emywoft27

[emywoft27]

This is a short story that I would like to develop in any logical way, but we always start from the perspective of truth.

(How I love them)

"Cartas de Fuego y Acero"/"Letters of Fire and Steel"

(This story can be found on fanfiction.net)

The rain gently tapped against the train’s windows as it moved through the green and tranquil landscape of eastern Amestris. Roy Mustang watched the reflection of his own face in the glass, his dark gaze lost in the sway of the fields. Beside him, Riza Hawkeye silently reviewed some documents.

"Do you think it’s true?" she asked suddenly, without lifting her eyes from the paper.

Roy didn’t answer immediately. The truth was, he didn’t know what to think. When the report had arrived, he had read it twice before deciding he needed to see it with his own eyes.

"Successful human transmutation."

Those were the words that had caught his attention. If alchemy had an absolute truth, it was that human transmutation was impossible. And if someone had attempted it and was still alive to tell the tale, then there was something here he needed to understand.

"If it is," he finally responded, "this could change everything."

Riza nodded seriously, but her expression hardened.

"And if we only find a disaster?"

Roy sighed.

"Then I’ll make sure it never happens again."

The rest of the journey passed in silence.

When the train arrived at the small station in Resembool, Roy stepped off first, breathing in the fresh country air. Everything was too quiet, too secluded. It didn’t match what he expected from a place where someone had committed such a forbidden act of alchemy.

Rumors said that someone in this town had performed human transmutation. And not only that. That those who attempted it had survived.

Roy needed to know who they were.

They walked to a small house where the only people who seemed to know the details of what had happened lived: an old woman named Pinako Rockbell and her granddaughter, a blonde-haired girl named Winry. The door was slightly ajar when they arrived.

"Come in," a rough voice called from inside.

Roy entered first, followed by Riza.

Pinako Rockbell was waiting for them, seated at a table with a cigar in her mouth and the sharp eyes of someone who had already seen the worst of life.

"So the military is here to snoop around," she said bluntly. "What do you want?"

Roy removed his gloves and tucked them into his coat pocket.

"I’ve heard things," he replied. "Things that shouldn’t be possible."

Pinako didn’t flinch.

"And what makes you think I’ll tell you anything?"

Roy smiled calmly.

"Because if someone attempted human transmutation and is still alive, then they need help."

A long silence filled the room.

Winry, standing beside her grandmother, lowered her gaze in frustration. Her small hands clenched into fists.

Pinako sighed and pointed to the back door.

"If you really want to know, go see for yourself."

Roy and Riza exchanged a look before moving forward.

The moment they stepped outside, they felt it.

The air was heavy, charged with something indescribable.

At the end of the yard stood the ruins of a house. Burned walls, a half-collapsed roof. A home that had once been full of life, now reduced to ashes.

And there, in the doorway of what remained, stood him.

A child.

He couldn’t be older than eleven. His golden hair was disheveled, falling in strands over his forehead. His skin was pale, almost sickly, and his eyes...

Roy stopped.

Those eyes.

He had seen many looks in his lifetime. Eyes that begged, that hated, that surrendered.

But he had never seen eyes like these.

They were the eyes of someone who had nothing left.

Dead.

And yet, behind that emptiness, behind that overwhelming sadness, Roy saw something else.

A fire.

No, not just a spark. Something deeper, something that had survived despair and pain.

Behind that hollow stare… was determination.

Edward Elric sat in a wheelchair, his thin body covered by a tattered blanket. His right arm and left leg were gone, replaced only by tight bandages. Beside him, a massive suit of armor stood motionless, its presence impossible to ignore.

"What do you want?" Edward asked, his voice hoarse.

Roy stepped forward calmly, hands in his pockets.

"You’re Edward Elric."

"So what if I am?"

Roy tilted his head slightly.

"Why did you do it?"

Edward blinked.

"...What?"

Roy stopped in front of him, meeting his gaze.

"Why did you attempt human transmutation?"

Edward’s expression hardened.

"That’s none of your business."

"Maybe it’s not," Roy admitted. "But I want to know. I want to understand why someone so young decided to do what even the most experienced alchemists fear."

Edward didn’t respond.

The armor beside him, Alphonse, shifted slightly.

"We wanted to bring Mom back," he said, his deep voice filled with pain.

Roy nodded slowly.

"And now what?"

Edward frowned.

"What?"

"You already tried," Roy continued, his voice firm as his gaze. "You failed. So now what? What’s your purpose? Why are you still alive?"

The words hit like a sharp blow.

Edward opened his mouth but said nothing. His fingers clenched the blanket covering his legs.

Roy watched him in silence. He knew his words were harsh. He knew anyone else in his position would consider him cruel.

But he also knew this child didn’t need pity.

Edward didn’t need someone to tell him everything would be fine.

He needed a reason.

The fire in his eyes flickered.

"I want to get Al’s body back," he finally whispered.

Roy nodded.

"Then live."

Edward looked up, surprised.

Roy leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.

"If you really want to fix this, if you truly want to give your brother back what he lost… then stand up."

Edward swallowed hard.

For the first time in a long while, someone wasn’t telling him to stop.

For the first time, someone wasn’t treating him like a broken child.

Roy straightened and turned to Riza.

"Prepare the paperwork."

She nodded.

Edward frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Roy gave him a faint smile.

"I’m giving you a path. I’m giving you a reason to move forward."

Edward gritted his teeth.

Alphonse leaned slightly toward him.

"Brother…"

Edward closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them, the fire was there again.

Roy Mustang knew, at that moment, that this child would one day make history.