The Chalk Prince (Kaebedo)

Chapter II: Journal Entry

Kaeya flipped through the papers, quickly scanning over the documents and journal pages. He stopped at a page that looked like a journal entry.

Rhinedottir had the idea to create what are called  Projekts — human like objects also known as homonculus. She suggested using alchemy and Khemia to create a weapon.

We had wanted to see if we could access Celestia without the power of a vision or a God. Rhinedottir found a way to mix the two, and created Projekt 56. It was like no other creation Rhinedottir had ever made. It looked like a small child.

It could not walk nor speak. It could only drag itself around to obey small orders from Rhinedottir.

We suspect it's malfunction in Sumeru was due to the intense heat.

Kaeya flipped the page.

Rhinedottir's next Projekt was Projekt 82. This time, it could only speak few words such as "yes master" and "okay".

It was said to somehow "express" human emotions too. Only for small periods of time, but this was an extraordinary discovery.

Unfortunately, it's "feelings" got out of hand causing it to malfunction during the importation from Inazuma to Mondsadt.

Both Rhinedottir and I were not on the ship.

Kaeya flipped the page again.

Rhinedottir's last Projekt was Projekt 106. This time, the Projekt could walk properly and obey orders. She could ask it questions and it would be able to answer in perfect sentences.

Now that the Projekt was perfected, Rhinedottir decided it be a good idea to teach it alchemy.

At first, it could not do anything. It struggled to create even the simplest of things. Until one day, it created a stone. It was unlike any other. The stone was a red color and could be easily broken, but it was something.

This Projekt could also express emotion, but more clearly and more frequently. It not only looked human, but it could feel emotion like a human.

Rhinedottir also noticed that it was not bothered by cold or other extreme temperatures. At least, it did not complain. It obeyed Rhinedottir's orders and complied to the best of its ability. In its mind, Rhinedottir was its "master".

After multiple experiments on it, it was finally time to see if we could get to Celestia.

It looked like we were making progress, but suddenly, it turned against us. It killed Rhinedottir and many of our men.

It seemed we taught it too much and infused it with too much power. It fled to Dragonspine quickly after destroying the city.

It was amazing to see so much destruction caused by such a small thing.

But still, we had to capture it. With the remaining men we had, we managed to capture it and lock it up.

It's location is under the Knights of Favonius Head Quarters. My laboratory is there as well.

-VRK

Kaeya couldn't believe what he was reading. Was that boy the cause for the destruction of Mondstadt? But he looked so small and... Helpless.

The library door opened and Kaeya flinched. "Let's go to Jean's office. We'll see if she knows anything." Lisa said in a monotone voice. She sounded betrayed. Kaeya felt the same.

"I read through the papers. Do you know anyone named... Rhinedottir?"

Lisa's eyes widened. "Wasn't she that alchemist who was killed 10 years ago?"

"Read this." Was all Kaeya said, handing the pages of the journal to Lisa to which she scanned them over.

"Are you saying that... Boy down there was the cause of all that damage? And Rhinedottir was the... The creator of him?" She was thinking exactly what he was thinking.

"We need to go."

And they were off to Jean's office. The poor woman was working tirelessly, and the two hated to think of putting more work on her shoulders, but this was way too important to ignore.

They walked across the hall towards the Headmaster's office and knocked on the door. A feeling of déjà vù sprouted in Kaeya's stomach. He was here with Klee not long ago.

A tired "come in" sounded and the two entered.

"Ah, welcome. What brings you here?" Jean looked up from the paper in front of her. "Where's Klee?"

"Klee's back home. We wanted to ask you about these." Lisa said and Kaeya handed over the papers.

Jean read them over, her eyes growing in worry, concern and confusion.

"I-I'm sorry, where did you find these?" She asked, flabbergasted.

"There's a door in the library that leads to a lab. We found the papers there. We went deeper and found a boy locked up in chains. Do you know anything about these "Projekts" or that boy?" Kaeya asked. Jean shook her head.

"This is the first time I've ever heard about... All this. And look at the signature. What does VRK mean?" Jean rubbed her eyes.

"We still don't know." Lisa said with a sigh. "All we know is that there's a boy under this building. When he heard us, he started crying. Maybe we can bring him out of there. We need to feed him. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a long time."

"But he's a... Homonculus. He wouldn't need to eat food." Jean yawned.

"Still though. Wouldn't it be nice to eat after so long? Even if you didn't need it?" Kaeya pointed out.

"I guess. It's really late, we should talk about this tomorrow, yeah?" Jean said, her eyelids threatening to close.

Kaeya and Lisa felt a bit bad.

"Alright. You should go home. C'mon, I'll walk you home so you don't fall asleep on the way there." Lisa smiled.

"I'll go ask Master Varka about it tomorrow." Was all Jean said before the Electro vision haver brought an arm around her back, helping her stand up. Kaeya followed them, locking the door behind himself.

The women waved as they parted ways, the bluenette walking gingerly back to his house. His mind whirled with thoughts.

Was that boy responsible for the destruction of Mondstadt 10 years ago? If so, why did he do it? In the journal, that Rhinedottir person created him. She was his "master". It also said that she and whoever this VRK person was, wanted to get to Celestia.

How could such a small being cause so much damage in such a short time?

Kaeya was thinking too much. He decided to get ready for bed. He was exhausted.