The Gate
a"this" is talking
'this' is thinking
"this" is Truth
Carmilla fell to her knees with a grunt, her eyes throbbing behind her lids as she tried to gather herself. She felt like a Troll used her for a club, again.
Opening her eyes, she immediately closed them at the stabbing white light, raising a hand to cover her eyes at the spike of pain the action had caused.
"Damn that stings," she muttered, slowly opening her eyes again to see an endless expanse of white surrounding her, idly spitting the stone out into her palm from where it rested in her check.
"Where am I?" she wondered, looking around to see if she could spot anything and finding a large slate grey pair of doors seemingly floating off the ground a few feet, the surface of the doors smoother than anything she'd ever seen.
"Hello, Little Witch" an amorphous voice, neither male or female, single or many, called out from behind her making her whip around to spot the speaker sitting a few meters away, their form nearly impossible to make out from the white void around them because of its featureless appearance, save for the black mist wafting off of them and the too wide piano toothed grin.
"Are you the Guardian?" Carmilla asked the being; it's grin widening.
"Indeed I am, though I have been called many other things as well, one you might have for me is the World, or you might call me the Universe, or perhaps God, Death, Life or the Truth. I am All, and I am One. So, of course, this also means that I am you."
The being, Truth she decided to call them, answered, moving from his lotus sitting position to raising one knee and resting his arm on it, malicious mischief permeating its form in some sort of expectation.
"A pleasure to meet you then, Truth." She bowed, receiving a frown from Truth.
"You're an interesting one, normally humans either panic or deny me." If she didn't know better, she'd almost say Truth was pouting.
"I do not know why most meet with you, but since you took my mother's lung in exchange for allowing her passage to Amestris, I assume that most people have done something monumentally stupid to come before you and thus try to deny their guilt. Am I right?" Carmilla questioned, sitting down with her knees folded under her.
"That is correct. Normally when humans appear before me, they have performed the Taboo among alchemists. You and your mother are exceptions to the rule. I see you have your toll." Truth smiled, pointing to the stone in her hand.
"Yes, but may I ask some questions before you send me on my way?" she requested, placing the stone on the ground between them.
"You may, as the Stone shall cover more than just your passage. You will need knowledge of the world you seek after all. Ask, child."
Truth commanded, returning to its previous lotus position.
"I know nothing of alchemy, and from the way you spoke of a Taboo, I would like to know about this power I have, if you will?"
"A wise question, Alchemy, in the world you seek, is a science, not magic. It is the science of Understanding, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing matter from one form to another. However, it is not an all-powerful art, as many believe, for humans cannot obtain something out of nothing. To obtain something, something of equal value must be lost; this is the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the basis of all alchemy. For example, if you transmute a rose, you cannot obtain a tree, that is not equivalent. You could, however, turn lead into gold as they hold both the same mass and have base similarities. Or water into ice or gas. So long as the gas has water as a composite, you can turn the water into any gas. Your father uses his alchemy to create explosions by creating energy imbalances within an object that cause the explosive reaction. But those are his alchemical secrets, and I will not go further. If you seek to learn his alchemy, learn it from him, either directly or through his notes."
Truth explained, leaving Carmilla with the feeling that he'd given the extremely bastardized summary of how her father's alchemy worked.
"I think I follow, a bit anyway."
"I could show you the Truth if you like, the Stone would allow for it."
"I think not; I believe in hard work to earn what I know. Without working for something, how can humans, let alone myself, grow?" Carmilla grunted, she did not believe in the easy path.
"Thus, you are smarter than almost every single person I've met."
The tone Truth used made her want to snort in annoyance; people like that pissed her off.
"Can you inform me of the basic history of this world. I don't want to be caught unaware. Nothing about my father, I'd like to find those things out from him."
"We would be here too long if I explained it by telling you. When you go through your Gate, the one behind you, I will implant the information into your mind. Be warned; it will hurt. But without a little pain, nothing can be learned."
Carmilla nodded; she didn't want to intrude after all.
"Very well, but may I ask these last two questions,"
"What is it, Little Witch?"
"The books and potions I attempted to bring with me, will I be allowed to keep them? And what do you mean, exactly, by saying that this is "my" Gate?"
Truth looked pleased with the latter question.
"You will be allowed the books, as they are needed for you to continue practicing your magic, the potions will not. You will not need them after passing through the Gate. The ingredients for future potions will be, for the most part, left alone. The more exotic ingredients will not pass. There are no creatures that exist within Amestris to allow for the passage. I will change the information in the books to allow for substitutions. There will be two sets of books, the originals, and the adjusted copies."
"Is one Stone worth this much?" Carmilla asked it seemed like she was getting too much, and knowing that this Being took her mother's lung as payment, she was going to err on the side of caution.
"Smart question, and yes, the Stone from Van Hohenheim will cover your toll for the several thousand souls within it. Though, there is something I will request of you as well."
Carmilla decided that while she hated the tone Truth used, she was prepared for it as well.
"Equivalent Exchange, yes?" she chuckled, closing her bi-colored eyes with a small smile.
"The Horcrux that had been placed within you, it's stench permeates the air surrounding you. Only I will notice this foulness, and it has made me realize that I had turned my eye from Earth for too long. I will request that you one day return to your birth world, and purge the other Horcruxes that have been made by that fool Voldemort. You will not be forced to remain on Earth, and you will be allowed to bring your closest with you when you must return. But that will be years from now, as for every two months on Earth, a year passes in Amestris."
Truth explained with a solemn tone that made her sigh.
"I understand Truth; I will do as you ask. Now about the Gate?" Carmilla inquired as she pointed to the Gate that was beginning to have something carved into it.
"Every person in the world, both Amestris, and Earth, has their own Portal of Truth, this is the source of both Alchemy and Magic, that is connected to this plain, which is the True Gate. As such, each Alchemist and Mage has a Gate within themselves. In a normal person, this Gate closes with time; in an Alchemist or Mage, the Gate remains open, but a distance is created. The Gate of every Alchemist differs in appearance in accordance to one's life experience and how they view the world. Right now, your Gate is a blank slate; because you are just beginning to understand Alchemy, if we ever meet again, it will look much different to now."
Carmilla nodded at this, looking at the Gate behind her, her Gate, that looked like it had several etchings of circles on it though she couldn't make out anything else.
"I see, thank you Truth, but I believe it's time for me to go, correct?" Carmilla asked as she stood, Truth taking the Stone and nodding.
"Indeed, it is. I will be dropping you in a town called Dublith; I recommend finding a bar called the Devil's Nest and telling him that I've sent you. He is not human, or are those who follow him, despite their appearances. I'll leave him to explain what he is."
"Understood," she said, turning to the Gate that began to open, "and Truth," she paused, looking back to the Being, "thank you for this," she told them as she walked into the black abyss of the Gate's interior.
As the Gate shut behind her, Truth whispered something she didn't catch.
"Good luck, Carmilla Kimblee, may we meet again on pleasant terms."