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After absorbing and digesting all the knowledge he acquired about Alchemy, Edward was prepared to attempt the ultimate taboo in Alchemy: Human Transmutation.
So, Edward drew the Transmutation Circle along with the Runes for the process. He did not use the same one either Edward Elric or Izumi Curtis used. Instead, he designed it himself based on his understanding of the human body and Life Code.
That way, Edward knew for sure that he could create a perfect body with Alchemy. In fact, he tried to make a clone of himself before this and succeeded. Just like Edward Elric said in the anime, the chemical components of the human body are actually quite cheap and can be bought for a few cents at a store.
After designing the entire transmutation circle, Edward placed a bone in one of the spots; this bone belonged to the random person that was about to be resurrected.
"The reason that Human Transmutation is believed to be impossible is because of the Law of Equivalent Exchange. After all, what can equal the value of a soul? Of course, it's another soul," muttered Edward.
After that, he brought one living prisoner and placed it inside the circle.
"To be sure, let's place another."
So, he placed another. After everything was finished, he began to transmute. Electric sparks appeared as the chemicals materials for the human body slowly started to change shape.
Based on the Soul Data of the bone, a new body was created; it was an individual with red eyes and brown skin: an Ishvalan.
After the body was created, the soul was next. Edward tried to recall the soul of that Ishvalan and brought it back to his body. Unfortunately, a rebound occurred during the process.
'Failed? Why? My calculation was correct.'
Soon after that, an eye appeared in the middle of the transmutation circle. Luckily for him, he did not have to pay any toll as the two people inside the circle was the toll he prepared beforehand.
So, the two prisoners--along with their souls--slowly decomposed in front of him. And after that, he was swallowed by the eye.
Soon, Edward found himself in front of a gate. The first thing he noticed was that the gate had the design he placed in the Death Eaters: an ouroboros with a pyramid inside. Inside the pyramid was a lotus with a single eye at the center.
After seeing the Gate, it opened and swallowed Edward. Then, countless knowledge about Alchemy was instilled inside his mind. Since he paid an entire body plus a soul as toll, he learned plenty of things.
Nevertheless, it was still not enough. Edward had the urge to swallow all the knowledge inside the Gate. Of course, he still controlled himself.
After being sent out the Gate, Edward was a little distracted as he reviewed what he learned.
"So that's why I failed. In this world, after a soul dies, it does not go to the afterlife but turns into energy that flows through the world. This is in line with the alchemy theory of Izumi Curtis that All is one, and one is all.
"So, even if I recreated the dead Ishvalan's body, his soul has long returned to the universe, so I cannot call it back. In short, Human Transmutation is impossible--at least in this world.'
"So, you've finally figured it out, foreign wizard," said a vague shadowy figure.
"Who are you?" asked Edward, not surprised that this person knew his identity.
"Don't you already know?"
"I thought it would be polite to ask."
"So, foreigner, for what reason did you come to see me?"
"Truth, your highness, should I call you that? Or…"
"You can call me what you want."
"In that case, I'll just call you Truth. So, I have a few questions I would like to ask you if that's alright with you," said Edward.
"And I cannot guarantee that I will answer them."
"That's fine. First of all, am I allowed to interfere in the affairs of this world?"
Truth paused for a moment, then said with his usual smirk: "I'm surprised that this is the first question you asked. What if I said you're not allowed?"
"Well, this is your world, of course, I would listen to the owners."
"Interesting. I pegged you for an arrogant wizard who despised being known as Gods and so on, thinking that they can do whatever they pleased in their search for strength. But, you're rather...What's the appropriate word, malleable."
"Well, you're right about me, but I also know when to bow to the circumstances. If I was as strong as you, of course, I would not be so amiable."
"Straightforward, I see," said Truth. "As for the answer to your question, you can intervene as much as you like, but you cannot kill anybody."
"Even the Homunculi?"
"Even them."
"That's fine by me," replied Edward. "Second question, what is your relationship with the Akashic Record?"
"What do you mean?" asked Truth whose smile faltered for a brief moment.
"In my world, there is a legend about something called the Akashic Records; it is said to hold all the knowledge, thoughts, events, and emotions of all living beings from past, present, and future.
"At first, I thought that this Gate of Truth was actually connected to you and held all your knowledge. When an Alchemist gets access to it, they are granted some of your knowledge.
"But then a thought came to my mind after entering the Gate. What if the Akashic Records is real, and you were granted access or authority to all the Alchemy Knowledge from it?"
Edward stopped talking, waiting to hear an answer from Truth. A few seconds later, the latter said:
"You know, being too intelligent can be a problem--especially when you are this weak."
Immediately after that, Edward was sent away from Truth, returning to the material world. Meanwhile, Truth had a pensive look on their face as he muttered: "Merlin actually sponsored this guy? Interesting."
Meanwhile, after Edward returned to his laboratory, he started laughing out loud like a madman. Luckily for him, the round was sound-isolated.
"The Akashic Records are real. Endless knowledge. Since Truth can get access to it, so can I. More importantly, I already have an idea how."
Edward's mind rapidly moved as he concocted a crazy plan to find the Akashic Record.
"For me to be successful, the main thing I need is to understand the country-wide transmutation circle that Father used to become a God. In that case, I need to learn and observe the process myself."
After making a preliminary plan, Edward finally regained his bearing. He first checked the Ishvalan that he transmuted. He saw that the body was wiggling on the floor, and quickly learned that the reason for that was that soul energy entered his body, making it activate.
It was similar to the Immortal Soldiers or Homunculi that the upper level of the Amestris Military was secretly created with the Philosopher's Stone. Unlike the Seven Deadly Sins Homunculi, these ones had no intelligence and acted purely on instinct.
Of course, the one Edward created actually looked like a human instead of the white humanoid monsters. However, since this one only had a little amount of soul energy inside of it, it would not last long and is not immortal like the others.
So, after killing it, he buried the body and proceeded with his next plan.
(AN: Disclaimer for all the people who have not seen the anime. The concept of Akashic Record is not a cannon thing but made up by this Author for this fiction.)
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Next Chapter Title: Gate of Truth