New Life and Alchemy

Chapter 2 – New Life and Alchemy

London, July 3, 1990.

Somewhere in the northern part of East End, in an old building that used to be either a warehouse or some kind of factory, a young woman was howling in pain as she struggled to give birth.

"Haaaaaa."

"Come on, Aila, push!" A younger woman, no more than 18 years old, spoke with a slightly trembling voice, while nearby, a man in his 20s looked around with concern.

"Harold, Haaaa." Aila screamed again as she pushed. Seeing this, the man went to her side and held her hand.

"It's okay, sis. I'm here."

"Harold, I'm scared."

"It's okay, Aila, it'll be fine. But you need to push harder. They're almost here," Harold said as he looked around.

Watching Aila and Harold, the young woman couldn't help but wonder how things had gotten to this point. However, she quickly shook her head and decided to put the matter aside to focus on her current task.

"Come on, Aila, you can't stop now. Push, come on, push!" The young woman encouraged Aila, who once again screamed as she made an effort to give birth.

"I can see the head. Just a little more, Aila," the young woman suddenly said as she quickly prepared a blanket. "Come on, just a little more. One last push."

"Haaaaaa." Aila, in a final effort, finally relaxed as she heard the cry of a baby.

"It's a boy," the young woman said, looking at the little one in her hands.

"Let me see him," Aila spoke in a tired but firm voice, while Harold simply got up and stood on guard.

The young woman brought the little one to Aila and showed her the baby, who was still crying.

"It's okay, it's okay. Mommy's here," Aila spoke as softly as she could, and this seemed to calm the baby, who quickly fell silent while being cradled by her.

"Grace, I need to ask you a favor." Looking at the baby and then at Harold, Aila suddenly turned to her only friend.

"Of course, Aila, what is it?"

"I need you to take him away with you."

"What?"

"Please…"

"Aila-"

"Grace, please, I can't let him die here."

"He won't, Aila. Soon, the Order-"

"They won't come," Aila said in a serious tone.

"What?" Grace asked, confused.

"They won't come, Grace. Fabian has already informed me. After learning of the prophecy, the entire Order is focused on protecting the savior. They won't have enough manpower to help us."

"But-"

"I can feel them coming, Grace. Please, take my son and go."

Grace took the little baby in her arms and looked at Harold, who, although listening to everything, remained silent.

"Grace, go," he said in a heavy tone without turning around. So, the young woman donned a cloak and left the place.

Watching Grace leave the building, Aila couldn't help but cry, while Harold remained silent, watching in a certain direction.

"They're here," Harold spoke in a heavy tone, as suddenly the door of the old building was broken down.

<><><><><>

Amid the decaying Victorian-era buildings, a figure covered in a black cloak walked with swift, silent steps through the eerily deserted streets, maneuvering between different alleys, warily observing the dark spots around them.

A strange, thick fog blanketed the streets, giving the figure extra camouflage, allowing them to move unnoticed, but this didn't seem to bring them any comfort, only making them more apprehensive.

Entering one of the many alleys, the figure stopped for a moment to rest. Leaning against a cold brick wall, they looked around for a moment, as if trying to identify where they were.

"Hm-Hm." As they looked around, a small sound was suddenly heard from inside the figure's garments, causing them to look down.

"Shhhh, it's okay. It's okay." The figure removed the hood, revealing the dirty and injured face of a beautiful woman, Grace. Under the light of a streetlamp, her appearance became clearer. She had black hair cascading over her face and beautiful green eyes.

"It'll be okay, don't worry. We'll find your father, and everything will be alright," she whispered, as she cradled the small baby she was hiding under her cloak.

After calming the baby and catching her breath, the woman prepared to run again but suddenly stopped.

Looking back, at the end of the street where she came from, though obscured by the fog and darkness, a monstrous figure over 2 meters tall could be seen standing, silently watching her with deep yellow eyes.

"Grrr." A fierce and hungry growl came from the strange beast.

Seeing the beast, without thinking twice, the woman ran.

The beast, however, didn't stay still and quickly began to chase her.

The woman ran for her life and the life of the little one in her arms. She dashed through the alleys of old London, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape the beast's pursuit.

She looked around. The fog, growing thicker by the minute, blurred her vision, making her unsure of where she was going. However, the strong desire to survive, to save the little baby in her arms, drove her to keep running.

After running for some time, the woman entered an alley and crouched behind a trash can. She remained silent, as she could feel the beast approaching.

Looking at the baby, who despite everything still slept in her arms, the woman couldn't help but cry a little. She hugged the little one as tightly and lovingly as she could, without hurting him, and gently kissed his forehead before opening the trash can and placing him inside.

She looked at him for a moment before turning and running.

Soon after, the beast stopped at the entrance of the alley where the baby was, sniffed the air for a moment, and was about to enter when it suddenly stopped and ran in another direction.

<><><><><>

The next day, while the garbage collectors were making their rounds, one of them heard a muffled sound coming from an alley. Curious, he entered and, approaching a trash can, found a small baby crying inside.

The man quickly took the baby to a nearby police station to report the finding.

<><><><><>

At the same time, in an abandoned warehouse in East End, two bodies belonging to an unknown man and woman were found among some debris and trash.

<><><><><>

Three days later, the London police found the body of a young woman on the banks of the River Thames. The marks on her body indicated that she had been attacked by some kind of animal. The body was never identified, and later the case was closed as a simple attack by an unknown animal.

<><><><><>

Little Garden Orphanage

1 month later.

In an old house that seemed to belong to the Victorian era, a group of children of various ages played calmly in a large yard under the supervision of some older kids and a few adults.

This was Little Garden Orphanage, founded in the early 20th century to care for orphaned children from East End.

Inside the house, in one of the rooms, a little baby was being fed by a beautiful young woman who didn't appear to be more than 19 years old.

She had lovely short blonde hair and light brown eyes, and she hummed a lullaby while feeding the baby in her arms, who watched her silently.

This baby was, of course, Simon.

After being thrown through a vortex by Eris, Simon's first moments were a complete blur.

He had never imagined how sensitive a person's hearing could be. It took more than a moment for him to finally hear properly, and whenever he heard loud noises, it bothered him.

It also didn't help that, after somewhat adjusting, he found himself in a dark, foul-smelling environment, completely shocked to realize that he had become a baby.

Unable to move and completely alone, Simon did the only thing a baby could do: he cried.

'Well, I can't say I regret this, but couldn't Eris have sent me as an adult? Even as a teenager would've been fine. Not being able to do anything on my own. Plus, couldn't she have fixed my left eye? What a stingy goddess.'

Suddenly, the sound of thunder reverberated from outside, startling the young woman as Simon let out a small cry that echoed through the room as he was frightened by the sound.

"Ah, it's okay, it's okay," the young woman gently rocked him, trying to soothe Simon as he complained in his mind,

'Ahh, I forgot she can still hear me. Better keep quiet.'

Realizing that the thunder might be some kind of sign from Eris, Simon stopped thinking about the goddess of chaos and looked at the nearly empty bottle.

"Well done, Simon, you drank it all. Was it good?"

"Hm-hm."

"I'm glad you liked it." The young woman laughed as she placed Simon on her shoulder and gave him a few pats on the back.

Meanwhile, she continued to hum a light song, which calmed Simon, making him feel sleepy. After burping and spitting up a little on the young woman's shoulder, who simply laughed, he was placed in a crib.

'Well. Being a baby still has its advantages, I guess.' He thought as he watched the young woman spin a small mobile and hum a lullaby to him. Simon observed the girl's face for a moment before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

<><><><><>

When he slowly opened his eyes, Simon found himself in a gigantic library, filled with massive bookshelves and distinct-looking books, all neatly organized.

Back in his adult form, Simon stretched a bit, enjoying the sensation of moving freely without relying on anyone, before walking in one direction.

Looking around, he briefly touched the many books that made up the immense collection. These books corresponded to the knowledge accumulated by Father over his 400 years of existence, maybe even more.

Father, as the 'creator' and perpetuator of diastrophic alchemy—or Amestrian alchemy—had vast knowledge about alchemy and its development throughout history.

In addition, being the true ruler of Amestris, a military nation where the development of alchemy was directly overseen by the government, Father also had a high level of knowledge about the other forms of alchemy that were developed throughout the country's history, such as biological alchemy, used to create chimeras, and many others that were hidden from the public.

But, undoubtedly, the most important knowledge was what he obtained from the source: the knowledge he gained when he was removed from the Truth. After all, Father is essentially a piece of the Truth with its own consciousness, removed from its cycle and cast directly into the human world.

And now, all that knowledge was within Simon's reach.

"Well, no matter how advanced the knowledge is, if I don't have a good foundation, it won't do me any good." Simon stopped thinking about it and calmly walked towards the initial section, where he picked up a heavy, old book.

Even though it was a space in his mind, Simon could still smell the book, which surprised him a bit, but he soon calmed down and began to read.

The library space was calm and quiet, allowing Simon to fully focus on studying alchemy. There was no one to interrupt him, and that was quite pleasant for him.

Without realizing it, three hours passed quickly. Suddenly, he felt hungry. Lifting his head and stretching a bit, Simon closed the book and placed it back on the shelf before disappearing from the space and finding himself inside the crib again.

Feeling his stomach rumble and noticing a faint smell, Simon started to cry, and soon a woman appeared to check on him.

This time, it wasn't the young woman from before but an older woman, appearing to be in her 30s. She wore a simple dress that fit her well. Her straight brown hair fell to her shoulders, and her green eyes were kind.

Simon was taken to another room, where he was quickly changed and cleaned before being fed a little.

Unlike the previous young woman, the older woman didn't hum to Simon, but she smiled gently as she calmly rocked him.

It was a different experience, but Simon liked it, and he soon finished eating and began to feel tired again.

'Ahh, the life of someone who just eats, sleeps, and poops... isn't as good as I imagined. 'Simon thought for a moment, while burping, until sleep overtook him.

The woman noticed Simon's tiredness and took him back to the crib, where he quickly fell asleep, once again appearing inside his personal library.

Picking up the book on alchemy introduction again, Simon sat down at the foot of the bookshelf and immersed himself in reading, only stopping when he felt hungry or needed to be changed.

For the next eight months, this was Simon's life: eat, sleep, study alchemy, and wake up to be cleaned and then eat again.

A tedious cycle that, in the words of the great philosopher Vaas, could only be described as... insanity.

<><><><><>

March 1981, Little Garden

In a room filled with toys, a small baby with black hair struggled to stand.

His little face looked strangely focused as he tried to balance himself, which made the scene even more amusing for those watching.

A little distance away, a young woman smiled and clapped as she saw Simon stand up on his own.

"Well done, Simon. Come on, you can do it!"

Simon paused for a moment, trying to balance himself. When he succeeded, he smiled at the girl and tried to walk towards her.

His steps were slow, and it seemed like he would fall at any moment, but he forced himself to stay steady. However, after the third step, he fell.

"Simon!" Seeing the boy fall, the young woman approached and helped him up.

Holding him in her arms, she rocked him for a moment, afraid he might cry, but that didn't happen, which made her let out a soft sigh.

As she rocked Simon, Amelia picked up a small stuffed toy that looked like a white tiger. She waved the toy at Simon, who quickly snatched it from her hands and held it with him.

What could he say? He liked the toy.

Simon was then placed in a playpen, where he played with the other toys Amelia gave him, until he finally felt tired and was taken to the crib.

He looked at the mobile for a moment, while listening to a lullaby, and then fell asleep. Inside the library in his mind, Simon calmly walked towards the introductory alchemy book, but this time he didn't pick it up.

Eight months were more than enough for him to read the book repeatedly. However, the level of understanding he could reach just through theoretical means was limited. Until he could move on his own and put into practice what he had learned, continuing to study the theory of alchemy would be useless.

So, he decided to take another path.

Picking up a second book, Simon sat down and began to read. Although it was a bit more advanced, and without a practical foundation the knowledge in it would be useless, Simon began to read the book calmly, preparing for the moment when he could finally start acting.