The wind howled across the northern cliffs, but Auron Elric barely felt the cold. He knelt alone in a hollowed-out cave beneath jagged stone peaks, the smell of metal and blood thick in the air.
Before him was another transmutation circle.
But not just any circle—this one had no earthly origin. It pulsed with a low hum, its lines formed of chalk, chakra-seal ink, and dark runes Auron had pulled from the fragmented memories the Gate had forcefully shown him. It was designed not to create… but to connect.
To reach the soul of someone lost.
Alphonse.
The moment he had traced the final mark, the circle flickered, the air pressing down like gravity suddenly multiplied.
Auron sat cross-legged, steadying his breath, channeling chakra into his hands. His eyes lit—concentric ripples of the Rinnegan flaring beneath the Mangekyō tomoe, casting an eerie glow across the stone.
"Let this work…"
He pushed his chakra into the circle—and the cave responded.
Reality tore.
Aether twisted and a vortex of red and violet energy erupted, warping the walls, causing rocks to float. Time slowed, as Auron's senses sharpened beyond human levels. He saw threads—thousands of them—spinning through the fabric of space, some bright, some dark, some fraying.
And then he saw it.
A single thread. Golden-white. Fragile. But still connected to a soul.
"Al…"
Auron reached out with his chakra-enhanced spirit, a technique no alchemist could ever comprehend. His vision tunneled in, mind and chakra pushing farther—until—
Snap.
Pain flared through his chest. His vision exploded into blinding whiteness. And then came the voice.
"You touch what must not be touched again."
It was Truth.
Again.
The formless god—or gate—or thing—towered in its silent presence.
"You are not of this world, and yet you tear it apart as if it were yours."
"I don't care about your rules," Auron snarled, breathing heavily. "I saw his soul. I can still bring him back!"
"You dare repeat the mistake. Again and again. What will you sacrifice this time?"
"I'll give—"
"NO." The voice thundered, cracking the space itself. "There is nothing left for you to give. And yet… you persist."
The white void began to fade.
But before it disappeared entirely, something shifted.
Auron saw Alphonse. Not as a body, but as a floating spectral form, curled in a sea of static. The image burned into Auron's mind.
A single word slipped from Al's spirit as it faded:
"Brother…"
And then he was gone.
---
Auron woke in the cave, coughing up blood, his vision blurry. His body burned—his chakra core was cracked, his energy dangerously unstable. He had gone beyond the limit. Again.
Still…
He smiled.
Because now he knew.
Alphonse wasn't lost. Just trapped.
And he could be found.
---
Back home, Edward was already halfway through designing a new arm configuration when Auron returned, limping and bandaged. Winry dropped her wrench when she saw him.
"You're hurt! Where were you?!"
"I found a way," Auron said, barely able to stand. "The circle works. But it's dangerous. I can't use it again… not yet."
Edward stood, narrowing his eyes. "You went after Al's soul again without me?"
"I had to try." Auron's voice was quiet, tired. "But I know where he is now."
"Then we'll get stronger. Together," Ed said, stepping forward.
Auron gave a faint nod.
---
The next few weeks became a blur of training. While Edward improved his transmutations and refined his combat alchemy, Auron began crafting something new: chakra-infused weapons and seals, a fusion of spiritual energy and science.
He created reinforced chakra tags that could slow down automail strikes, illusionary fields drawn through Mangekyō projection, and even a compact orb of red-violet lightning—a condensed attack called Raigen Sphere.
Each night, he sketched more forbidden circles. Not to repeat the same sin—but to find a loophole in the laws the Gate enforced.
One evening, after a brutal sparring session in the forest behind the house, Ed dropped onto the ground, panting. "You're going crazy over this."
Auron, arms folded, replied, "I'm not. I just know what's at stake."
"You think I don't?" Ed sat up. "We're both responsible. But we can't keep gambling with our lives."
"We already did, Ed. The only difference now is I refuse to lose again."
They locked eyes.
And that was when Winry stepped into the clearing, hands on her hips, looking angry—but her eyes were red from worry.
"You two idiots are gonna kill yourselves before you even fix anything."
She walked over and shoved bread into both their hands. "Eat. Rest. And think before you go carving forbidden garbage into the ground again."
Auron paused.
Then smiled.
"I like you when you're bossy."
Winry blushed. "I'm always bossy."
Edward snorted. "Yeah, that's kind of your thing."
The tension broke.
And for a few precious moments under the starlit sky, despite all the danger they still faced—there was laughter.