Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

I remembered when I was a child, back when I was still a person named Lothair—I witnessed a line of ants, carrying bits of souls and food along with them.

Their union and synchronicity was something that I couldn't comprehend back then. How could they be able to perform such a unified action as a comprehensive community?

And then I began to learn that it wasn't just ants. Bees, wasps—turns out, they were all part of Hymenoptera, a large order of insects comprising over 150,000 species, with the females typically having a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into a host or a place.

The young of these insects will then develop through holometabolism, where they have a wormlike larval stage and an inactive pupal stage before they reach adulthood.

These Hymenoptera have one thing in common, Eusociality.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The order Hymenoptera most often had a tier colony divided into castes: reproductive queens, drones, more or less sterile workers, and sometimes also soldiers that perform specialized tasks. In the well-studied social wasp Polistes versicolor, dominant females perform tasks such as building new cells and ovipositing, while subordinate females tend to perform tasks like feeding the larvae and foraging.

The task differentiation between castes can be seen in the fact that subordinates complete 81.4% of the total foraging activity, while dominants only complete 18.6% of the total foraging.

This eusociality was the key to their unified survival. It made me really look up towards these types of insects back then.

But then, it was found out that insects were not the only ones capable of that.

They were in crustaceans, they were in trematodes. It even exists in nonhuman mammals, such as the naked mole rat.

And when I looked upward and to what had been encompassing humanity…

My young mind wondered that maybe humans are just a better version of that, if they could establish it to a much greater and efficient degree.

"A mere lost lamb, tied to the illness of fate."

I stood at the epicenter of the chaos, watching as Evaris Cade knelt before me, his loyalty freshly sworn.

Yet, even as he spoke those words, I was still afraid of them backstabbing me.

I didn't really plan to have an ownership of a Theotech hunter group this early, nor did I want to absorb the Vandasisimo to become a part of my bastion.

But this chance was too precious to let go.

With my mind having been practically enhanced into that of a supercomputer, albeit not exactly as fully efficient—I could store the sequence of action done by my All-Tampering Divine Dexterity, like that of executing a code programmed for a certain purpose.

And one of those executable code was something that I have been earnestly developing in secret, called Duolos Theotype.

It was the culmination of an idea that had been gestating for far longer than the Vault's recent upheaval.

From the moment I conceived the Foundational Template for the Cognitive Engines, my mind had wandered to more ambitious applications. The Template, as revolutionary as it was, had always been a stepping stone—a means to codify obedience and excellence within a neural framework.

It was efficient for machinery and constructs, but for flesh and blood? That demanded something far more intricate.

Thus, the Duolos Theotype was born.

Unlike gene surgeries, which I had refined to augment and strengthen my bastioneers without altering their external appearances, the Duolos Theotype operated on an entirely different principle.

It was not merely genetic modification. It was a complete overwrite—a transformation of the very essence of being. Through this self-made technique, I could inject a genotype into any living organism, rewriting their physical and mental composition until they became something entirely new and predetermined.

But the process wasn't without its intricacies. Each Duolos was more than an individual; they were a node in a hivemind, their consciousness merged with a greater whole. This shared network fed knowledge, instincts, and unwavering loyalty directly into their being. Upon their transformation, a Duolos would instinctively know their purpose, their abilities, and, most importantly, their devotion to me and Charis.

Just like that of a Cognitive Engine and its neuromorphic network.

And now, Evaris Cade would become the first of its kind.

I stepped forward, my presence radiating authority, and placed a hand on Evaris's bowed head.

He flinched at the contact, though I had not yet begun. "You have given me your loyalty," I said, my voice soft yet resonant, "And now I shall give you the means to rise beyond your mortal limits. You shall become something greater. You shall become my first ever Duolos."

Before he could respond, I extended a single finger and let my Divine Dexterity take over.

A thin, needle-like projection formed from the tip, glowing faintly with an otherworldly blue light. I pressed it gently against the nape of his neck, and the Duolos Theotype surged into his bloodstream, carried by the essence of my creation.

Evaris gasped, his body jerking involuntarily as the transformation began.

The process was instantaneous yet agonizingly vivid to witness. His armor cracked and fell away as his body began to shift, his once-weathered skin taking on a pale, almost porcelain quality. His hair, once dark and streaked with gray, turned a vibrant blue that shimmered like spun glass. His eyes glowed with an ethereal light, their color matching his hair, and even his blood, visible through the faint cuts and tears on his skin, transformed into the same radiant hue.

The change went beyond mere aesthetics. His muscles and bones restructured themselves, slimming down and reshaping into a lithe, childlike form that radiated unnatural grace. The Neural Alloy-like properties took root in his flesh, his very being becoming attuned to the psychic and neuromorphic systems that powered my bastion.

By the time the transformation was complete, the being that knelt before me bore no resemblance to the man who had sworn his loyalty moments ago.

Evaris Cade was gone.

In his place knelt the first Duolos.

The other Vandasisimo forces, those who had managed to survive the Vault's trials and regroup around their leader, stared in stunned silence. Some whispered prayers, while others simply gawked at the sight before them.

To them at their current state, it must have looked like a divine act of rebirth, a goddess reaching down to grant a second chance to one of their own.

The Duolos rose gracefully, her movements fluid and precise. She turned to face me, her glowing blue eyes filled with nothing but reverence. "Mother," she said, her voice soft and melodic yet laced with an unshakable certainty. "What is your will?"

I gestured toward the Vault's defenses. "Show your former comrades the power of their new savior."

Without hesitation, the Duolos moved.

She was a blur of motion, faster and more precise than any human could hope to match, albeit, still slower than my bastioneers and Heavenly Maids, but still a storming force of nature, regardless.

The crystalline constructs that had cornered the Vandasisimo earlier now feel before her, shattered by her bare hands. Every strike was deliberate, calculated, and devastatingly effective.

The Vandasisimo watched in awe as the tide of battle shifted in their favor, their savior carving a path through the Vault's defenses with ease.

When the last construct fell, the Duolos returned to me, kneeling on one leg. "Mother," she said again, her voice calm and steady. "May I reproduce?" Enjoy new tales from empire

Ah, right, I forgot it would sound so awkward when a person with the young appearance of a child started speaking that way.

I designed the Duolos' appearance with the intent that they would appear much more approachable and friendly to Charis, who didn't have that many friends of the same age as her in my bastion.

Oh well, I guess I should just get used to this, or just hope that people won't misunderstand the absurd things that the Duolos said because of the inherent lack of guidance in their Theotype, unlike that of the Foundational Template.

It wasn't because I'm lazy, by the way. This method was much more complex since it heavily relies on my existential height and All-Tampering Divine Dexterity to transform an entire physicality of a living being. Not a single hint of arcane sorcery was involved, I want to keep this a secret from Kuzunoha, after all.

Regardless, I smiled, placing a hand on her head. "You may."

She rose and extended her hand, a single blade-like projection forming at the tip of her index finger. With a swift motion, she severed her own fingers, the blue blood that poured from the wounds glowing faintly as it splattered onto the ground and onto the surrounding Vandasisimo.

Where the blood touched, transformations began.

The affected Vandasisimo dropped to their knees, their bodies wracked with pain as the Duolos Theotype took hold. One by one, they shed their former selves, their appearances shifting to match the first Duolos.

By the time the process was complete, nearly two dozen new Duolos stood among the ruins of the Vault, their glowing blue eyes reflecting their newfound purpose.

The first Duolos stepped forward, her severed fingers already regenerating as if they had never been lost. She turned to me, her expression serene. "Thank you, Mother."

I nodded, satisfied. "Go now. Spread the gift to the others. Let none among the Vandasisimo remain unchanged."

With a chorus of affirmations, the Duolos moved as one, their hivemind guiding them with perfect coordination. They disappeared into the depths of the Vault, their purpose clear.

I turned back toward the spatial rift I had used to arrive, a faint smile playing on my lips. The Vandasisimo had come seeking Theotech. Instead, they had found salvation—and I had found my army.

What was there to complain?