The Price of Life [Fullmetal Alchemist]

Chapter Fifty Seven

•••

"This life form of a planet," Father begins, his voice rising for his announcement. "It's all mine, now!" He raises up his hands and smiles. "Open this planet's gateway, so I may unlock its power! Obey me, my five sacrifices!"

Together, the alchemists represent the nationwide human transmutation circle that Father created. The homunculus had control of all five of them now, but an unprecedented fighter forced his way into the battle.

With a fierce attack of his Ultimate Shield, Greed yelled, "Not if I can help it, you old bastard!" He aims for Father's body, but it morphs at his will to block the encounter.

"Foolish son, I know you too well," he scolds. "You thought to come here to challenge me for control of the universe. But you forget that you were born of me. I promise my avarice is much greater than yours." He transmutes a slab of concrete to throw at him, and while Greed's carbon shield helps him take no damage, he flies and cracks the wall behind him when he lands.

Having him out of the way, Father creates another inky and black tendril from his vessel to pull Hohenheim out of him. He wastes no time arranging his subjects into their corresponding place to align with his alchemic circle.

"Right now we are at the center of the universe, and I, its King, shall know no bounds!"

Angry red sparks fly from a simple transmutation circle once his hand activates the alchemy. In Sonia's darkness, she sees one thing - a giant eye opening up to gaze at her. She feels a wave of an oily substance wash over her, filling quickly inside of her lungs and suffocating her. It seizes her entire body. She's rendered helpless. Along with the entire nation of Amestris, she falls into a sleep that she's unsure if she will return from.

•••

She's unaware of how much time passes, but she's shaken out of her unconscious by a rough hand.

"Hey, stay vigilant," Izumi tells her, grabbing her forearm and hoisting her up. "He's changed."

Sonia rights herself then takes her sister's stone from her pocket. It glows in her fist as she calls for its power to see with Wrath's Ultimate Eye. Seconds later she sees them all, fortunately, none hurt. But when her eyes meet the God, a shiver crawls down her back. She can't seem to look away.

Father sits on his throne with a bored expression on his new face. He looks thin but ample, and almost like a younger version of Hohenheim himself, except long and pale hair and a simple robe covering his body. The qi inside him is almost immeasurable to the alchemist. Her temples flash with pain from the concentrated energy of the souls and she winces, wondering if Mei shares the same pain.

"What's happened?"

"I've acquired God with the amount of energy from the Philosopher's Stone," he states as if it were a simple task.

"How many lives?" Ed demands an answer with a pointing finger. "How many lives did you take for your own selfish cause?!"

"The population of Amestris is close to 50 million," Sonia recalls, then looks over to Father, her blind eyes glazed-over. "They're... all inside him. I can feel them."

"50 million... That is more than enough to achieve godliness with the correct power," Hohenheim announces, his fists curling.

Father chuckles as the group immediately begins an offensive barrage against him with alchemy. With a tap of his finger, a pulse shakes the room. The spears and bullets produced by their transmutations immediately deconstruct and fall to the ground before they get a chance to hurt him.