Moments - The Loneliest (EN)

Moments - The Loneliest

Disclaimer: The characters and original story of "Fullmetal Alchemist" belong to Hiromu Arakawa. However, my story is based on the scenario of the Chinese fangame "Bluebird's Illusion" (Pride!Ed Ending).

Music: "Rakuyô" (FMA OST), "The Loneliest" (Måneskin), "Omoide" (FMA OST)

Summary : For Pride, who isn't exactly born yesterday, but almost, the world is a real mystery. Yet, there's one thing he's certain of: something is missing. But what?

Note: Curiously, I wrote this text while I was already working on the ending of the story it's based on ("Moments"). It was just a sudden urge! Personally, I don't see it as a "prologue," but rather as a "prelude" to that story; a sort of atmospheric snapshot. Since I mainly wanted to depict a mood, without worrying too much about the plot, this text might not fully align with the original story, or there might be inconsistencies. That's why I invite you to view this vignette as a window slightly ajar to another world :)

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The air was cool, the sun low, and the night was beginning to fall. The horizon was filled with indigo, gold and stars, with a hint of pink battling between the first two, as if trying to keep them from devouring each other. However, the struggle wouldn't last. Twilight was as fleeting as the millions of humans swarming down below in Central, bathed in the evening glow and buzzing with the hum of the streets.

Perched on his building, feet dangling in the void and head in the clouds, Pride gazed at the capital thoughtfully. He had chosen his observation post with care. It was, in fact, his favorite, because it was so high that it offered him a breathtaking view of the city and its surroundings; its mighty river, peaceful suburbs, dense forest and nourishing fields. Everything laid before his sovereign gaze, from the poor souls begging in the alley below his perch, to the imposing mountains outlined in the distance.

Thus, he saw everything.

Thus, he dominated the world.

Or so he thought. Because, in truth, he knew almost nothing of the world, starting with those dark expanses beyond the city walls. River, forest, fields... To him, they were just empty words, or at least, they meant little more to him than the basic definitions he had learned. They were merely concepts, phantasmagoric landscapes that he could only imagine from the few resources his imagination provided.

Not to mention what laid beyond.

The Unknown, with a capital "U". For whatever reason, it seemed that putting capital letters at the beginning of words gave them more importance. And for Pride, it sure had some. A lot, indeed. All that space plunged into pitch-black darkness, like a dark sea surrounding the unwavering beacon that was Central, irresistibly drew him in. He was far from done exploring the city - and wasn't allowed to leave it anyway - but he couldn't help it: the "outside" intrigued him.

It was... frightening and exciting at the same time. To think that "the world" could be so vast and that there was still so much to discover... It made him dizzy just thinking about it; quite ironic, considering he wasn't at all concerned about the fifteen floors separating him from the ground. But how could he not be carried away by the prospect of this "unknown" with billions of possibilities when the "known" already held more than its share of surprises?

Humans probably held the record in that regard, actually. Perhaps because, given their similarities to them, the slightest difference stood out. Pride still couldn't get over the fact that humans could exist in different colors, for example. Envy had even told him that there were even more astonishing colors beyond the "borders." The newborn didn't know what a "border" was, but what he was sure of was that he would have to go there. He wondered if he could find red humans there. It was his favorite color, and he thought it made sense since human blood was red too. A bright red that could be drawn with just a little effort.