The sound of wind-chimes echoed faintly through the Rockbell backyard, but Edward didn't hear them. He stood over the suit of armor leaning against the barn wall—the same suit that had once held Alphonse's soul. It had been polished, cleaned, and placed there by Pinako after the accident, more in mourning than maintenance.
Edward's fingers brushed the cold steel of the chestplate.
Auron watched from the shadows of the doorway, arms crossed, his golden hair damp from training. His Rinne-Mangekyō was dormant, but the intensity in his gaze was anything but.
"I never asked," Edward said, eyes distant. "When you touched the Gate and saw Al… what did he look like?"
Auron stepped forward slowly. "Like a flame. Barely holding together. His soul was… fraying. But it wasn't gone."
Edward's jaw clenched. "You think it hurts?"
"Yes," Auron answered honestly. "Being incomplete hurts. Not in the way we feel it… but in every moment his soul exists without a body, it's unraveling."
Edward didn't respond. He just stared at the empty armor.
After a long pause, Auron placed a hand on the helmet. "There might be a way to stabilize him. Just enough until we find Father's research."
"You mean another ritual?" Ed snapped, turning to him sharply. "After what happened last time?!"
"No." Auron shook his head. "I'm not talking about transmutation. I'm talking about chakra binding. If I link my own spiritual core with his through resonance, we might be able to delay the unraveling."
"You want to bind your soul to his? That could kill you!"
"Only if I fail."
---
The ritual was held beneath the Rockbell barn that night, in a hidden chamber Auron had excavated weeks earlier using chakra-fueled earth manipulation. The floor was etched with dual circles—one traditional, the other constructed entirely from chakra seals and tomoe spirals.
In the center stood the suit of armor.
Auron knelt to one side. Edward to the other.
The moment chakra and alchemical energy met, the ground trembled. Purple lightning crackled between the circles. The Rinne-Mangekyō activated in full, casting a brilliant red-violet aura throughout the chamber. Edward clapped and pressed his palms to the stone, channeling his energy into the base transmutation circle.
Then—it happened.
A presence filled the room.
Not a body.
Not a voice.
Just a weight… a familiar weight.
The armor shuddered.
A faint glow pulsed within the helmet's hollow eyes.
"Brother…?"
The voice was weak, barely a whisper of thought, but both Auron and Edward heard it.
"A-Al?!"
The armor's fingers twitched.
Auron gritted his teeth, pressing harder. His chakra flared, running wild, his heart beating faster as the soul-link strain hit him like molten iron. For a moment, he saw Alphonse again—not a projection, but a presence within him, tethered to his very core.
He felt everything Alphonse felt.
The coldness.
The weightlessness.
The silence of having no heartbeat.
Tears slipped from Auron's eyes.
"You're not alone anymore," he whispered.
The armor glowed faintly brighter… and then stilled.
The link severed.
---
Auron collapsed.
Edward caught him before he hit the ground, pulling him against the cold stone.
"Auron?! Auron, say something!"
The boy's eyes fluttered open. "He's stable. Just barely."
"You nearly killed yourself—again."
"I said I'd become whatever I need to."
Edward stared at him, breath shaky. "I hate you for saying that."
Auron gave a faint smirk. "You love me for it too."
They sat in silence for a moment, Edward holding his brother, the flickering glow of chakra still dancing in the background.
Then a soft clank echoed in the chamber.
They looked up.
The helmet of the armor had shifted—just slightly.
Like something inside had moved.
Edward stood, heart pounding. "Al…?"
A faint glow shimmered in the armor's chest, not strong enough for movement, but undeniable.
He was there.
Trapped.
But still with them.
---
Later that night, Auron stood alone in the dark woods behind the house, staring at his trembling hands. Lightning crackled across his fingers uncontrollably—residual chakra surge from the ritual.
Something was changing.
The power that lived inside his eyes no longer simply responded to him—it fed on what he gave. It took pain. It took hope. It took truth.
And it gave back a price beyond flesh.
Behind him, a voice spoke quietly.
"You're burning yourself out."
It was Winry.
Auron turned slightly, his eyes dimming to their silver-gold hue. "I'm holding him together."
"Yeah. And who's holding you together?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest. "Let us help. You're not alone either."
He looked down at her hand… and for the first time in weeks, the trembling in his fingers stopped.