49700


The reason I ask this is because Edward had his own portal of truth that he
discovers after leaving Gluttony, but that's the first time he notices it. The
first time he meets Truth, there's only one gate. Unless that first gate was
Edward's portal of truth, and Gluttony was like some weird second door that
gave him a sort of secondary exit, wouldn't Ed still be able to perform
alchemy?

We never really learn what the two different gates mean, other than that one
is _Edward's_ portal of truth. What is the other? Has it been there the whole
time? (Is it the one he used when he was little? He performed alchemy then,
didn't he? With just one portal of truth, that, for all we know, wasn't _his_?
Is this making any sense?) He gives up his portal of truth, yes, and all that
_should_ do is make it so that Ed can't go hopping back and forth to see
Truth, as that was the access the second portal kinda allowed.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-16T07:27:36.160
49699
2018-11-16T20:02:30.610
2018-11-16T20:02:30.610
2604
43438
question
fullmetal-alchemist-series fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood
Shouldn't Edward Elric still be able to perform alchemy?


The Portal of Truth (or Gate) that Ed finds after leaving Gluttony is not his
Gate. Rather, it is Al's -- this is why Edward finds Al's body sitting in
front of that Gate. This is later acknowledged by Ed when he remarks that his
and Al's Gates are connected and that this is how Al's body is sustained. The
Gates were not always connected; it's made clear that it's unusual and that
the connection is a result of Ed's exchange at the beginning of the manga of
his arm for Al's life.

When Ed sacrifices his ability to perform alchemy, he is giving up his own
Gate. Normally this would not be possible, as this would mean losing the exit
back to the real world (cf. [Why can't Roy Mustang bring his eyes back using
his gate?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/16671/2604)), but since Ed and
Al's Gates are connected, Ed is able to return via Al's Gate. This doesn't
mean that he can do alchemy, however, because one's Gate is personal and tied
to one's potential to perform alchemy; Truth refers to this in the exchange
after Ed decides to exchange his alchemy for Al's body.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-16T09:29:44.953
49700
2018-11-16T09:29:44.953
2604
49699
answer