The Philosopher's Stone (2/2)

Burne was baffled by the sheer size of the transmutation circle. He was surprised— but not happy. 

"That's not a normal transmutation circle." He frowned as he realised the type of transmutation circle engraved on the floor. It was a design that he was very familiar with. "I would have loved to forget this awful circle but it just seems like I can never escape it." 

He walked down the stairs and started examining the circle. "Sodium, Palladium and… Iron." He clenched his fists as he ran his fingers through the patterns. "All mixed in blood."

Transmutation circles had a variety of types. And Burne was familiar with all of them. The circle drawn on the floor was a sub-species of the human transmutation circle, called the sacrificial circle. 

"A circle that sacrifices humans for greater transmutations. But what exactly where they try-" He paused. His blood ran cold as realisation dawned upon him. "Blood, sacrifices, philosopher's stone, the disappearance of an entire civilisation overnight-" He turned pale.

Human sacrifice was a taboo equal if not worse than human transmutation. And it was also an ancient form of alchemy whose methods were lost long ago. There were myths that people sacrificed humans to gain back their youth and obtain power and wealth. As an alchemist, Burne had seen countless such horrible acts. But faced with the current situation, he was shell-shocked.

He knew that sacrifices were to be made to craft the philosopher's stone but he never expected such a sacrifice. 

He gulped thickly and he remembered the carvings once again. 

'Countless people bowing for the king in the form of a circle as he stood in the middle.'

"Does that mean the King succeeded?" Burne mumbled. "And if he did… Where is he now?" 

He knew that there was a very high chance that he failed and the chances of his success were almost non-existent. But there was a melancholic feeling, that someone was successful in creating the stone. 

Many believed that the Philosopher's Stone was nothing more than a myth but Burne believed that it was the truth. He searched for the secrets like a madman… and now that he unravelled that mystery of the stone, he was devastated.

He laughed, he laughed like a madman. But unlike previously, this was not the laughter of happiness. It was one of sadness and disgust. 

"No!" He roared. "No one should ever find out about this. I don't want to think of the consequences if a political figurehead found the secrets." He looked down. "I have to destroy this."

He placed the palm of his right hand on the ground which made the entire place shake violently. The pillars started to break, the ceiling started to crumble and the floor with the circle cracked. In under a minute the floor was devastated and the roof collapsed. 

Using his left hand, he created a small dome around him to protect himself from the falling rubbles. 

"Some secrets… are better left unknown." He walked out of the hall and started making his way towards the throne room. 

Reaching the throne, he knew that he had to get rid of the drawings on the roof. 

He clapped his hands which caused massive spikes to sprout from the ground and shoot towards the roof. The spikes shot through the drawing and went through the roof, destroying the carvings. 

Devastated by his discovery, he fell on the throne— tired and depressed. 

"Sixteen years… sixteen years." He mumbled. "I wasted my entire life chasing after a myth that would have been better as a myth than a reality." He chuckled in pain and sadness. "I don't think you knew about this grandfather. If you knew— I wonder how you would have reacted."

__________

__________

[Weeks Later]

Horses galloped under the blue sky, birds flew above the white clouds, wheels rolled over the green grass as the hymns of the coachman rang inside Burne's ears. 

"We will soon be reaching Ishval, young man." He said amidst his singing. "But are you sure that you want to travel there?" He asked with a bit of worry in his voice. 

"I am." Burne said as he laid over the hay on the carriage with his eyes closed. "I won't be staying there for long."

"Ishvalans are welcoming but the current situation is not very good. After they went under the rule of Amestris, the people there have become quite sceptical of strangers." He said. "The people of Amestris did betray them after all."

"True." Burne agreed with his eyes still closed. "If they didn't allow the wounded soldiers to rest in their homes, Amestris would have not been able to defeat them so easily. They would have still won, but Ishvalans would have costed them a few soldiers on their side as well. But alas… they were too kind for their own good."

"They were." The coachman agreed before going back to humming a regional melody. 

After a while, Burne opened his eyes to look at the blue sky. 

"Why exactly are you going to Ishval, if you don't mind me asking." The coachman asked. "You don't seem like someone with Ishvalan blood or even someone who has an Ishvalan relative." 

Burne smiled. "I am not an Ishvalan. I am merely a guy travelling the world in search of motivation."

The coachman laughed. "A lad looking for motivation in a warzone. That is interesting."

Burne chuckled lightly. "You can say so." He said with the smile still present on his face. "I spent quite a long time looking for something that turned out to be a mistake. I wasted a large part of my life running after a hollow dream." He showed a pained smile. "I have made two mistakes in my life, both of which I can never talk about. The first one nearly killed me." He said and he looked at this left arm. "And the second made me question my entire life." Placing his left hand over his chest, he closed his eyes once again. "Now I want to redeem that lost time and enjoy my life, travel the world, explore new culture and learn about the history of those places." He sighed. 'Why learning new forms of alchemy.'

"That is a good dream." The coachman nodded. "Many young people go chasing after fantasies and by the time they realise that it was a fantasy— a dream that could never become a reality… It had already been too late. But you are young. You don't appear to be even twenty. You have a lot of time to enjoy yourself, son." He said, speeding up the carriage. "Many join the military, many become alchemists to join the state alchemy board and the rest waste their life chasing after futile dreams. They forget the value of life and lose it before they could enjoy the wonders of this world."

Burne remained quiet, listening to the words of the coachman while also enjoying the cool breeze from the open fields.

"Life's too precious to be wasted on things such as the meaningless pursuit of wealth and fame." Burne said. "You need money and strength to survive this world, and I believe that I have enough of both. Now all I want to do is travel and live my life freely… while also trying to correct my past mistakes." He clenched left fist.

The coachman smiled. "Ishval might be a bit unstable right now but it is still a great place. I can guarantee you that the culture and tradition of Ishval are unlike anything you have ever experienced."

Burne nodded.

After figuring out the truth behind the Philosopher's Stone, he went into a frenzy. All the things he has done till the day had all been for nought. There was no way that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of countless people for strength and wealth. The burden of such an act was not something that he could handle and he also had no intention of ever letting anyone figure out the truth behind the most mythical alchemic treasure— a treasure forged from the blood of countless innocents.

He spent days in Xerxes, contemplating his entire life to that point. His grandfather's words resounded in his ears. Alchemists go through countless dilemmas in their life, dilemmas that make them lose the will to live. But figuring out the way to escape such a dilemma while also figuring out their goals is what it means to be an alchemist. 

Burne still hadn't figured out what his future goals were going to be. But to figure them out, he had to explore the world. He was an alchemist, a strong one to be precise. He wasn't poor, his grandfather had left him a small fortune and he was young. There was no loss in spending a few years travelling the world to figure out his goals. 

So to regain his lost motivation, he decided to travel. He wanted to explore the world and the place he chose to start with was the land of the sands, Ishval. A nation that was once free and now served the Amestris kingdom.

"We are almost there, young man." The coachman said. "Stay awake."

'So here begins my new journey.' Burne smiled as he stared at the distant walls of the Ishval. 

'Don't let me down, Ishval.'