The light is gone. Shadows swallow everything. As the planet quakes and the heavens tremble, the souls of heroes and villains alike vanish into darkness. The circle is complete.
Full Synopsis
Hoping to open negotiations, Central forces approach Radio Capital with the intention of sending in an unarmed soldier to mediate. Denny Brosh is chosen, but upon cautiously entering the building, he is greeted happily by Maria Ross and bursts into joyous tears.
Deep underground in Father's lair, Ed asserts that, despite having the Five Human Sacrifices gathered, the Homunculi will not simply be able to use them as they please. Father scoffs at this assertion and, overhearing Izumi's attempt to help the blind Mustang escape from the hall, informs the sacrifices that they are all already trapped within his very being. Up above, Darius, Jerso, Zampano, and the injured Hawkeye stare in horror at the strange, black film that has cordoned off the lowest levels of the underground facility, keeping them from proceeding any further in pursuit of Roy and Ed. May approaches Father angrily - acknowledging that this black, oculus-covered creature holds the secret to immortality - declares that she will be its opponent, leaving Pride to the Elric brothers. Ed comments that taking Pride down is a daunting task, but remembers that the little Homunculus' body had begun to flake away just a few moments ago when he had come through the Gate with Mustang. Suddenly wondering why the Homunculi would spend so much time trying to coerce alchemists into cooperating with them if they had the ability to simply force someone through the Gate, Ed is informed by Roy that it had been a last resort for them and likely carried some kind of risk. As Selim's face deteriorates further, Ed and Al begin their attack and, realizing that Pride has abandoned his usual aggressive tactics in favor of evasion, posit that he may have weakened himself significantly by bringing Roy to this place. As Father laments the further fighting, May commences her own attack, but when she pins the Homunculus' arms and attempts a direct strike, Hohenheim breaks his face free of Father's body to warn the little girl that her opponent does not need to move in order to circulate his energy. The admonition comes too late, however, as May is seriously injured by a transmutation the moment her body comes into contact with Father's form.
As the solar eclipse begins in earnest above, the Ishvalan refugees that came with Scar hurry to specific points around Central City, laying down tarps marked with the Alkahestric Reverse National Transmutation Circle and entrusting the rest to their scarred countryman.
Meanwhile, Scar continues to square off against the injured Wrath, who revels in his long-awaited chance to have a fight to the death unencumbered by social and political burdens or the agenda of his "father." King Bradley begins his onslaught as Scar attempts to counter with the Destruction Alchemy of his right arm, but the Homunculus maintains a significant upper hand, dealing the nameless Ishvalan several fresh wounds. However, Scar sees his chance to attack and breaks one of his opponent's twin swords when King Bradley's own wounds cause him to hesitate for a moment. The Führer regains his footing by using the remains of his shattered blade to immobilize Scar's right arm and prepares a killing blow with his undamaged sword, but - touching his shrouded left arm to the floor - Scar turns the tables in an unexpected fashion: alchemically creating several large spikes which rise from the floor to deflect the attack and injure his unsuspecting foe. As Wrath staggers backward in shock, Scar explains that he had come to a conclusion over the last few months regarding what his best course of action would be and, removing his cloak, reveals that he now bears a tattoo on his left arm as well - the reconstructive half of his brother's Dragon's Pulse array. Smiling in admiration, Wrath once again commends the tenacity of humans.
Edward sends Alphonse to help May while he himself takes care of Pride and while Al arrives in time to shield May (who has begun healing herself with alkahestry) from the latest of Father's assaults ad deals out an attack of his own, Ed deflects Pride's shadowy tendrils with his automail, remarking that the Homunculus has lost his edge. Pride scoffs at Edward's arrogance and, remarking that Ed's short stature has accustomed him to fighting opponents larger than himself but prohibited him from encountering an opponent of an even lesser height, manages to land some strikes upon Fullmetal at close range. However, Edward counters that his own experiences in battling large adversaries has given him firsthand comprehension of how small people fight and, with a powerful headbutt to the Homunculus' face, breaks off a chunk of Pride's deteriorating visage.
As Izumi tries to assist Alphonse in his assault on Father, however, the Homunculus leader declares that the time has come to begin the ritual. Capturing the four loose sacrifices in his own shadowy tendrils - dragging Ed away from the disfigured Pride before Fullmetal can land a finishing blow - Father pins them all to the ground in a circle around himself. Up above, inside Central Command, Brigadier General Klemin observes that the sun has almost completely been obstructed by the moon and panics, begging the Briggs soldiers to free him and get him to the center of the Nationwide Transmutation Circle, the only place safe from the impending transmutation. As the total eclipse begins and darkness falls around the country of Amestris, Father asks his five captives if they have ever considered that the planet Earth might be viewed as a life form or system capable of amassing universal knowledge on a much grander scale than any one human. He goes on to say that, if one were to open the Gate belonging to such a life system, the power one would gain would be unimaginable and remarks that his intention is to use the Five Sacrifices within his thrall to open that Gate and take that power for himself. Suddenly, Greed leaps from the shadows and, slashing at his Father's body with his adamantine claws, remarks gleefully that now he is at the center of everything and that the power to take the world belongs to him.
However, even as a shadowy puddle on the ground, Father remarks that he retains the upper hand and had every expectation for Greed to appear at this stage. Slithering over to his throne and dragging the five Sacrifices into a new circle around him, Father declares that the true center has always been where he is now standing and thrusts his hand down upon the mock-up of the Five Point Circle. As he activates it, the eye of the Gate appears upon each of the Five Sacrifices and the black film surrounding the lair expands, rising like a tide to engulf all of Central Command and the surrounding area. Out of each Sacrifice's Gate, shadowy black hands erupt and clash with each other at the center of the circle, creating a buildup of alchemical energy which further expands the black mass on the surface. The energy activates the circle made up of the five alchemical laboratories surrounding Central Command and then races around the nationwide circle. As the tragedy of Xerxes is recreated on a larger scale, all the people within Amestris' borders collapse where they stand, their souls pulled forcibly from their bodies. A pair of gargantuan Gate doors appear above Amestris and open as Father, his shadowy body magnified to titanic size, emerges from within and calls out to the heavenly circle created by the sun's corona around the moon - referring to it as "god." As Father's massive black tendrils reach up from the ground, a pair of Gates appear in the very firmament and open in front of the eclipse to reveal another Brobdingnagian eye within. The Gate of Heaven sends its own tendrils down toward the Gate of Earth and, taking hold of them, Father proclaims that he will drag God down to Earth and make it a part of himself. As he does so, a massive light breaks across the surface of the planet.
Episode Cards
Episode Notes
- This episode is adapted from content in Chapter 98: Greed Without Limits, Chapter 103: For Whom? and Chapter 104: The Center of the World.
- The Transmutation Array that appears in the background of this episode's title card is the Reverse Nationwide Transmutation Circle devised by Scar's Brother.
- The FUNimation dub changed "The Gate" about 15 episodes into the series to "the Portal," leaving it for the majority of the series, but suddenly in this episode, it's changed back to "Gateway."
- In the manga, the scene of Denny Brosh's tearful reunion with Maria Ross took place earlier in the story right after when Fu had joined Greed to fight against Wrath.
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