the Armstrong family to defend her, but only did so when the wars were over and she was just being accosted by minor administrative pressure.
‘It’s like she is trying to paint a target on her back. All of her actions are irrelevant on their face. The Operation Orb Project, her actions in the war, none of them matter in the grand scheme of things… but the way she does things suggests some higher plan. Something that would require a State Alchemist certification without our approval, using an elite small army at her disposal and the backing of their political opponents. It all sounds so threatening…’
This was only made worse by the fact that every word the young State Alchemist seemed to be sarcastic, even if the Colonel’s tone seemed serious.
“Major Solaris, I hope my rather lackluster tour of the barracks has at least been educational. Certainly nothing like the craziness that has been going on in Central recently. I had heard just the other day that Brigadier General Edison of the Procurement Office was a spy and had fled the country! While it’s awful that such a thing could happen in a great country like ours, I had heard that President Bradley had led the investigation that discovered his treason, so I can’t thank his wise leadership enough.”
The Colonel’s Adjutant also added to the conversation.
“I knew there was something wrong with the Procurement Office. They were charging us too much for things we needed for the Project. We could’ve spoken up!”
The Colonel shook her head and chided her subordinate.
“Now, I wouldn’t say that. We should consider ourselves lucky we didn’t get involved. It is one thing for the leader of our nation to discover a plot and a different thing entirely if we had tried to do anything. While it might be only one rank, the Brigadier General still outranked me and had a number of ways he could have caused more trouble for us before we had any chance to fully uncover his scheme. He might have even tried to pin it on us! We should all just be fortunate that this whole thing is behind us and that any Procurement we have in the future will be hassle-free.”
Lust could not help but think of the statements as sarcastic.
‘An insult and a threat. Comparing Wrath’s oversight of her project with his failure to catch the spy, then warning us that any more actions against her would be too obvious. Was this whole spy thing her plan? Was Brigadier General Edison ever really a spy, or did Tanya set him up? Damn it! I can’t keep jumping to ridiculous conclusions. No one can be such a mastermind. I could kill her right now, so she can’t be all that smart. The “Major Solaris” disguise would be difficult to repair, but it would not be a huge setback. Either she’s stupid enough to think we need the identities of her backers that urgently, or everything until now has all been a big coincidence.’
It was frustrating that the Colonel was right, even if just barely: finding the truth about her situation was more important for now. She had agreed with Wrath that the Colonel could slip up and reveal more information and that killing her would only risk them being ambushed by her backers in the future. They were bound to uncover something with how much scrutiny the Mythril Alchemist was under, but that did not mean she could not look for some excuse to kill her and finally move on from this farce.
It did not change the fact that her normally calm demeanor was cracking and that her someone looking at her gloved fingers would notice they had grown an inch over the past minute.
“Well, I can safely say that I’ve learned all that I will be able to for now, Colonel Degurechaff. I’ll be watching your presentation from the stands and leaving for Central Headquarters.”
The child appeared ignorant of Lust’s rage boiling just beneath the surface. The Alchemist turned to her and smiled.
“Thank you again for coming, Major Solaris. Feel free to help yourself to the catering! This demonstration is supposed entertaining enough to appeal to potential investors, so I hope you will enjoy the show.”
As Lust walked away, the Colonel and her Adjutant turned away from her and began discussing things with the Captain wearing the strange metal suit.
---
April 23rd, 1909, 203rd Battalion Barracks Mustering Yard, Central Outskirts, Amestris – Lust POV
Lust sat down in one of the bleachers surrounding a large open pit. At the far end was a podium where the Mythril Alchemist was struggling with lowering her microphone. The child looked embarrassed as the audience politely chuckled. Lust tried to take some manner of sadistic joy in watching the girl fail at something for once, but she could not be sure it was not some ploy to garner sympathy.
Finally ready, the State Alchemist spoke out to them through the microphone in a loud and clear voice.
“Good Afternoon, ladies and gentleman. My name is Colonel Tanya Degurechaff and I want to first thank you all for coming. While I’m sure most of you have come to this with some idea of what the Operation Orb is, there are surely a few of you that have only had second- or third-hand accounts, so let me provide an overview and give a few demonstrations of the state of this incredible new technology…”
Over the next few minutes, the pit featured a demonstration of the features of the “Mark 1” Operation Orb. She noted – with faint amusement – the irony of the new technology. There was a reason why Father had approved Wrath’s Project and its new direction of warfare. The trend over the past few hundred years had wars being fought at greater distances with more powerful weapons. Humans had always been cowards and hypocrites. They would kill one another, but they preferred that it happened out-of-sight and without any risk to themselves. However, if it were not for the Promised Day coming soon, she might be concerned new weapons could pose a threat some day. As good as Homonculus regeneration is, humans now had the destructive potential to overcome it… assuming they were accurate enough to hit, of course. Once Lust had seen Orbs in action in Ishval, however, her worries were gone.
‘Ignoring that our own pawns will soon be using these new toys, this “Operation Orb” makes fighting much easier. Guns and cannons are being rendered obsolete, but there’s still nothing to stop a blade. My Ultimate Spear would make short work of them with even less risk to myself. How delightful.’
Perhaps Tanya should feel grateful she could not read minds. Would she be demoralized that her life’s work only served to make her pitiful species’ end more certain?
Mythril continued speaking as the Mark 1 demonstrations ended.
“With these demonstrations, it should be clear why this project was officially sanctioned by our leader Fürer King Bradley himself, and how someone as young as myself could obtain the rank of State Alchemist.”
Lust smirked at her ignorance.
Grabbing the microphone, the State Alchemist walked down from the podium and into the central open area. At the same time, a group of soldiers dragged a large, wheeled artillery piece into the field alongside another person wearing one of those “Orb Armor” things she had seen earlier. Underneath the bulky metal mechanisms, the man wore the uniform of an Amestrian officer.
“Of course, the Mark 1 is nothing new. I only helped design it with my mentor the Silver Alchemist who is already working with the State on its mass-production. However, I made this demonstration to showcase my new innovations on the design, not take credit for other peoples’ work. So before I delve any deeper into a breakdown of potential long-term goals, expenses, and expected ROI over the next few years based on various seed-capital initiatives, let me provide to you a hint of what’s to come. I present the ‘Mark 10 Empowered Orb Armor’!”
At her signal, the man in the armor took the large piece of artillery in both hands and lifted it over its head. After a few seconds, it dropped it back down. There was no reaction from the audience and Lust had to agree. What was Mythril expecting with this? The Mark 1 had done something similar already.
Based on the lack of reaction from the Colonel, it seemed she had expected that.
“As you can see, this does not seem all that extraordinary, but I want you to imagine what it would take to do something like this using current technology. A steam-powered lifter is over ten times the size of this “armor” and a pulley system might eventually get the job done, but that requires expertise and hours of setup. Of course, a few of you that have researched the Mark 1 are probably shaking your head at the comparison: ‘This thing will cost more than my factory or my company to operate, it’s completely impractical’ you might be wondering. That was the Mark 1 and this is the Mark 10. This Orb is made of steel instead of silver and interchangeable parts instead of manually crafted ones. It is less than one-tenth the price of the Mark 1 and will become even cheaper once mass-production starts. The only caveat is that it can only do one Operation. The Mark 10 performs ‘Empower’ while the Mark 11 will perform ‘Deflect’ and so on. As the Captain here will also explain, it’s much easier to learn and use.”
The man in the armor took the microphone with surprising precision. Lust had assumed it would be difficult to hold small things in the bulky metal arms, but it did not seem to be the case.
“I’m Captain Ugar of the Western Headquarters Railroad Department and I can attest to Colonel Degurechaff’s statement. I’ve no experience with Alchemy – didn’t so much as touch a Transmutation Circle in my life – but in less than a month I can already use this. My department and the Engineering Corps plan on buying as many of these as we can get our hands on to aid in infrastructure development on our Western border. This can dig, hammer, lift; really anything a person can do, but better. One worker in this armor can do the work of 10 men for twice as long per day. We’ve even started work on outfitting this with ‘real’ armor. With steel plating and integrated weapons, a Mark 10 can turn the average soldier into a mobile bunker.”
Lust frowned at this.
‘It seems the Academics in the West have been working with Mythril behind the scenes… Wrath surely had to know about this, so why was I not informed? If Tanya can build up enough of these… well I suppose it isn’t an immediate threat. Is her plan to make enough money to be untouchable? What a laugh. It would be a simple matter to kill her and have Envy replace her little “empire”. There has to be something more to this than just profit and slightly tougher soldiers…’
Taking back the microphone, she had everyone give a round of applause as the artillery and man were replaced with another. The new man wore a nearly identical metal “armor” but the details were different. Most notably, the man was not wearing a uniform underneath the metal supports, but a thick, padded, leather outfit. The man’s face was covered with a glass visor and a hose-like object linking the mask to a canister on the man’s side.
“I saved the best for last. While the potential of this technology is self-evident, it is also just that: something that hasn’t happened. I’m sure a number of you in the audience have been wondering about the limits of this technology. Perhaps you might imagine it like the invention of something like a tractor: something that will become cheaper over time like the Mark 10, or maybe more powerful some day, but never becoming something more than what it was built for. This is not like any device made before: this is a new way of alchemy and so its limits are only what we can dream of! The possibilities are endless and even the sky is not the limit. For the first time in human history, I present to you heavier-than-air flight!”
Lust thought something went wrong at first: the man’s limbs all ignited in a purplish-blue flame and the area exploded. However, the explosion was small and instead of tossing the man away, it propelled them upwards and into the sky. The noise was almost deafening like nothing she had ever heard before and the air was swept up in wakes and plumes of dust that had many people in the audience coughing or covering their ears. Lust shot up on her feet and quickly found the man hovering in the air. If not for the thick flames and smoke she would have struggled to see the small speck. Like Sloth, Lust might have had superhuman strength and reflexes, but her senses struggled to keep up with the flying object.
‘Am I seeing this right?! Wrath was clearly too optimistic if he’s allowing this. The Orb has made some things easier for us, but like insects, killing them will be difficult if they start flying… perhaps I can learn how to use one of these Orbs? No, if it relies on alchemy that would be impossible.’
There was a reason that – despite the long lives the Homunculi lived – none of them could perform alchemy like Father. Alchemy required the use of a Gate to convert power from the Source though a ritual and will into Action. Homunculi and Father were “born” into the world without a Gate, and so could not use Alchemy. For Father, this changed when he used Xerxes as a catalyst for his ascension. For Lust and her siblings, however, they had not undergone such a transformation. That did not mean Homonculi could not use alchemy, but the “Alchemy” she used to regenerate or use her Ultimate Spear, for example, was nothing like that used by humans. She subjugated the thousands of souls inside her to her will and pushed them all to use their Gates in a crude semblance of unity. This resulted in a power unique to every Homunculi, but only one power.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
She had tried to do other things with the souls inside her – change her appearance like Envy or use Transmutation Circles – but it was no use. The souls would get confused about what they were supposed to do and the source coming through the Gates would interfere and mix with one another. It was the same reason why alchemists rarely ever tried doing Alchemy with more than one person: without perfect synchronicity, the result would be completely random with unintended consequences. Her own attempts usually resulted in mutating her body into grotesque shapes or causing a limb or two to explode in a mess of viscera that felt very uncomfortable.
Needless to say, Alchemy was a skill she long gave up on harnessing.
“Can that man get down safely?!”
A voice in the crowd spoke up from the chaotic din of the crowd. Tanya was quick to respond.
“Of course, of course! Please don’t worry for yourself or Captain Neumann high in the sky right now. This technology is far safer than mechanical engines which might jam, stall or fail. The worst possible scenario for this system is that of an Orb malfunction. In that case, the pilot only needs to stop using alchemy. When that happens, a safety will trigger and deploy three separate ‘parachutes’. To clarify, a parachute is a large piece of fabric attached to the pilot by thick cords. Any one of these will slow Captain Neumann’s descent to a crawl. In fact, my final demonstration for the day is exactly that.”
The Colonel gave a signal to a group of soldier off to the side. Four of them separated in opposing directions and in doing so unraveled a large red flag. This seemed to have caught the eye of the flying Captain and the flames coming out of his limbs stopped. A moment later, the white fabric of the “parachute” deployed behind him and his quick descent suddenly halted.
After a minute of watching the man fall excruciatingly slowly back down to the ground, he finally landed and once again took his place next to his commander.
“Please give Captain Neumann a round of applause for the amazing feat never before seen by mankind!”
Lust gave token applause she did not feel. She did feel a different emotion however, a feeling of her sadism rising up.
‘This is it… something I can use to get rid of this massive pain once and for all. Flight is an imminent threat to Father’s Plans, at least, I can frame it that way. Until now, we have had control of the major information sources and anyone acting outside that could be discovered and questioned, but this changes things. I can already see it: flying people with cameras and binoculars gathering information. It might take months or years, but there would be no way to stop them from finding the many “abnormalities” in how Central operates. Soon they would be able to put together a list of people coming in and out of Laboratory 3 and realize some people come in but don’t leave for days.’
Of course, the chance of any of this happening was truly one-in-a-million. There were only a few short years left until the Promised Day and the chance of anything interfering with their century-long machinations was impossible, but Lust was not looking for proof, she was looking for an excuse. The way the Mythril Alchemist held herself; the subtle jabs and insinuations, everything about the child rubbed her the wrong way.
Lust made her decision. By the end of the day, the Mythril Alchemist would be dead.
---
April 23rd, 1909, 203rd Battalion Barracks Testing Grounds, Central Outskirts, Amestris – Tanya POV
‘Well that worked exactly like I hoped, for once!’
Tanya’s demonstration of all her hard work over the past year had finally paid off. Industrialists, Generals, Investors and more all wanted a piece of her technology. She had spent the past hour having non-stop discussions with them and had handed out all of her business cards. Once Visha had written down the contact information of everyone she interacted with today, she took a well-earned break at the outdoor buffet she had set up.
Sitting on one of the picnic tables, she looked on at the elite of Amestris having heated discussions about the potential of the Operation Orb. It only made sense that things would turn out this way. She was no longer being hampered by the State or the ambitions and small-mindedness of military officers and bureaucrats. This was the free marketplace of ideas and the people that could survive in that environment were naturally selected to see the true value of an idea beyond their biases. Every sector of industry and every aspect of life would be changed by this. The Operation Orb was something similar to the Computer. It did some good on its own, but it true power was in augmenting and improving the performance of every aspect of human work. She was not kidding when she said there were virtually no limits to what it could do.
‘I can see it now! Orbs fueling every engine with renewable energy, powered exoskeletons eliminating the work of millions and shifting them into the economic and service sectors decades ahead of time! I might even a glimpse of the world I left by the time I retire on the royalties. I will see Amestris’ version of the Japanese Economic Miracle (日本の高度経済成長期).’
Her daydreaming was cut of by a sound coming from behind her. Turning around, Tanya could see Major Solaris smiling and clapping as she made her way towards her. Tanya’s jubilation was muted by the appearance of the Fürer’s “emissary”.
‘Ah… there’s still one person left I have to convince. If the Fürer can’t see the value of my projects, then I would be forced to leave the military and pursue this on my own. The Armstrongs said they would wholeheartedly support me on this… but it would be a major setback. It would be like the blood and sweat of the wars I fought were for nothing.’
The Major seemed to sense her wariness because she acted apologetically.
“Ah, Colonel Degurechaff, I’m not here to criticize you. You’re the woman of the hour so I won’t heap on any more praise than you’ve already been given. Your presentation today… convinced me of a number things that I will be sure to tell the Fürer about. Seeing a man fly like that was quite the show.”
Tanya still felt uneasy, was she being sarcastic? She hated being blind-sided by unknown intentions of everyone around her. Japan had its own share of problems, but the rationality and consistency of everyone was not one of them, unlike Amestris. Here, she needed to work ten times harder to convince everyone that her way was the best path forwards.
“I’m sure it was, but that show was for the civilians. I’m sure someone like you and Our Leader would prefer hard facts. I have a number of reports and other, smaller, projects I’ve been working on that might interest you more.”
The woman frowned.
“And I suppose that all of this is already in circulation among the other State Alchemists? There’s no chance that your ‘Flight Orb’ will simply disappear?”
Despite the strange wording and tone of the question, Tanya was quick to nod her head in agreement that she was following procedure. It was the law that anything used as part of a State Project had to be archived for others to use. It was a system she fully endorsed. After all, she had heavily benefited from that body of work and she was more than happy to repay that in kind to the future generation.
“Of course! All my reports have been submitted in triplicate to the Central Alchemy Committee to be distributed to the Committee Archive, Military Archive and the 1st Branch of the National Central Library. I’ve kept a few observations to myself until I have something more substantial to submit, but the ‘Flight Orb’ – as you call it – has been fully documented.”
The Major took on a thoughtful look.
“I suppose I can give you a last-minute opportunity to show what you’ve got before your… final exam.”
Tanya frowned. Again, there was something more to what was being said, but she was missing the context. Was there some other reason why Major Solaris was here beyond just checking the status of the Project?
“Alright. In that case, would you mind following me back to my office? I’ll just need to get my Adjutant and we can-”
She was cut off by the Major grabbing her shoulder.
“Actually, can we go just the two of us? I need to leave soon and don’t want to wait. Besides, I can’t see your Adjutant anywhere.”
Sure enough, looking around Tanya could not see Captain Serebryakova anywhere in her line of sight.
‘Well, this could be my last chance to make a good impression. I suppose I don’t need Visha just to show a few more of my pet projects.’
She nodded and led the way. Major Solaris seemed surprisingly happy about this last-minute tour. Tanya hoped that would soon turn into a positive review.
---
April 23rd, 1909, 203rd Battalion Commander’s Residence, Central Outskirts, Amestris – Lust POV
It was time.
Lust had the Mythril Alchemist alone and out of the way. She had covertly notified an agent in Intelligence to be on the lookout for potential witnesses and suspects in the future murder. The agent had been keeping track of the times that people were entering and leaving the Barracks. Soon, Tanya would be dead and Lust would get to work constructing an alibi and staging the scene of the crime. She would submit the information to the Centralists who would use it to find a suspect to frame for the crime. If things turned out well, they could even find someone else inconvenient to Father’s Plan and kill two birds with one stone.
Of course as much as she craved it, Lust did not want the murder to happen right away. Just like with the Mafia Don she had killed a few weeks ago, Lust was willing to tolerate an hour in getting to know how the officer thought, the projects she was working on, as well as seeking potential leads on her .
‘Who knows, she might even say something that could keep her alive.’
Lust suppressed a chuckle at the absurdity, but the child had surprised her many times already.
Heading into her office, the Mythril Alchemist busied herself with collecting a number of documents on her desk. Lust had ample opportunity to end things right now and had to suppress the unconscious urge to extend her fingers in preparation, but she was not lying when she told the Alchemist that she would get a last-minute chance to prove herself. Wrath had a point when he wanted to keep his pet alchemist alive. There was some secret behind her and the Colonel would finally reveal it… if she was as smart as Lust suspected.
Having found what she was looking for, the Mythril Alchemist turned around and presented an Operation Orb to her. Unlike the Silvery ones she had seen, this one looked like it was made with dark orange and yellow metal. The Orb was far larger and more complicated than any she had seen before. It was the size of her head and looked heavy if the strain on Tanya’s face was any evidence.
“This has been something of a personal project of mine. I call it the Mark 90.”
Lust raised an eyebrow.
“First the Mark 1, then the Mark 10 and 20. Now there is a Mark 90. Is there any reason for the jumps? Do you have a hundred other prototypes lying around somewhere?”
The Alchemist put down the Orb and shook her head.
“Ah, that’s my fault. I had in mind to order the prototypes into groups of 10. I knew that Major Commanche would no doubt name any Orbs he designed in order, so I thought it would be best to start at 10 for the Steel “Civilian” models and 20 for the “Military” ones, then I might use other designations of “Specialty” Orbs and so on.”
She tapped the golden orb at her desk.
“This one is a bit different. I have no doubt it will never go into production so I didn’t want it interfering with the order, but I needed to test the limits of what an Orb can do. This is the result: it’s a pretty fun ‘toy’. Here, let me show you what it does.”
Mythril placed a hand on the Orb. The Orb illuminated with a golden glow of alchemic energy completely unlike the normal blue reaction. At the same time, a nearby small metal cube – no bigger than a fist – slowly levitated in the air with an equivalent glow. The moment the Colonel let go of the Orb, the cube dropped back to the desk with a dull think.
“That’s it, not very spectacular, I imagine.”
Of course, Lust could see there was something more to this, but was getting tired of the State Alchemist’s games.
‘Does the girl have a death wish?’
“No, I don’t suppose it is all that interesting. What’s the point of this?”
Realizing her frustration, Colonel Degurechaff gestured to the Orb with her hands.
“Ah! Right, I’m sorry. I forgot you had someplace to be. Let me start by saying what this Orb isn’t. It’s not cheap, simple, small, or flexible. It can’t move just any object in the air like this. It must be this cube; specifically a stainless steel cube with an edge-length of 10 centimeters and a mass of 7.93 kilograms, and it can only move it with the force of at most 80 newtons. I sacrificed a multitude of capabilities and advantages for one very important reason: to make an Orb that anyone can use. Not an expert with months of training. Not a civilian with weeks of training. Anyone. There are no complex rituals, circles, mathematics or visualization necessary. Just touch the Orb and visualize the cube moving around, and it will. Please give it a try.”
Lust froze for a moment. She was a Homonculus. It did not matter what fancy technology the Mythril Alchemist had invented or who she tested this Orb on, it would not work for her.
‘Could this be what she wanted? Some mechanism she could use to confirm I’m a Homonculus?’
She sighed at the conspiracies her mind was conjuring. It did not matter. It would just be another in a long line of suspicious actions that justified the Alchemist’s immediate death. If it was the Colonel’s plan for her to “out” herself, Lust would relish the opportunity to have her become very acquainted with what it meant to be in the same room as a Homonculus. If not, it would be amusing to see her flushed with embarrassment at having her pet project fail right in front of her Fürer’s representative. Either way, it changed nothing, but the reaction would give her more information on the mystery that was the Mythril Alchemist. That was the entire point of her keeping the child alive after all.
So she planted one hand on the sphere and outstretched her other hand. Then she made an effort to have the cube move into her open hand. She was not surprised to see a Homunculus’ alchemic reaction create a red glow. It was the same when she had tried transmutation circles. What did shock her, however, was that the metal cube actually moved! Slowly but surely, it lifted up and moved into her hand!
Tanya continued to speak though the Homonculus’ shock.
“Huh, that’s interesting. Normally the glow is gold, but I suppose I don’t know why the color changed in the first place. Still, quite impressive, don’t you think?”
Lust let go of the Orb and the cube like it was burning her and stared dumbfounded at her hand. The heavy metal cube dropped to the floor with a load clunk. Shaking her head in disbelief, her mind spun in rapid thought. She brought a hand up to her earpiece.
“Change of plans, I’m bringing Mythril with me. Prepare a car.”
She did not wait for the child to respond and used her superhuman strength to grab her and drag her out of the office.
Mythril tried to fight back.
“Ah! W-what… Major Solaris! What are you doing?”
Lust stopped and turned to glare at the child with a face plainly showing her frustration.
“You’re going to meet with Father. Consider this an order from the Fürer. You’re coming with me. I’m had enough of these games and I’m getting to the bottom of this tonight!”
---
April 23rd, 1909, ???, Central, Amestris – Tanya POV
Colonel Tanya Degurechaff, the Mythril Alchemist, was blindfolded and being dragged along by Major Solaris towards some unknown destination. The Major had tied the blindfold after shoving her aggressively into the back seat of a car. She had tried to take it off once, but decided against it when she felt a sharp object poke her neck.
‘I don’t know if I’m being kidnapped, or just taken to some secret location as part of an official, sanctioned process… but I guess the result’s the same. I tried getting away, but I clearly underestimated Major Solaris. Perhaps my former male bias was in effect, but I didn’t think a thin woman could be so strong. I suppose I should use my Adjutant as an example of what an unassuming woman is capable of. Visha could throw other members of the 203rd with ease. It was one of the many reasons I made her my Adjutant to begin with. Why didn’t I just wait for my Adjutant to join us instead of going to my office with the Major alone?’
She could do little other than bemoan her current situation. It had been less than an hour since her “kidnapping” and they had only been in a car for half of that. By her estimation, that would mean they must still be in Central or the surrounding area. Based on the chatter she had heard earlier and the echoing of the halls now, she was in some sort of building, likely one that saw regular use. After a few minutes, the chatter had died away and they went down a number of flights of stairs. The faint sound of dripping water and the creaking of rust-covered metal led her to believe she was now in some sort of underground, barely-used area.
Finally, a door shut behind her and her blindfold was removed.
Getting used to the light, she looked up to see a massive stone door. Inscribed on it was an alchemy symbol. This was not a transmutation circle, but rather a “Hermetic Cosmological Sphere Diagram” which was used by Alchemists hundreds of years ago in vain attempts to categorize the universe. While the original use of the diagram had long since been proven to be “bunk science”, they could not be categorically ignored, which was why Tanya recognized it at a glance. Paracelsus – the founder of Modern Alchemic Theory in Amestris – derived several transmutation circles on the basis of the diagrams.
This one was a different than those ancient frauds, this image embossed on the stone incorporated a number of modern principles that the ancient alchemists could not have known about. At the center, the diagram highlighted “The Source” of Alchemy in the Mantle of the Earth. It also showed the “Five Influences” of Transmutation: the weak effects of the sun and moon’s gravity above, and circles denoting “emotion”, “soul” and “mind” below. Just like the ancient pictures, however, there was nothing practical about the engraving beyond its artistic value.
“So you are the Mythril Alchemist I have been hearing so much about.”
Looking away from the stone door, Tanya found a pale-blonde-haired man was sitting at a small table. The bearded man had one of the reports she had made on her new Mark 20 Orb in his hands. Based on the fact that Major Solaris was standing next to him and whispering something into his ear, Tanya could only guess the man was the Major’s father that she was supposed to meet. The white robe he was wearing and his beard gave her the impression that this was not a man who got out much. The “eccentric recluse” type.
Putting down the document, the man gestured to a seat across from his.
Since she did not know what else to say or do, she took the offered seat. She had plenty of time over the past hour to recognize that she was no longer in control of the situation and ignorant of what was going on. She needed to change that, but knew that being aggressive was not something she could afford as the weaker party in this “negotiation”.
“Good afternoon, sir, I’m Colonel Tanya Degurechaff. Now, could you explain who you are and what I’m doing here?”
The Major gave her an unfriendly smile.
“You’d do well to speak with more tact, Mythril. Like I told you, the time for games are over. You’d best be ready to explain yourself or-”
The man laughed, cutting off the Major and touching the woman on the shoulder.
“It seems that there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding here.”
He turned to the Colonel with a warm smile.
“I can see that you’re confused about all this Miss Degurechaff, but our meeting has been a long time coming. My daughter here has been keeping a close eye on your development and had some concerns. You see, a child at the young age of 10 should not be able to revolutionize Alchemy like you have. We were concerned that you were a spy for a foreign country or perhaps the face of some other organization with malicious intent for Amestris.”
Everything clicked in place.
‘The political maneuvering, the lies, pushing me to go to further extremes… they were all tests?! If I’d just quit while I was ahead at any time, they would’ve backed down?!’
She could berate herself for her idiocy later, she needed to salvage the situation.
“Then… is there anything I can do to prove my sincerity? I admit that my knowledge seems very advanced for someone my age but-”
The man cut off with a chuckle.
“There’s nothing you need to say. Seeing you here now, I can see that the accusations have all been unfounded and as the leader of the Central Faction, I can say that my word has quite a bit of weight.”
Tanya stared at him with shock, followed quickly by relief and incredulity.
“No offense, but I would think that Fürer-President King Bradley is the leader of my Faction. I admit that I have not participated in any official meetings, but it just makes logical sense that the strongest political influence would be the head, uh, sir.”
The man gave her a knowing smile and raised one of his hands. With the flick of a wrist and a glow of red alchemy, a apple materialized in his hand! Bit-by-bit an apple was constructed before her eyes! The powerful Alchemist took a bite of the fruit before placing it at the center of the table. From the bit marks, Tanya could see that the inner flesh of the apple looked real.
“The strongest political influence is the head of my faction, but there is more to strength than just being well known. Ah, as for my name, please just call me by my title ‘Gentleman’. Like ‘President’, the founder of the Central Faction did not want the leadership to get big heads about titles and privileges. We just want to do what is best for Amestris.”
Tanya hesitated for a moment, but took out a piece of paper with 12 triangles inscribed inside a dodecagon. The number 12 was the alchemic numerical function of Order and the Universe and the triangle the shape of Understanding and Breaking things down. Combined created a transmutation circle for checking the composition of something. It could not tell give better understanding of what an apple is – for example – but it could at least confirm if the object was what it looked like. Moment passed and, sure enough, the circle confirmed it was a real apple.
“What… this goes against what I know about Alchemy. What’s the trick? Did you somehow transport the apple into your hand from somewhere else… no, even that would require at least some heat and light beyond the reaction… and creating the organic compounds using air alone would make a massive whirlwind, never mind the massive cost… where did the matter come from? For that matter, where is the Transmutation Circle?”
The Gentleman shook his head, taking the apple back. Just as it had appeared, he made it disappear, deconstructing it without a circle as easily as he constructed it.
“I just wanted to let you know that you made a wise choice joining the Central Faction. There is much you could learn. Now, I know you were rudely forced here, but I want to again reinforce that you are free of suspicion. Leave whenever you want. I’m sure you have people that are worried about you right now.”
She nodded, but hesitated to stand from her seat. There were dozens of things going through her head.
‘What sort of conspiracy have I gotten myself into? What is this “Gentleman” planning? How does all this change things? What am I planning on doing from here on out?’
It was that last statement that got her thinking back to her conversation with Major General Halcrow back in Ishval. She seemed so sure of her political ambitions back then, and now she was sitting before the person who may have had some hand in orchestrating the Ishval War.
“Gentleman, sir… I have to ask. What was the point of all these wars this country has been involved in? As a veteran, I can’t help but think our lives were being wasted for nothing.”
She was being polite, but in her mind, she could not help but feel a ball of pent-up frustration building inside of her.
The man across from her seemed to empathize with her frustration.
“I know it must be hard, and as someone so far removed, I must look like a monster, but I want to turn that question back on you. Why would this country constantly compete with our neighbors? To ensure we remain competitive, so that we are never caught off-guard by new methods of warfare and our enemies have no decisive advantage. It might seem callous, to ‘throw away’ lives like this, but I am of the firm belief that more is saved in the long run. That by fighting many smaller conflicts, I am holding off a potential major one.”
Her eyes widened.
“A World War…”
He quirked his head to the side and stroked his bearded chin in thought.
“A fitting moniker. You will note that our nation has never needed to ‘mobilize’ like other nations or fight in major wars and the nation has benefited from it. Others might question our motives since we have gained so much from all these conflicts, but our citizens have gained more.”
Tanya could see the reasoning. It made sense in a cruel, unfair way… but there was a flaw.
“But technology changes things… my Orb, the Chimeras in Creta, and who knows what else. Technology is growing and diverging at a faster rate than ever before. Even with regular conflict, our enemies only need one advantage to think they can win.”
He smiled and tapped the document he had been reading.
“Like the new Orbs you’re developing?”
She was shocked and vehemently shook her head.
“No! The Orbs might give us some small advantage, but it could be stolen and used by others. That’s exactly the type of thing we need to prevent! Please, I know you think that these wars are helping – and maybe they did at one point – but you have to stop now! Our nation could be in danger!”
He nodded gravely.
“Then we are of one mind in this. Believe it or not, but the Central Faction was founded to make Amestris a place that could stand on its own feet. Its primary charter is the preservation of the lives of our citizens.”
She was relieved and stood up and saluted.
“Thank you. I will work as hard as I can to ensure that a future World War never happens. I promise.”
He smiled and gestured to the door.
---
April 23rd, 1909, Tunnels beneath Central Headquarters, Central, Amestris – Father POV
The being known as “Father” looked on at the retreating form of the Mythril Alchemist with great contentment.
He had not been lying about using War to prevent War. The best propaganda was the truth. He needed to lead a powerful nation full of citizens and that required large-scale conflict to be avoided at all cost. The border skirmishes in the West and South just proved that Wars for territorial expansion were a thing of the past. Even if he wanted to create a larger nation for his nationwide array, it would cost too many of his precious citizen’s lives to accomplish.
He needed them to stay alive for the Promised Day.
He had been curious about the existence of the supposed genius and the problems that she had caused for His Sins. It was similar to that of the curiosity he might have for a moth that had unknowingly let itself into a home. An inconvenience that would ultimately need to be killed, but whose delightfully strange appearance might be worth “pinning to a board” for display. The “pinning” in this case being a myriad of tortures or transmutations he might perform that would let him understand what went on in her strange little head before he added her soul to those of Xerxes coiling in torment underneath his skin.
But then he met her, and the curiosity changed to fortune.
His Lust turned to him and let out a sound of annoyance.
“Father, what was all that about? What has you so convinced? Do you not believe me? She could turn out to be a hindrance to our plans if-”
He laughed and and sat up from the seat. With a flash of alchemy, the table and chairs merged into the ground and document was thrown back into his Lust’s hands. He turned and gestured her to walk with him back towards the large stone gate and towards The Center of All Things.
“I believe you. In fact, seeing her only made me more convinced she will be troublesome in the future. However, there is one thing you missed. I’m not surprised, only someone close to the Truth could see it, so it isn’t your fault for missing it.”
His Lust looked at him in confusion.
“I missed something?”
He smiled and it was no lie he felt the happiness he was showing. While he had pulled out many of his emotional imperfections and souls into his creations, it was wrong to say that he did not feel emotions. He was still petty. In this case, he basked in the ignorance of His Lust and wished nothing more than to lord his knowledge over her. After all, if he removed every scrap of emotion, he would also lose his ambitions and would be little better than the Eye or Truth which he vowed to overthrow.
He turned to His Lust.
“That child is a sacrifice.”
It had shocked him the moment he had first felt it a few months ago. Like the sense of being watched, it was uncomfortable but otherwise directionless feeling. Something in Central was “off” for lack of a better word. He knew it was a sacrifice, but he could not pinpoint it. To do so would require him to physically close in on the feeling and that would put his plans in needless jeopardy. He had heard rumors that a rogue alchemist in the north had toured the country using circle-less alchemy and had assumed that the feeling he had was related to them, but now he knew he was wrong.
His Lust was still confused.
“But how could I miss it? I’ve seen her alchemy myself and while the Orb was remarkable, the results were lackluster. It was far from the sort of Alchemy I would expect from a sacrifice. Besides, no one should know what a sacrifice means… how could she know to hide it?”
He shook his head.
“No, and that is why you would never have discovered her on your own. Her struggles with alchemy are actually related. What did I tell you qualified someone as a sacrifice?”
She responded immediately.
“A connection to Truth, which formed when using their own soul as a price in transmutation, right?”
He nodded.
“And of course, to survive the return journey. Truth does not take meetings lightly, which is why my preparations for my next visit are so extensive. For humans, this meeting comes with two effects which I can observe: a qualitative change in their Gate, which allows them to form a circle using their body and soul, and some manner of price Truth exacted from their being to complete the exchange. That is what I tasked with you to search for: to find people with body-parts missing that could use circle-less transmutation. It was what all sacrifices in the past had in common after all.”
He stroked his beard.
“However, Tanya is different than any I had seen before. A change in her Gate was certainly made, but the cost was not something I had expected. Normally Truth takes things away, but in this case, it seems that Truth added something instead. Specifically, Tanya is something of a Homonculus: she has two Gates inside her.”
His Lust looked in shock.
“Then the issues with her Alchemy… making that Orb…”
He nodded.
“Were because she needed to align two Gates. Rather than just twice as hard, it could be considered 10 or even 100 times more difficult to perform alchemy like that. But by creating an external machine to handle the burden…”
She nodded in return, His Lust having realized the implications.
“Then all this time, we had thought she had some secret organization or backing, but in reality she was a gifted alchemist that survived meeting Truth and gaining powerful alchemy in exchange. I feel like a fool for not considering it.”
She turned to him.
“But then why did you let her go? She is an important ingredient in your Ascension and only needs to be kept alive. Why not cut off her limbs, bind her to a table and keep her fed and watered enough to stay alive until the Promised Day?”
He laughed. He realized he had never properly explained what a “sacrifice” meant. The last one had popped up over 50 years ago and had died before they could be used in his plans.
“So sadistic, so like my Lust to go straight to that… no, it isn’t so simple. You have to understand that Apotheosis is no mere Alchemy. I’m not trying to do something uninspiring like turn lead into gold, I’m trying to become God. That means taking alchemy beyond the ‘science’ that the mortals of Amestris believe it to be.”
He walked into The Center and gestured to the pentagon-inside-a-circle-inscribed-pentagon that surrounded him.
“Apotheosis starts with the circle: a pentagon which stands at odds with Truth’s Order. Order in Alchemy is defined as 12, the ‘perfect number’; readily divisible and symmetric which resembles the circle depicting chaos but organized into a rigid new form. The answer to defying 12 is then clear: the first number which cannot be divided evenly inside it, 5. The second pentagon inside the pentagon signifies going one level deeper. I am not merely subverting Order back into Chaos, I am upsetting the very concept behind Order itself: Truth. The rest of the ritual follows from that with five components.”
He pointed to each of the 5 points of the pentagon in succession.
“First is The Rebellion Against Truth. By carving Crests of Blood into the 10 points of the circle, I focus the ritual onto the perpetrator of this heresy: myself. I defy the system that Truth oversees – the Cycle of Reincarnation – and take away the souls that should naturally belong to it, showcasing my power over its position.
“The Second part is The World. By making a circle of sufficient size, I no longer bind the ritual though my own Gate, but the Gate of the World itself. Only that is powerful enough to handle the energies and costs needed. Then I need a focus point, some place to channel the ritual towards.
“That is the Third component: The Promised Day, the use of the 2 absent sources energy. With the Sun and Moon all in alignment, the ritual’s efficiency is at its peak and it focuses the energies towards the Heavens and towards Truth’s Domain.
“Forth is The Price, the millions of souls inside the circle which will fuel my challenge. But all that just puts me on the path into Truth’s realm, but there is a flaw. That was what I had missed in Xerxes. I had the power and the ability to challenge it’s authority, but it could still push me out, deflect my energies back into the world. I had succeeded in defying it: in securing a Gate for myself and gaining Immortality, but I missed that last great prize.”
He pointed back towards the door and where they had just been.
“That leaves the fifth component: The Chosen. Those humans who have been touched by Truth in some way. By harnessing Truth’s own alchemic signature which it foolishly left on these mortals, I can change the quality of my own Alchemy to match and prevent it from pushing me out and win.”
His Lust listened in awe, waiting until he finished before responding.
“I’m sorry Father, but I still don’t understand. Why not simply keep her broken and caged somewhere, ready to be used?”
He chuckled.
“Of course, that was something I had tried before. Before your time, when only Pride had been created. I had realized my error with Xerxes and wanted to try again. This was before the discovery of the power of gravity has on Alchemy, so I did not consider waiting for the Promised Day. Instead, I grabbed whatever sacrifices I could find and kept them bound for months while I prepared things. I was shocked when just a few weeks the sacrifices no longer worked, Truth’s signature was gone! They had somehow used alchemy to flee their bonds, but worse, their Gates were destroyed and their value ruined. While bound, these expert alchemists began testing the limits of their circle-less alchemy. Without the use of their limbs, they soon found a way to make the circle within themselves. By doing so, they used their own Gates as tribute for one final, powerful transmutation. Their Alchemy would be forever ruined, but they would be free… for a short while at least, until I found them again.”
His Lust pondered.
“But what about destroying their mind somehow? A lobotomy, some way to keep them alive but unable to perform alchemy?”
He shook his head and pointed to the Hermetic Diagram on the entrance to the Center which highlighted the five sources of Alchemy. It was a symbol he had made long ago when he was still known as Paracelsus: the Sage of the East.
“The Gate and mind are intertwined. Manipulate the mind, the emotions, or the soul too much and the Gate become corrupted and broken. The millions of Gates within Our bodies are like this. It is why a human can use a Philosopher’s Stone to augment their alchemy. With only badly corrupted gates, there is nothing preventing them from overpowering them with their own unbroken Gate to use the energy of their souls to achieve their desires. So that only leaves one option: to leave the Chosen Sacrifices alone and ignorant of my plans until they are needed. Their self-interest will keep them alive and their Gate intact long enough to be used for my ends.”
Lust thought for a moment.
“Then… how many sacrifices are needed. Going by the pattern, I assume 5, then there are only 4 more to go.”
He smiled and shook his head.
“Ideally I would need 10, but I only lose about 1% efficiency with 5. That being said, my dear brother Hohenheim is a sacrifice as well. Along with Mythril and that rogue Alchemist, there are only two sacrifices remaining. If needed, I could also make some, but that would taint the ritual and risk all my preparations being for naught. Needless to say it is a risk I do not want to take.”
He laughed.
“But I have… faith I guess is the only word to describe it. Just as fate brought me and that young sacrifice to me today, so too will it provide me with two more.”
He sat onto his throne and let the hoses inject themselves into him. At once, he could feel the souls and Gates of the millions of citizens of Central. Now, he could focus in on the two gates of the child he had met. Never again would he be able to lose sight of her so long as she was in the city.
“Soon… soon I will become God. I can feel it.”