Chapter Text
The distant lights of the city almost mock him. Where the humans live openly, he must hide behind this guise, slowly rotting in the shadow of his look-alike.
There's an itch on his neck.
Just the thought of the alchemist is insufferable.
Subject 2 would be the perfect specimen. Human or non-human, he would become the creation that his master could never achieve with Albedo. They will regret throwing him away into the pits of Durin's wretched stomach like garbage at the end of the day. Albedo would simply have to pay for his master's transgression, but he too is not without fault. Envy grows tenfold at the alchemist’s contentment, living peacefully among humans, whereas he had been burnt, traumatized, and left for dead to crawl his way out that bottomless pit of another one of his master's failed creations.
He would take everything from Albedo, starting with his assistant.
He has only seen her twice prior to the incident.
The first time he sees her, he watches from a distance. Albedo doesn't often get visitors, so Subject 2 had kept a close eye on him that day.
Eventually, another comes by, and her vibrant green hair makes her easy to spot against the white and gray of Dragonspine, even from a great distance. He doesn’t know her name, but she and the traveler seem to know each other, conversing in hushed tones. Subject 2 didn't need to hear it to know it is about Albedo and the mysterious sword he has found.
Festering Desire… a remnant of his master's creation.
The day goes by and Subject 2 follows discreetly. He finds the green-haired girl to be slightly suffocating, always trailing behind Albedo as they solve this mystery. Albedo clearly fails to see this girl’s affections for him.
Suddenly, there is a scream close by, one that even startles Subject 2. He follows the pace of the three of them from above and identifies a member of the Adventurer's Guild from his green and red uniform. The man was clearly suffering from sheer cold, and the two quickly come to his aid.
Subject 2 can see members of the fatui approaching from his aerial view, but the traveler is quick on her feet and her sword. It isn't much of a fight as Albedo eventually comes in with the golden glow of the solar isotoma.
Typical . Subject 2 scoffed. They must think the alchemist is some kind of here, maybe even a prince, but he's nothing but an artificial husk just like every other one of his master's creations.
Once the situation had settled down, the member of the adventurer's guide had started running out of nowhere. That was no good. He was running straight for Festering Desire, but Albedo had been quick to react and held the sword. Subject 2's eyes widen, watching the sword manifest a vibrant pink spark from Albedo's hand for a quick second before he had thrown the sword aside.
Fascinating… Subject 2 wonders what more the sword could do. His thoughts would have wandered more to ways he could possibly take the sword for further research, but something else had quickly grabbed his attention.
That’s odd…
There’s an unrecognizable expression on Albedo’s face. It’s distant, yet intense. Subject 2 follows the alchemist's line of sight and it lands directly unto the traveler. She is too busy talking to Paimon to notice but Albedo was frankly not subtle in the slightest. Then there was the green-haired girl, and it's the same look, for archon's sake! She stares longingly at the alchemist as he and the traveler talk. She grips at the sides of her skirt and face down at her feet. Once the traveler leaves the group, Albedo finally looks at the green-haired girl and his expression returns to one Subject 2 has seen time and time again — passive curiosity. Whatever intensity Subject 2 had seen in his eyes quickly vanished into thin air and he was back to being his most neutral self.
This could be just what he needs to have the upper hand. Take advantage of Albedo and the people closest to him… then he might just slip up.
This is the seed that would start it all, and it would be planted the second time he sees her.
During the Windblume Festival.