The Truth (真理, Shinri^?), or simply Truth, is an enigmatic, metaphysical being who appears when a person attempts Human Transmutation. Seeing Human Transmutation as an unfair exchange under the equivalent exchange laws of Alchemy, Truth draws the Alchemist into the Gate and forcibly takes their most valued attribute, or something symbolic of their relationship with the person they are attempting to create or resurrect. Truth will permit otherwise impossible exchanges when a Philosopher's Stone is used, as the Philosopher's Stone, or a part of it, serves as the payment for the exchange instead.

As a negative version or "conscience" of the alchemist who performs Human Transmutation, Truth is perceived by the finite human mind as punishing them for "Playing God" by abusing the power of Alchemy. Truth embodies the universe, serving as both a deity and monad for it, and also represents the collective consciousness and conscience of living things. Truth is everything within the universe, including all people, and is therefore the closest thing to the concept of God to appear in the series. Because Truth is the very person it judges, every punishment ultimately reflects what that individual believes to be a fitting consequence for their own transgression.

Aside from humans, all living things possess their own Gate of Truth, through which they are able to see Truth.

Appearance

Truth is depicted as a white, featureless version of whoever passes through the Gate, symbolizing that the only one casting judgement is oneself. Truth's voice sounds feminine and often ends with a sharp accent. It can be seen being in possession of items that it took from the Alchemist when they open the Gate. In Edward's case, Truth appears as a featureless young boy, but later possesses Edward's arm and leg which were paid as an equivalent exchange for seeing Truth and retrieving Alphonse Elric's soul back. In Alphonse’s case, Truth possesses his entire body and takes on his form.

Because Truth reflects the appearance of those it encounters, its form varies depending on who stands before the Gate. To Edward and Alphonse Elric, it appears as a young boy. To Izumi Curtis, it takes the form of a young woman. To Roy Mustang, it appears as a vigorous man. When the Dwarf in the Flask entered the Gate, Truth appeared as the Dwarf’s original flask-bound form. Truth also mirrors the speech patterns and mannerisms of those it meets, representing its nature as One, All, Universe, God, and Truth itself. It serves as a reflection of the alchemists who commit the taboo. It speaks in a stubborn tone when addressing Edward but adopts a more polite manner when speaking with Alphonse.

Personality

Truth presents itself as sadistic and cruel, but fair and wise in its rationality. Each transgression is punished by the loss of whatever the transgressor values most. For Edward, it is his ability to stand on his own two feet, taken through the loss of his leg. For Alphonse, it is the ability to feel his lost mother’s touch. For Izumi, it is her womb, the means to replace the child she lost and tried to bring back. Its presence serves as punishment for the ultimate transgression of human transmutation. Truth always acts according to what it perceives as fair exchange and will take from offenders by force if necessary. It holds no bias, opinion, or prejudice, viewing all who break the laws of alchemy as equal in their offenses and therefore deserving of equal retribution through the loss of what they hold dear.

Above all, Truth aims to uphold the laws that bind the universe and punishes any who attempt to perform acts that cannot or should not occur. Its seeming malice is ultimately a lesson: Truth seeks to teach humanity that alchemy is not everything, and that its practitioners must not view themselves as superior to others. This arrogance, born from the belief that one can control life and death, is the ultimate hubris behind all human transmutation. Life and death are to be accepted, not manipulated. When Edward chose to give up his Gate of Truth to save his brother, Truth emphatically congratulated him for passing the test and finding the correct answer.

While Truth is often seen as merciless, it does at times show a measured form of mercy. When Roy Mustang was forcibly made to perform human transmutation by Pride and the Gold-Toothed Doctor, Truth blinded him and revealed his inner Gate, granting him the ability to transmute without a circle. The physical deterioration that should have afflicted him was instead transferred to Pride, causing his Selim Bradley vessel to begin breaking down.

Truth shows its greatest moment of humor when Father is forced to face it at the Gate, laughing that the Dwarf in the Flask has not grown beyond his flask days and has failed by rejecting his seven sins, and therefore his humanity.

History

Manga and 2009 Anime

Truth introduces itself as a being that humans refer to by many names, including God, the World or the Universe. Though Truth initially appears welcoming to those he meets, its attitude quickly changes to one of mild sadism, taking delight in calling attention to their hubris before opening the Gate. Anyone who performs human transmutation is immediately brought before Truth, who is prompt in exacting a toll from the alchemist who summoned it, usually one that metaphorically or ironically reflects what the transgressor values most in life.

Because Edward Elric opened the Gate in an attempt to bring his mother back through human transmutation, Truth took Edward's left leg and his brother Alphonse Elric’s entire body. Edward opened the Gate again and traded his right arm for his brother’s soul. Both brothers encountered Truth as they were forced to pay their tolls. 

Though Truth appears in Edward's dreams, its next true appearance is in Chapter 53, when Edward crosses to the true Gate from within Gluttony's internal imitation. Truth seems amused and mocks Edward for not attempting to reclaim what was taken from him during his first attempt at human transmutation. In this instance, Truth takes the form of Alphonse, as Alphonse's entire body had been taken as Edward's toll.

Izumi Curtis attempted to bring back her child through human transmutation, and Truth took several of her internal organs, presumably including parts of her reproductive system. This left her incapable of becoming pregnant again and suffering from chronic hematemesis.

It is not confirmed if Van Hohenheim ever saw the Gate, but it can be presumed that his alchemy technique, which does not require the usual gesture of clapping one’s hands together, was obtained by paying an even greater toll upon reaching the Gate, allowing him to perceive more of the Truth beyond it.

Roy Mustang, who was forced to open the Gate by Pride with the aid of Wrath, encounters Truth during the battle with Father. Despite his conscious decision not to perform human transmutation, Truth still demanded a toll, taking his sight. It is important to note that Truth also took away most of Pride's strength, or the souls that composed his Philosopher’s Stone, since Pride used himself as the human transmutation circle. This may have contributed to the toll that was paid for opening Mustang's Gate. Unlike the Elric brothers, Mustang chose to use a Stone as a substitute for his toll and was able to recover his eyesight, as shown in the epilogue.

In Chapter 102, Father reflects on the irony behind the works of Truth, who took Edward’s ability to stand on his own and his only family, Alphonse’s body, so that he could no longer feel the mother’s warmth he had longed for. Truth also took from Izumi her capacity to nurture life, and from Mustang, his eyesight, depriving the man who had a grand vision to save his country of the ability to see what his beloved nation would become. From Father’s perspective, Truth is a cruel and sadistic being whose only ambition is to make people suffer.

In Chapter 107, Truth appears once more before Alphonse when his body and soul are finally reunited. Truth returns Edward’s arm in exchange for Alphonse’s soul, while wondering with the younger Elric whether his brother will return for him and what he will be willing to sacrifice.

In Chapter 108, Truth appears before Father and mocks him for attempting to claim the power of God for himself and for believing he could transcend humanity by purging himself of the seven desires. It alludes to the idea that those desires exist to give humanity the chance to grow and rise above its imperfections. Truth implies that Father never truly matured beyond his days in the flask. It then banishes him to the depths of the Gate from which he was summoned, commenting with irony that Father must have known this would be his punishment.

When Edward returns to the Gate after the final battle with Father, Truth appears before him and asks what he will give up in order to restore Alphonse’s entire body to the human realm. Edward offers his own Gate of Truth, and thus his power of alchemy, in exchange. Truth appears momentarily surprised, but when Edward declares that alchemy was never what truly mattered to him, Truth is pleased and congratulates him for finding the correct answer and surpassing it. Truth then vanishes with Edward’s Gate after directing him toward the exit and his brother.

Concept & Symbolism

According to Father, Truth’s tolls are often based on dramatic irony, which is oddly unfitting for the principle of Equivalent Exchange that Truth upholds. Edward paid with the leg he stood on and the only family he recognized as having left. He then sacrificed his right arm to retrieve Alphonse’s soul, which Truth accepted as an equivalent exchange, since one could interpret Alphonse as Edward’s “right-hand man”. Alphonse’s soul was not used as payment, however, as it was affixed to the result of their failed human transmutation, meaning his body itself contributed to the toll. This can be interpreted as punishment in several ways: stripping him of the ability to feel and cutting him off from the warmth of others, or, viewed differently, transforming him into their failed creation, an abomination no one would wish to associate with. Izumi lost the ability to conceive entirely through the permanent removal of her reproductive organs, depriving her even further of her sense of motherhood. The irony in Mustang’s case lies in the fact that he would no longer be able to see the future he hoped to build for Amestris if he were to become Führer.

Truth, in both its actions, visual representation, and stated purpose, exists to show that those who abuse their great power ultimately harm themselves. This is most clearly demonstrated in Edward’s final encounter with Truth, where Truth gleefully admits defeat when Edward declares that he does not need alchemy to be happy, as long as he has his loved ones by his side. This interpretation also sheds light on other moments, such as Truth’s final exchange with Father, when it tells him that he has neither grown nor evolved from his experiences, and that he already knows what he should have done and why he was punished. The ultimate representation of this comes when Father directs his pleas to God toward the Door, unaware that the only entity that could truly be called God was already before him all along.

Truth's presence, influence, and implications closely tie in with the concept of the 'meaning of life'. It also bears certain parallels with the River Styx.

Trivia

• In a late interview with the author, Arakawa said the Truth was somewhat a 'hollow' version of oneself (as a sort of 'internal God', or conscience), a sort of 'negative' of that Alchemist, which completed itself with the tolls taken by the Alchemist upon seeing the Truth.
• Ed views Truth’s act of taking tolls from those who perform human transmutation by choice as fair, since they willingly trespass into a domain they have no right to enter. However, he considers it entirely unjust for Truth to exact a toll from someone who is forced to open the Gate, such as when it took Roy Mustang’s sight.
• Truth shares the same English voice actress as the 2003 anime’s version of Wrath, who was also responsible for taking Ed’s limbs in that series. In the Japanese version, however, Truth is depicted as having the voice of whoever encounters it, with a slight effect added to differentiate it, reflecting its role as a literal “part” of the person it engages with.
  • In the English dub, when Ed offers his alchemy to Truth in exchange for bringing Al back, Truth’s shout of approval combines both Ed’s and Al’s voices in a legion-like blend similar to the Japanese version, likely to emphasize the significance of the scene.
• For some reason, in the fifth Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood opening "Rain", Winry Rockbell appears as Truth. One possible theory is that Winry is what Ed needed most at the time of the episode in which the opening first aired.
  • Another possible reason for Winry's appearance in the opening "Rain": at this point, the scene is playing a review of Edward's review of his journey to this point. When he faces Truth originally and is then dragged backward through his Door (his ten-year-old self), he glimpses an outline of Trisha, the object of his sacrifice that brought him to the Portal of Truth, and also the most important female in his life at that time. But in "Rain", he sees Winry instead of Trisha, the current object of his affections and, after regaining Alphonse's body, his goal.
  • A third possibility, is that Winry-as-Truth, was meant to show what he desired as a trap, fitting the next scene: of him screaming within a Philosopher's Stone, before images of every homunculus except Greed. Winry, his desire tempts him away from what must be done, and the homunculi, whom he must face to succeed.
• The ethereal being of Truth can be connected to the teachings of theosophy (see The Gate Trivia for connection between the Gate and theosophy) wherein it is believed that "spirituality, philosophy, science, the arts, commerce, philanthropy and other virtues, lead people closer to "the Absolute". Planets, solar systems, galaxies, and the cosmos itself are regarded as conscious entities fulfilling their own evolutionary paths. The spiritual units of consciousness in the universe are the Monads, which may manifest as angels, human beings, or various other forms. According to Blavatsky, the Monad is the reincarnating unit of the human soul, consisting of the highest of the seven constituent parts of the human soul. All beings, regardless of stature or complexity, are informed by such a Monad. From this, we can assume that if Hiromu Arakawa intended the Gate of Truth to be connected to the teachings of theosophy, then Truth would represent the Monad.
  • This can be justified by the motto of theosophy: "There is no religion higher than Truth". The emblem of theosophy also depicts the Ouroboros, which is reflected in the Homunculi, as they are the children of Father, who, by extension, originated from Truth.
  • It is also interesting to note that, within the same topic of theosophy, there is a teaching about the root races of humanity (of which we are in the fifth, the Aryan race,). According to this doctrine, the Aryans established "The City of the Bridge", said to exist below the city known as Shamballa. This may be where the concept for the first theatrical film, Conqueror of Shamballa, originated. It could also be interconnected with the theosophical ideas surrounding the Gate of Truth, as Dietlinde Eckhart had to pass through the Gate in the 2005 film in order to reach the supposed Shamballa that was Amestris.
• While most alchemists see a “hollow” version of themselves within the Portal of Truth, there is at least one instance where Alphonse perceives something different. After Al works with May to offer his soul in exchange for Ed’s real arm, he re-enters the Portal to reunite with his human body. The version of Truth he encounters possesses Ed’s arm, which then disappears and is replaced by a hollow version, and also bears Ed’s human left leg. This may be because Ed and Al remain symbolically “joined” through their original human transmutation, when they attempted to resurrect their mother, Trisha.
• Like most of the manga's major characters, Truth also appears in omakes. In volume 7 of the manga, Truth takes Edward's boxer shorts, as instead of his left leg, leaving the alchemist feeling a draft. In volume 11, Truth is shown studying for college entrance exams but takes a break to read an obscene magazine. He is interrupted by his mother, also a white human hollow, who comes through the Gate to give her son a snack. The panel ends with the humorous question: “He has a mother?!”
  • The magazine which Truth is reading, "Naughty Book", is exactly the same book Hohenheim gives to Edward as a present in a previous omake of the same volume.
• Truth appeared in an extra in volume 18 of the manga where it showed Yoki attempting human transmutation and having his hair taken as a toll.
• In the 2013 anime-styled web series RWBY, Truth appears as an easter egg in the first episode on the cover of a magazine (also titled 'Truth'