7 YEARS BEFORE
"What? What is this?" I looked at the floor, in horror, at the bloody pool on the ground. Whatever was in the pool, reached out for me, shrieked, and died. I closed my eyes, and woke up in some sort of void. "Where am I?"
I was then confronted by a humanoid figure, with nothing but a mouth. It spoke to me, and opened a door. I saw images, and things I couldn't comprehend. And then, I saw something. A red stone, shining like a diamond drenched in blood. There was something about it that made me reach out to it, and the door slammed shut. I banged on it, but it wouldn't budge. I turned to the figure, who called himself Truth. I called out to it. "Please! Just let me in, just a little more!" The figure grinned at me wildly, and then reminded me of the first principle of alchemy; equivalent exchange. I looked at my arm, but saw that it began deteriorating. Not slowly, as vegetables left out to compost, but in the blink of an eye. And then I was transported back to the dark warehouse where the ritual had been performed, and started spurting blood. I screamed and looked around for my brother. He lost his arms, the ability to walk, and - worst of all- his soul. His body wasn't dead, just sort of vegetative. I screamed, and clapped my hands together; having had the ability to create a transmutation circle with my hands since the age of six. I screamed something; some inane babble directed at Truth. It gave me back his soul and his soul alone, and, in exchange, took my leg. My brother came to, and, bleeding myself, I picked him up and hobbled to the house nearby.