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  Edushed his the frozen path, the cold biting into his skin, but that wasn't what bothered him. His metal arm dragged at his side, heavier with each step. 'I should thank Winry if I see her again.' He gritted his teeth, pushing forward. The automail she’d made was lighter than the usual iron limbs, but it still wasn’t his flesh and bohe metal joint creaked slightly as he ched his fist, fog on the ridge above.

  Looking at the distant peak, Edward exhaled sharply, watg his breath fog in the icy air. "Still a long way to go." He muttered, dragging his metal arm higher up the jagged terrain.

  Only if I could use alchemy. He thought to himself, before dismissing the idea. But he was too stubborn to use it; he wouldn’t use it. He was determio finish this challenge on his own, with just his body—flesh and steel.

  It took another full day and night for Edward to finally reach the summit. His breath came in shasps, the cold air cutting into his lungs. Standing at the peak of Everest, he could see nothing but a sea of white beh him.

  Edward looked ahead and saw a figure sitting serenely at the peak, the wind tugging at her robes as she brewed tea. Despite the freezing winds biting into his face, she remained undisturbed, as though the cold did for her. It was surreal, almost otherworldly.

  "Ah, you arrived just in time," she greeted with a calm smile, gesturing toward a rock across from her. A small table, nothing more than a wooden pnk pced on the snow-cround, separated them.

  Edward, exhausted but intrigued, took a seat opposite her. He accepted the steaming cup of tea she offered, the warmth immediately soothing his frozen fingers. "Thanks... The A One." He sipped it carefully, studying her as he spoke.

  The A One raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. "You know me?"

  A small gri onto Edward's face. "My path was to seek you out. It’d be pretty pathetic if I didn’t even know my own goal, don’t you think?"

  The A One chuckled, aowledging his words with a nod. "True. Though, many who seek never realize the gravity of what they’re searg for." Her gaze turned sharper, but her tone remained light. "Are you ready for what you seek?"

  Edward leaned back slightly, letting the warmth of the tea settle in his chest. "I wouldn’t have climbed all this way if I wasn’t." He set the cup down, his metal fiapping against its rim. "I’m not here for shortcuts. I’m not looking for any quiswers either."

  The A One's eyes flickered with something akin to uanding, perhaps respect. "Not many resist the temptation of power, especially when it’s right in front of them."

  "I’ve seen what shortcuts cost," Edward muttered, his expression tightening briefly before he shook it off. "That’s not why I’m here."

  She gave a slow nod, seemingly pleased with his answer. "And why are you here?"

  Edward looked up, sing the A One’s calm, ral expressiohen brought his hands together, palms pressed in the familiar motion he’d repeated thousands of times in his life. The snow around them trembled, shifting under his will. Slowly, jagged rocks broke through the frost, rising in a trolled wave around them.

  "I have enough power already," Edward said, his voice firm yet calm. "What I’m seeking is knowledge. I want to master Eldritch Magic. I heard Kamar-Taj is the pce for it."

  The A Oched the rocks rearrahemselves befently settling bato the snow. Her eyes, sharp and focused, lingered on Edward’s meical arm, then his face, studying him with an iy that betrayed curiosity. "Iing," she said, a note of intrigue c her tone.

  It wasn't every day that The A One found herself uo glimpse someone's past or future. But Edward Elric was one suomaly. She had foreseen an intriguing individual reag the summit at this time, but beyond that, there was only uainty. He was like a void, something rare in her extensive experience, which made this enter even more curious.

  She folded her hands on her p, studying him. His frame radiated both exhaustion and unwavering resolve. Though he wore the weight of his metal arm heavily, it didn’t diminish his presence. His gaze, hard aermined, showed a man who was ner to suffering or perseverance.

  "Iing," she murmured, her eyes still on him, though she wasn’t addressing anyone in particur.

  Edward said nothing, sipping his tea. "So, what do you make of this pce?" she finally asked, her voice calm, with no hint of the gravity that typically apanied such a question.

  Edced the cup down, fingers lingering briefly on its edge before speaking. "Cold," he muttered. "But I've dealt with worse."

  The A One chuckled softly, her lips curving into a small smile. "Indeed. And you didn’t use alchemy." Her tone was half a question, half an aowledgment.

  "I didn’t e here to take the easy way out." His voice carried nance, only fact. The refusal to use alchemy was more than just a choice for him; it art of the journey, his way of proving he could overe his limitations without relying on the power he’d dedicated his life to mastering.

  She nodded, "And where did you hear about Kamar-Taj?"

  Edward gave a brief smile, his lips barely curling up. "A guy I knew with a broken spine ying basketball."

  The A One arched an eyebrow, but no words were needed. Edward’s answer was vague, but clear enough for someone like her. She uood. Eldritch Magider the right discipline, could heal wounds even the most advanced sces would call hopeless. It wasn’t rare for some who cked the hunger for power to heal themselves and leave, living the rest of their lives in peace.

  He sipped his tea again, the warmth spreading through him as he lowered the cup.

  “Iing choice of words,” she said, her voice light, but probing.

  “It's the truth," Edward shrugged. "But that's not why I’m here."

  She observed him for a moment, then smiled, a small, knowing smile. “You’ve e a long way, both in distand in spirit. So, what is it you seek?”

  "I already told you. Knowledge," Edward said ftly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Power... it's a tool, but without the wisdom to wield it, it's just destru waiting to happen."

  The A One’s eyes gleamed with uanding. She pced her cup oable and leaned back, folding her arms beh her robes. "And you believe Kamar-Taj is where you’ll find this knowledge?"

  "It’s a start," he said, unphased by her scrutiny.

  "Mastering Eldritch Magi’t be as simple as alchemy. You’re asking to learn a disciplihat defies the very rules you’ve built your world around." Her tone wasn’t patronizing, more like a teacher giving a stern but necessary warning.

  "Don't get me wrong," the A One tinued, her voice smooth as the mountain winds swirling around them. "Alchemy is no simple art. In fact, it’s likely more intricate than what I teach you. You've already sacrificed enough to uand its depths. But it is that very itment that makes learning something new so challenging." She paused, her eyes narrowing as they locked onto Edward’s. "It’s like someone who has mastered walking on their hands trying to switch back to their feet. Theoretically easier, but your body has learo move differently."

  Edward’s fiwitched around the cup. He felt the subtle shift in her words, the quiet challenge embedded in the analogy. "I'm not oo shy away from a difficult path," he said simply, setting his cup down with a trolled movement.

  She tilted her head, watg him closely. "That much is clear. But you do realize, this isn't just about determination." There ause, and the sound of snow g uhe distant wind filled the gap. "The rules of Eldritch Magi’t align with your mastery. It requires a different mi—ohat bends, twists, and reshapes reality without breaking it. You've built your life on the principles of equivalent exge, on solid ground. But here... that ground shift in an instant."

  Edward chuckled, the sound low and dry. His ughter caught the A One off guard for a moment.

  "I once learned about a way to gain power beyond even the ws of equivalent exge," he began, his voice taking on a cold, matter-of-fact tone. "But it required a different kind of sacrifice—human soul, a lot of them."

  The A One's serene expression shifted just a little. A frown pulled at the er of her mouth. She had made her own bargains in the past—ohat had prolonged her life and givehe strength to protect the world. Her gaze sharpened.

  "If there’s ohing I’ve e to uand," Edward tinued, his gaze steady, "it’s that there’s always a price for power. Nothing es free, not even here. You mentioned Eldritch Magic could shift the grouh me in an instant." He paused, letting the implication sink in. "But what’s the cost of that shift?"

  She looked at Edward and nodded. "Indeed, we draw energy from other dimensions to fuel our spells."

  Edward’s expression remai. "Figured as much."

  There was o dwell on it; the idea wasn’t o him. The fuals might differ, but the cost was always there—nothing came free. Not in alchemy, not in magic. He wouldn’t o spell it out either. The woman sitting across from him likely uood more than she was willing to say.

  "Is there anything else you’re not telling me?" Edward asked, gng at her.

  The A One smiled, her tone measured, "Plenty. But you'll find out in time."

  "I’m sure." Edward leaned ba the rock, shifting his metal arm in his p.

  "So, you really not after power." She raised an eyebrow, as if she was trying to draw more out of him.

  He snorted softly, "I didn’t climb up here to end up like the guy I oried to fix." The unspoken implication lingered between them.

  The A One didn't need more crification—she’d likely dealt with enough people g for power tnize someoeering clear of that path. Smiling, she rose gracefully and, with a subtle wave of her hands, traced a fiery circle in the air. The fmes licked the edges of reality itself, and within moments, a portal shimmered iehrough it, Edward glimpsed a new realm—Kamar-Taj. “Wele to Kamar-Taj, Edward.” She paused, her eyes twinkling slightly. "I still don’t know your name."

  Edward stood, his body ag from the climb but still steady. "Edward. Edward Elric. Pleased to meet you, A One."

  She nodded, her expression unreadable. "A pleasure indeed.

  Edward followed the A Ohrough the fiery portal. As he stepped into Kamar-Taj, the shift from the icy Everest peak to the hidden sanctum felt almost surreal, as though he’d crossed aire world in a siep. The air here was calm, filled with a strange energy that buzzed beh the surface, and eveone walls seemed to hum with tent power.

  The A One led him through winding corridors, as they passed monks and students, who aowledged the A Oh respectful nods but cast curious g Edward. When they reached a quieter room, she gestured for him to sit on the floor across from her. Edward settled down, as he looked around. The room was bare save for intricate patterched into the floor, f symbols he didn’t reize.

  He was floating, his perspective altered in a way that was disorientirangely liberating. Below him, he saw himself still seated across from the A One, his physical form faintly visible, almost like a shadow. The realization clicked immediately—this was his astral self.

  “Observe,” she murmured, her own voiehow reag him despite the vastness of the void surrounding them. She stretched out a hand, and suddenly, they were gliding through tless worlds, dimensions unfurling around them like a map of the multiverse. The ws of physics, the rules he’d built his life around, were utterly irrelevant here.

  Edward couldn’t help but let out a small, surprised breath as he witnessed energy flowiween realms, life forms bnizable and alien flickering past him. He caught sight of entire dimensions colpsing and ref, vast itities, and energies that felt both vibrant and menag. It was beautiful, overwhelming—and undeniably powerful.

  “This is the basis of Eldritch Magic,” she expined. “To manipute, reshape, and draw upon energy from realms beyond your own. But unlike alchemy, which has its boundaries, Eldritch Magic requires intuition, trust in the unseen, and an acceptance of chaos.”

  Edward focused, watg the plex iions in the endless void. He was silent for a moment, abs the implications. “So this is where the cost es in,” he said finally, his to. “We’re pulling energy from somewhere else. That power must e from something or someone.”

  “Correct.” Her gaze sharpened. “Every spell, every manipution has a sequence. Here, the cost is not fixed like in alchemy. Here, the price is paid in ways you may not foresee or trol.”

  Edward nodded ohe information already shifting into p his mind. He could feel the weight of it all, a discipline as yered and uable as the worlds they had just glimpsed.

  Wheuro his body, he opened his eyes slowly, meeting the A One’s steady gaze. “You’re not teag me a skill,” he said, his voice quiet but certain. “You’re teag me how to let go of trol.”

  A flicker of approval crossed her face. “You uand quickly. But knowing and mastering are two very different things, Edward.” She paused, studying him with that peing gaze. “We’ll see how far you’re willing to go. I’ll warn you now—if you choose this path, it will ge you in ways you ot reverse.”

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