The laboratory was filled with the cheerful sounds of Klee's laughter and the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the alchemical Dodoco bounding across the stone floor. It was a scene of pure, innocent joy.
But Ren wasn't smiling.
He stood by the workbench, his gaze locked on the small, fluffy construct as it darted behind a pile of crates to hide. He watched the way its artificial muscles flexed, the way its sensors scanned the room. It was a miracle of bio-alchemy, a life created from chalk and soil.
And it made his skin crawl.
Not with disgust, but with a deep, unsettling resonance. He looked at the doll, created for a purpose, shaped by a master's hand, existing only because someone else willed it to. And in its shiny, button eyes, he saw a reflection of the boy in the mirror. The boy on the metal table. The experiment.
"You seem interested in the device," a calm voice said from beside him. "Yet, you are clearly distracted by something else."
Ren blinked, looking up. Albedo was leaning against the table, his sketchbook closed, his teal eyes observing Ren with the same quiet intensity he used to study ancient ruins or rare flowers.
"Can you tell me why?" Albedo asked gently.
Ren hesitated. He looked at Klee, who was happily counting down for hide-and-seek, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere in the corner.
"I…" Ren started, then stopped.
"You are Klee's friend," Albedo said, his voice lowering, offering a bridge. "That makes you important to me. You can trust me, Ren. Though, of course, I will not force it."
Ren looked at the Chief Alchemist. He knew who Albedo was. He knew his secret. Albedo was the Creation of the Chalk Prince, the masterpiece of Rhinedottir—Gold.
Ren's mind drifted to the lore he carried from his old life. Gold was not just a master alchemist; she was one of the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah. She was a being who had pursued perfection with such terrifying ambition that she had eventually found the Heart of Naberius—the Shade of Life itself. She hadn't just studied it; she had devoured it, becoming the new Shade of Life, a being of cosmic power far beyond the reach of mortals or even Archons.
He had thought of Albedo back when he had thought of asking Mona for help. But at the same time, he had been realistic. Asking Albedo to contact her was impossible. She was a god-like entity existing on a plane of reality that Ren couldn't touch. Plus, he had no confidence on whether she would even care to help him. But Albedo… Albedo was here. Albedo was like him. A creation. An experiment.
Ren took a breath, deciding to trust the man standing before him. Not with the full truth of his past, but with the question that haunted his soul.
"I was just thinking," Ren said, his voice quiet, barely audible over Klee's counting. "About the Dodoco. I was wondering… how it might feel."
Albedo tilted his head. "Feel?"
"If it knew," Ren clarified, looking back at the hiding doll. "If it knew that you created it. That it wasn't born, but made. If it knew it was experimented on, tweaked and adjusted just to achieve a specific purpose… do you think it would be sad? Do you think it would feel… less real?"
It was a heavy, loaded question, a philosophical dagger wrapped in a child's curiosity.
Albedo didn't dismiss it. He didn't laugh. He looked at Ren, his expression shifting into a deep, contemplative seriousness.
"That is a deep question," Albedo murmured.
He turned his gaze to the window, looking out at the Dragonspine mountains in the distance.
"I am sure," Albedo said, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather, "that you are already aware that I am a homunculus, too."
Ren didn't flinch. He didn't gasp. He simply nodded, his silence a confirmation.
Albedo glanced at him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes at the boy's lack of reaction, but he continued.
"I do not know what the Dodoco might think," Albedo admitted. "It has a rudimentary intelligence, but not a soul capable of existential dread. But… if I consider the question myself…"
He paused, studying his own hand, the star-shaped mark on his neck visible above his collar.
"I have not really focused on that part of my existence. Not beyond a passing thought," he said. "I understand that my Master created me for a purpose. I was made to be a repository of her knowledge, a seeker of the truth of this world. I was designed."
He turned fully to Ren, his teal eyes piercing and clear.
"However, Ren… knowing that I was made does not stop me from being me. I can act for myself. I can make my own decisions. I can choose to paint, not because I was programmed to, but because I find beauty in it. I can choose to care for Klee, not because it is a duty, but because she brings me joy."
He placed a hand on his chest. "Being someone… that is what matters. It does not matter how you became that person—whether you were born of a womb or birthed from chalk and soil. The origin is history."
He leaned closer, his voice filled with a quiet, unshakeable strength. "What matters even more is what you do next. What you want to become. That is what determines your position in this world. Not your creator. Not your past."
He gestured to the lab around them. "I want to find the truth of this world. I want to uncover the secrets of alchemy. That is who Albedo is. That is my choice."
He looked deep into Ren's glowing azure eyes, seeing the shadow of the void and the weight of the mirror within them.
"So, I ask you, Ren," Albedo said softly. "Does Ren know what he wants to do? Who he wants to be?"
The question hung in the air, echoing louder than the explosion at the lake. It wasn't about the Fatui. It wasn't about the Heavenly Principles. It was about him.
Ren opened his mouth, but no words came. He had spent so much time surviving, inventing, protecting… but who did he want to be?
"Ready or not, here I come!" Klee shouted, spinning around.
The Dodoco burst from its hiding spot with a squeak, dashing across the floor.
Albedo straightened up, the intense moment passing like a cloud. He smiled at Ren. "You do not need to answer now. It is a question for a lifetime. But remember… the answer belongs to you alone."
Ren nodded slowly. He watched the homunculus pet run, watched the homunculus alchemist smile, and felt a small, tight knot in his chest begin to loosen.
Who do I want to be?
He didn't have the answer yet. But for the first time, he felt like he was allowed to ask the question.