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

As soon as I touched something elusive inside Narcissus' soul, my whole consciousness was transported into somewhere else. As if I had just triggered a trap. Or perhaps, a doorbell that made the owner of the soul aware of my existence.

It was a room of mathematics, a room filled with theorems—an impossible realm that defied all logic, a place where the boundaries of reality had warped beyond recognition.

Concepts—abstract thoughts and ideas—had taken on impossible forms, shapes that stretched and folded into dimensions the mind could not grasp.

Time flowed like liquid, seeping through cracks in space, while gravity bent in directions that should not have existed.

Colors had bled into sounds, and emotions manifested as living, writhing entities that coiled and twisted in the air, their forms flickering between visibility and the void.

In this realm, the very idea of shape had coalesced into tangible things—anxiety had become a towering, spiraling monolith of shifting glass, reflecting nightmares within its fractured surfaces; ambition had taken the form of an endlessly climbing staircase, each step larger and more unreachable than the last.

Even language had taken shape, words floating as shimmering, incomprehensible symbols that twisted and fractured with every fleeting glance.

Everything was far and close at the same time. Something that might be positioned hundreds of meters away might be standing firm right in front of my face the moment I was aware of it.

It was filled with pure dread and flooding anxiety, at the level that I couldn't even comprehend.

Understanding had not only been elusive but dangerous. To attempt to comprehend these coalesced shapes had been to invite madness, for the very act of perceiving them threatened to unravel the mind, stretching thoughts to the breaking point.

It had been a place where thought itself became unstable, where the edges of reality frayed, and where the familiar dissolved into the vast, unknowable depths of an existence beyond all reason.

Yet, despite all of that madness, I feel as though I was sitting on a chair in front of an office desk with a certain humanoid entity behind it.

Yes, there was an entity whose existence was stable enough to be easily comprehended by me, unlike those shape-shifting nightmares that were lingering all over the place.

She appeared human in form, her silhouette unmistakable despite the chaos of the realm. Her body, delicate and poised, rested behind the desk as if this place—this maddening, coalescing dimension—was a mere office to her.

Funnily enough, she was wearing something I perceive as formal, albeit foreign to Carcosa, an eccentric suit and a tie—might be designed to make someone look sharp and serious, often worn by people in important roles, like leaders or people who make decisions.

But it was her face—or rather, the void where her face should have been—that caught my attention. An abyss in place of features, a smooth emptiness where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been, yet despite that, I felt her gaze, piercing and intense.

On another perspective, it was as if I was forced to gaze a head-shaped face that was crowned with neck-length black hair and overgrown bangs,

The absence of a face was unsettling, yet there was an undeniable sensation that she was smiling at me—watching me closely, as if amused by my bewilderment, perhaps even entertained by my intrusion.

Her chin rested lightly on the bridge of her hands, her fingers interlocked in a gesture so casual, so deceptively human, that it sent a shiver down my spine. She radiated a presence that I couldn't name, a calm that was somehow more terrifying than the ever-shifting madness around us.

Even though her face was a void, there was an intimacy to her attention, as if I had been summoned here, as if I had triggered something deep within this soul—an invitation I had unwittingly accepted. Her stillness contrasted the swirling chaos that filled the space around us, and though she said nothing, I felt her waiting.

For what? I didn't know. But I could feel the weight of her expectation pressing down on me, a silent pressure that made the air thick and my thoughts heavy. I wanted to speak, to ask who—what—she was, but the words died in my throat, trapped beneath the weight of that faceless, watching void.

And then her words beckoned upon me, slicing through the swirling dread like a scalpel.

"I thought I had already ripped the smug off that face of yours."

Her words were overlapped with an echo of numerous voices, as if she was not a single entity.

But this statement. Don't tell me—that she was the one who took over Narcissus back then?

I possessed no knowledge or understanding of this entity, a simple err in my choice of words might result in a danger to both me and Narcissus.

However, I also must know for a fact that this was no place for arrogant or haughty quips. I had touched something deep within Narcissus, something I didn't understand, and now I was before the very thing that held dominion over it. She had control here—utter and complete—and I knew better than to test the boundaries of this unknown power with my usual defiance.

I straightened myself, folding my hands neatly in front of me as I met the faceless void where her gaze should have been.

My voice, usually dripping with sarcasm and superiority, was carefully measured, restrained in a way that even I found unfamiliar.

"Forgive my intrusion," I began, my tone formal, respectful. "I did not intend to step into your domain so recklessly. I merely followed a thread within Narcissus' soul, unaware it would lead me here... to you."

There was no response, no movement from the entity behind the desk, yet I could feel her gaze pressing harder against me, as if weighing the sincerity of my words, testing my resolve.

The silence was suffocating, but I maintained my composure.

"I recognize your presence from before," I continued, my mind working swiftly to piece together the fragments of what little I knew. "You took control of Narcissus... perhaps when she was at her weakest." I chose my words carefully, not out of fear, but out of necessity.

Her faceless void seemed to tilt ever so slightly, as though considering my statement, yet the oppressive silence lingered.

"I ask only for understanding," I said, lowering my head ever so slightly, not quite a bow but a gesture of deference. "For what transpired, and for what you want with Narcissus. I seek knowledge, not conflict."

She then leaned back to her chair with a hint of confidence, as if she was scoffing.

"Good." She leaned back in her chair, resting her elbow on the armrest, her hand poised where her cheek should have been. "You know your place, and you have the humility to step aside when needed. Is that why you've managed to survive for so long?"

"Thank you for your kind words." Now that our emotions were sorted out, I could calmly gaze back into the abyss. "I have simply learned to recognize my limitations and act accordingly. Survival often requires understanding when to step forward and when to yield."

"Are you suggesting that one misstep here could lead to your downfall?"

"Anything is possible when faced with uncertainty. I'm simply acting out of caution."

After all, venturing into a dark tunnel without a lamp or a clear map in mind was far from a wise decision.

"We can remove the formality then." Her bodily gesture began to lax even more, as if she had nothing to worry about. "I possess no name, but feel free to refer to me as Narcissus. The same one you met on the outside…

"And no, I already know you, Kuzunoha." This Narcissus tilted her neck as if she was feeling sore. "So you don't need to introduce yourself. After all, I can feel everything that the outside Narcissus sees and experiences. But, not the other way around~

"So, if I'm being honest, seeing you becoming this formal out of nowhere really creeps me out, particularly." She waved her hand up and down. "Just act like you usually do."