A few days after the events of the Promised Day, Edward received a visitor inside the manor that he bought in Amestris. Luckily, he was not busy and was staying there for some time. Ever since all the plots were finished, he removed the spell he placed around the house.
After opening the door, he saw a perfectly healthy Al and Ed waiting for him, and he was not that surprised that Al had healed in just a few days instead of spending years nurturing his body and retraining his muscles.
"It seems that May has put the stone I gave her to good use," said Edward.
"Yes. With it, her Alkahestry has greatly strengthened, so she was able to heal my body," replied Alphonse.
Edward invited them inside and offered them some tea. After some pleasantries, he directly said:
"I'm guessing that you're here for your chimera friends. What were their names?"
"Jerso and Zampano," said Alphonse.
"I will not help get their bodies back. You want to help them, do it yourself. I will open my library to you and all the knowledge needed to do so is in there. However, as an Alchemist, I follow the Law of Equivalent Exchange.
"So, if you want something from inside, you have to pay an equal value of knowledge."
Ed and Alphonse probably guessed this outcome as Hughes already warned them. Nevertheless, they were still satisfied as they had a way forward; they still had a chance.
Alphonse looked at his quiet brother and motioned him to say something. However, seeing the latter remaining motionless. So, he could only speak for himself:
"Mr. Bones, we were wondering if there was a way for my brother to regain his ability to perform alchemy again?"
"Yes. Become more powerful than the individual that took your alchemy."
"You mean Truth?" asked Ed. "What exactly is it?"
"I do not know. Just like he said, God, the Universe, the consciousness of all living things. Or just a powerful entity charged with maintaining the Law of Equivalent Exchange.
"In the end, it does matter. What truly matters is the fact that you did not lose your ability to perform Alchemy just because you destroy your Gate of Truth. Even if you were to recreate the Gate, you still would not be able to perform Alchemy."
Edward was not talking nonsense. In the anime, even with the Philosopher's Stone, Hohenheim could not give Izumi Curtis the ability to have children even after fixing her organs problems. And even Edward could not do the same after giving her a powerful magic potion.
When it comes to Ed's problem, he did a few experiments beforehand. He had one of his prisoners sacrifice their Gates to acquire knowledge. Then, he developed a plan that should have allowed him to regain his ability to perform alchemy.
The plan involved the meditation method that Hermione developed for mages back in the Empire. The Meditation Technique allowed muggles with enough potential to sense and control mana in the environment.
So, Edward modified this technique to allow the prisoner to sense and control tectonic energy on the ground so that he could perform Alchemy again. Although this method requires a high level of talent, the prisoner did meet the requirement.
Unfortunately, even after sensing the tectonic energy, he was incapable of controlling it to do anything. According to his description, it felt like he was taking a test and knew all the answers, however, he could not write down the answer no matter what he did.
As such, Edward knew that even if he gave Edward Elric this meditation method, it would not work.
After hearing the answer, Ed was a little disappointed–although not that much as he was prepared for this outcome. However, he still had one thing he wanted to know.
"Based on what you said, Colonel Mustang should not be able to regain his eyesight even with the Philosopher's Stone. So, why did it work for him?"
"Think about the difference in circumstances between you, your teacher, and Mustang," replied Edward.
"You mean the fact that he was forced to perform Human Transmutation."
"That's correct. Since it was not of his own volition, Truth will allow him to regain his sight."
"I never thought of it as a benevolent being," mocked Ed.
Edward just shrugged his shoulders in response; he did not have anything to comment regarding this topic. After the three chatted for a while, the Elric brothers left after promising to come by to exchange the knowledge that they needed.
After the two left, Morgana appeared next to Edward and said: "Master, you've been quite grumpy lately."
"I know. It's just that the situation we found ourselves in this world is quite frustrating."
"Shouldn't you be used to it after dealing with Herpo for so long?"
"The situation with Herpo is different. At least with him, I could gather some information no matter how little. And with that small information, I could deduce more, find ways to gather more information, and eventually, found solutions.
"But now, there is nothing to go on, which is a little frustrating."
Morgana nodded and said a few things to comfort him. A few hours later, another person came to visit Edward: it was Hughes and his family.
"Thank you for saving my husband," said Gracia Hughes. "Our family does not know how to repay you, so I baked you some Miso Caramel Apple Pie."
Edward accepted her gift with a smile, he then looked at the two little girls that were accompanying Hughes and Gracia. He squatted down on the floor to be at the same eye level as them.
"Nina, how are you doing recently? Do you like your new family?"
"Yes. Mr. Hughes and Ms. Gracia treat me very well," replied Nina with a genuine smile; probably the only one she had in a very long time.
Edward nodded his head, then looked at the other little girl. "What about you, Elicia? How do you like your new sister?"
"Great. I finally have someone to play with when daddy is busy with his work."
After inviting the family inside, they had a long chat. Edward tasted the apple pie, and it was quite delicious. So, he asked Gracia for the recipe and she was happy to give it to him.
A few minutes after the Hughes family left, another person came to see him: it was Olivier. Edward was wondering why so many people wanted to visit him on and on the same day too.
Unlike the other people, after coming to see him, Olivier made herself at home by taking off her boots and the top part of her uniform, leaving only the black undershirt.
She then went straight for the liquor cabinet, took the entire battle, and jugged it down with ease.
"What's gotten into you today?" asked Edward.
"That old man Grumman was chosen as the next Fuhrer."
"Huh? What about you?"
"Since most of the previous military leaders are either dead or traitors, based on ranks, he is next in line for the position. As for me, I was just promoted to General."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Nothing. I already talked to Grumman and he promised me that I would be his successor."
"What about Mustang?"
She sneered, "He can only be after me."
Edward then spent the night drinking with her. After she drank her depressed mood away, she left. She refused his invitation to spend the night.
Title: Discovery
