Human Sacrifice

Human Sacrifice is a term in the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise used by the Homunculi to describe a certain, significant type of person. Due to the widely divergent paths taken by the manga storyline and the 2003 anime storyline after the term was introduced, it means two very different things in either continuity.

In the 2003 anime series, a Human Sacrifice is defined as an alchemist skillful and desperate enough to create a Philosopher's Stone at the cost of many human lives. These people are significant to the Homunculi and their master Dante because the Stone will allow Dante to switch from her rotting body into a fresh new container and has the ability to make the Homunculi fully human.

In the manga/2009 anime storyline, a Human Sacrifice is defined as a alchemist who has passed through the Gate by way of Human Transmutation and survived its aftereffects. This achievement requires a remarkable amount of skill in being capable of opening the Gate, courage in being willing to open and enter the Gate despite the hazards and luck in being able to exit the Gate without something vital being taken as toll and, as such, Human Sacrifices and candidates for Human Sacrifice are exceptionally rare. The Gate and the Truth, which resides within, appear to recognize those who have passed through it and call out to them when activated in their presence. It is this particular trait that makes these Human Sacrifices so important to the Homunculi and their Father, as their overarching plan requires that they possess five of these people on the Promised Day. While the plan, in its smoothest form, involves seeking out and protecting five Human Sacrifices until the Promised Day has come, it appears that a contingency exists within their plan to allow for the creation of a Human Sacrifice by forcing a candidate through the Gate at the risk of losing a Homunculus in the process. When the five Sacrifices are gathered and the Promised Day reaches its pinnacle of significance, each of the five individuals' Gates is opened, causing them to resonate and conflict with each other, releasing a massive amount of energy which will allow Father to open the Gate of the Earth itself.

The Five Human Sacrifices are:
 * Van Hohenheim - who was brought through the Gate as a result of the activation of the Nationwide Transmutation Circle around the nation of Xerxes.
 * Izumi Curtis - who opened the Gate through Human Transmutation in an attempt to resurrect her stillborn child.
 * Edward Elric - who opened the Gate through Human Transmutation in an attempt to resurrect his late mother and again to bring back the soul of his brother.
 * Alphonse Elric - whose body was taken into the Gate in the aftermath of his attempt to resurrect his late mother.
 * Roy Mustang - who was forced through the Gate by the Homunculus Pride when the Promised Day found only four full Human Sacrifices in existence.