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

Lupina's mouth opened, but words seemed to fail her. She blinked up at me, a hint of embarrassed annoyance crossing her face. "You—you're Narcissus, right?"

"Yes, I'm your beloved Narcissus, alright~" I put on a smile. "I worried greatly for your survival, and it seemed like fate allowed me to speak with you in person once again."

Lupina gasped. "... W-what happened to the cold and serious fairy I knew!?"

"You missed a lot of character development, if I do say so myself."

"T-then, is this situation supposed to happen, as in, uhm..." Lupina shouted in distress. She seemed to be still drowning in confusion. "How can I even speak!? How am I still conscious!?"

"Well, your situation is not exactly typical," I replied with a grin, resisting the urge to laugh as she glared at the absurdity of her situation. "But if it's any comfort, you're alive. And given what you've been through, I'd call that a success?"

Kuzunoha snickered. Looking at how she already started to gaze at Lupina fervently as if she had found a new specimen to dissect, she would definitely get to the bottom of this. "In a way, you've got the best of both worlds—still with us, and without the worry of pesky things like 'limbs.'"

Lupina's cheeks flushed, her bewilderment quickly turning into a mixture of indignation and painful realization. "Pesky limbs? Don't joke about this—I want them back! What am I supposed to do as a talking head? Am I supposed to roll around after you?"

Verina couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, and even Kuzunoha smirked. "Well, we did hope the Valtherion blood would, you know… rebuild you. Seems it only went halfway."

"Valtherion what!?"

"Maybe the problem lies in the amount…" I muttered.

Undeterred, I cut my wrist again, letting a fresh cascade of golden blood flow over her, determined to trigger a full regeneration. Lupina spluttered as the thick liquid coated her face, seeping into every pore.

"Hey! I'm—glub—drowning over here! I don't need a bath, just my body back!" Lupina yelped, her voice muffled as more Valtherion blood poured over her. I didn't relent, allowing the all-healing essence to drench her thoroughly, though Verina and Kuzunoha exchanged worried glances as the puddle beneath Lupina's head grew.

"Narcissus," Kuzunoha murmured, eyeing the growing pool with concern, "You're practically bleeding yourself dry…"

"Not to worry," I replied, steadying my breath despite the increasing light-headedness. "It's for a good cause."

"Good cause or not!" Verina added with a note of anxiety, removing my hand from Lupina's sky, hurryingly bandaging my wound as she cast a soothing spell that would help the blood from flooding out freely. "We need you to stay standing, and definitely not force yourself at the expense of your own precious health!"

"Wait, that gold thing is Narcissus' blood!?" Lupina was distressed while coughing out my excess blood that barely did anything to her. "Gyaaa! What are you doing!?"

"Dear me, I didn't expect that my partner in crime would be this stalwart." Kuzunoha started to join the group as she mildly panicked over my wound, probably knowing full well that the blood no longer healed me like back then.

The scene became a mess as two trusted confidantes of mine, and a single screaming talking head began to drown me with their worry and attention.

It took quite a while before we headed our focus on Lupina's predicament.

We started inspecting Lupina—her face had gained a healthy glow, her vitality evident, yet her body remained absent, no signs of regrowth in sight. There were also no useful hints or status in her detail screen, making this situation even more of an enigma.

Lupina blinked, apparently unharmed but thoroughly unimpressed by her continued head-only state.

"Well, at least we know the blood did revive, since her head functioned as if her whole body was healthy, and exists." Kuzunoha remarked, attempting to sound optimistic. "Even if it's… unconventionally different than what we hoped."

Lupina sighed, her annoyance melting into a resigned acceptance. "So… I'm just a head now. Wonderful. Well," she looked around the room with a mix of irritation and reluctant gratitude, "I suppose I'm grateful to be back at all."

Verina chuckled, leaning close to Lupina with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll carry you around. You can be my little talking companion. I'll even make sure your ears are clean, and maintain your orange-sunset hair."

"Oh, please, spare me your jokes," Lupina huffed, her cheeks tinted red as she tried to turn away, though her limited range of movement only made her frustration more apparent. "Just introduce me to whoever's here." She hinted at Kuzunoha, the most striking person in the room. "I can only glare at so many people at once."

I stifled a smile and nodded toward Kuzunoha, who raised a hand in a half-mocking salute. "Lupina, meet Kuzunoha. She's the one who's responsible for confirming your… eligibility for revival."

Kuzunoha's smile widened as she looked down at Lupina with an almost predatory glint. "Pleasure to meet you, Lupina. I see we'll have no trouble keeping you in one spot. It's wondrously convenient, even for my high-standard of usefulness~"

Lupina scowled. "And I see Verina still surrounds herself with sarcastic types. Wonderful. Maybe I should just roll myself off the table and save everyone the trouble."

Verina placed a firm hand on Lupina's cheek, stopping her from any further movement, though she chuckled. "You're not going anywhere, Lupina. Not without your pesky limbs."

"They are not pesky! They are mandatory!" Lupina cried. "I can't be useful like this!"

"Hush," Verina picked up her bodiless friend like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Your presence alone makes the living room increase in its worth of vanity."

"I'm not meant for display!"

"We can also use you to scare the crows."

"This is not what I meant by useful!" Lupina fell into despair. "My beautiful muscles…! My chiseled figure…!"

Well, the bastion acquired yet another member in the end.

Regardless of the complication, Verina was quite satisfied to have Lupina be back at her side. "Well, looks like we need to introduce you to the rest of the—"