Ed!
You little shit!
Lin!
You bastard!
Kill... me...
Save me...
Please... kill me!
Please...
I want to die...
Mommy!
What are you just staring out into space for, idiot?!
Why are you hesitating?!
There are...
There are people inside of him...
They want our help.
No! They're monsters!
But...
Pull yourself together!
They're monsters!
Kill me!
Mommy!
Please! Give me back my child!
Shut up! Stop it!
Dad!
It hurts...
Help me!
I said, "Stop it!"
Ed.
Let's play.
Playtime's over.
Damn...
...it...
Help me...
You don't understand the pain...
Ed! Wake up!
Come to your senses!
Join us!
Ed!
Good! Good!
All right, bring it over this way!
Oh yeah.
I saw it over by the waste plant earlier.
If I recall, it was with some huge guy in an armor.
Armor?
Don't tell me it's the one from yesterday!
I'll never forgive him for kidnapping Shao May!
Demon! Devil! Loincloth!
There she is! Shao Ma-
Wait.
That fat one...
If I recall, they called him a Homunculus.
Homunculus?
Their regeneration ability matches that of an immortal.
We can't jump in carelessly.
Immortal?
This is my chance! Let's go after him!
I told you. He's not an easy opponent.
Why are those two together?
What's wrong?
This place... is strange.
I've had a feeling that something was out of place, ever since I arrived in this country, but...
This is...
There are things crawling beneath my feet... and a lot of them...
What's wrong? Are you cold?
You okay?
This way.
I never would've thought something like this was under Central...
W-What the heck is this?!
That was done by the gatekeepers.
Gatekeepers?
They won't attack you if you're with me.
There's something up there.
Do we still have a long way to go?
A long way.
We're meeting your father, right?
He knows where people go after you swallow them, right?
Father knows everything.
Brother... You're alive, right?
Brother...
What's that?
A red... stone?
Right, Envy's core.
A philosopher's stone.
After all the time we spent looking for one, there's one right in front of me...
Let me out, Envy!
It stinks in here!
What?
We may be able to get out of here!
Let's work together, Envy!
What in the world are these?
They are chimera.
There's no end to them.
No...
As I thought... there's something beneath us...
Are they chimera?
No.
Is this... a person?!
Father made us all!
Me, Lust, and Envy!
It's loud up there.
Someone's coming...
I don't remember my parents' names, their faces, or even my own name.
No... I don't remember if I was abandoned or sold before I had even been given a name.
Which one of you will lead this country?
Will it be you?
We were called the "FÃ¼hrer President Candidates".
And we were all gathered into one place and educated in many different fields.
How to be a good emperor, anthropology...
We were trained in military combat, marksmanship, and swordsmanship until we were highly capable.
Don't sweat it.
He was just a pawn for you to achieve your goal.
"I will lead this country someday."
With that thought in mind, I endured the toughest of trainings.
He was no good either.
Next.
Lie down here.
Umm... What is this about?
Relax.
It'll be over soon.
What are you planning to do?! Those bodies are...
This is the twelfth one, huh?
Are you the one...
...who will receive my wrath?
A philosopher's stone is a high energy substance that includes the souls of many humans.
As it enters a human's body, it goes on a rampage and tries to take over.
The destruction and reconstruction by the stone is repeated until either the body dies or wins.
Eventually...
Amazing!
A new species of life!
Congratulations.
You've been selected to be the man who will lead this country.
He will prepare everything you may need.
From this day on, your name shall be...
King Bradley!
All that was left was a soul and the emotion of wrath.
I don't even know if this soul belongs to someone who was turned into the stone, or if it was mine to begin with.
If you were human, couldn't you live as a human instead of a Homunculus, sir?
You're telling me to go back to being a human?
That's impossible.
This body has far surpassed human capabilities.
It's far superior.
Just as how you humans are proud to be human, we are proud to be Homunculi.
I'm sure that woman took that pride to her death, as well.
Ow.
Just something temporary.
Thanks.
I've collected all the ones around here.
Are these all from Xerxes?
Yeah.
It's a portion of the mural that was in a temple in the ruins.
When I first saw it,
I thought it was a transmutation circle for a philosopher's stone, like the one beneath Research Laboratory 5.
But I was wrong.
The sun represents the soul.
The moon represents the mind.
And this stone which has the mural on it. This represents the body.
Come on... explain it so I can understand.
Basically, what was drawn there...
...is a circle for human transmutation.
Human transmutation?
So that means, to raise the dead...
No.
The principle of alchemy is equivalent exchange.
One cannot create a soul that doesn't exist in this world, at least through alchemy.
I've confirmed that.
So, I've thought of a way to get out of here.
What if I transmute myself from scratch...
A human that's alive?
Transmute from scratch?
Yeah.
I use this transmutation circle to decompose myself, then put myself back together.
That's also human transmutation.
The gate should open.
If Gluttony is a fake Gate of Truth,
shouldn't we be able to get to the real world by going through the real gate?
I'll open the gate; you guys leap in.
What if this doesn't work?
Then we suffer from rebound.
All of the effects of the rebound go to the one who attempted it.
In this case, me.
I know nothing about alchemy.
I'll leave it to you.
All right.
So, Envy, there's something I need to ask you.
The mural I saw at Xerxes looked like this.
I'm curious about this symbol.
It's the word representing God, but flipped over.
And the dragon with two heads.
This represents the perfect being.
This means "I will cast God from the Heavens to the Earth, and become the perfect being."
People think of outrageous things.
It would be wonderful if they had only thought about it.
The problem here is...
...this part, which is broken off.
A lion that swallows the sun.
This represents the philosopher's stone.
And the ingredients of philosopher's stones are live humans.
Right, Envy?
Yeah, you're right.
Why did the nation of Xerxes, a nation so prosperous, perish overnight?
Where did its citizens go?
Isn't a portion of the ruins in here to cover up the evidence?
You guys turned all of Xerxes' citizens into a philosopher's stone, didn't you?!
Who did it?!
Who transmuted themselves?!
Who's the one who turned all of the country's people into a philosopher's stone for tremendous power...
...for the sole purpose of becoming a being that would surpass God?!
Is it the "Father" that you talked about?
Isn't that guy trying to recreate that event in this country by using you guys, the Homunculi?!
I'll tell you if you get us out of here.
Let's stop beating around the bush, Fullmetal Alchemist.
You need a toll if you're going to open the gate, right?
Use it.
Help me!
Please, just kill me!
These are all people from Xerxes, aren't they?
Their bodies and minds have rotted away in the ancient past, and they are beings who are solely used as an energy source.
They don't even remember what they used to look like.
Are you sympathizing with them?
What a stupid emotion.
The sole reason you want to think of them as humans is that you want to believe that your brother, who's only a soul, is human, too.
You hesitate to set fire to coal because you feel sorry for a tree that died ages ago?
They can't return to being human anymore.
Lay down a definition for a human with logic and not emotion, alchemist.
All right.
Lin, if something happens to me, tell everyone about what these guys are up to.
Whatever happens to Amestris isn't my problem.
Hey!
There are people precious to you waiting for you in that country, right?
Get out of here alive and tell them yourself.
I'm sorry. Please let me use your souls.
Let's do this!
I thought that pose of putting their hands together looked similar to something...
It's almost like a prayer to God.
It's been a while since I've done this.
I never thought I'd open it again... under this situation.
Lin! Jump in!
I'm counting on you, alchemist!
This is the same sensation I felt while being swallowed by Gluttony...
Thank you...
The body and the soul are connected by the mind.
A part of my body is before the Gate of Truth.
If I just let my mind guide me, I should be able to get to the gate...
Oh, so you didn't come here to get your body back?
Your father is through here, right?
Yeah.
I can find clues on how to find my brother...
All right, I'm here.
Why are there two gates?
Al!
Al! Come here!
Hurry up! Al!!!
Al!!!
I can't.
You're not my soul.
I can't go with you.
Alphonse!
Someday, I'll come and bring you back.
Wait for me.
Wait for me!!!
It is hard to find the shape of an illusion, like a wavering flame.
And a flame can be cruel at times, but can also be a flame of hope.
Next time, Fullmetal Alchemist:
Episode 27, Banquet at the Crevice.
You mustn't be afraid of the darkness inside of you.