Chapter 297: The First Step Toward Prometha's Fall — Part 3.
Arach looked straight at Frovian, his piercing gaze demanding confirmation from the one sibling he knew truly understood the grand design.
"They have a purpose here, right, Frovian?"
Frovian offered a rare, thin smile, inclining his head respectfully toward the giant warrior. "You truly are the eldest, Arach. You understand that Mother's will is absolute, and she does not make mistakes."
Turning back to face the rest of the bewildered siblings, Frovian gestured toward the quiet, newly born human vessels.
"Yes, they have a purpose,"
Frovian explained, his voice echoing clearly through the quieted chamber.
"But this new batch... they are not like us. What I mean by that is quite simple: we are children built to live in our home with Mother, to defend the hive and hunt within our borders. But them? They were born with a pre-programmed mission. A mission that will help our Mother on a scale we cannot achieve from these caverns."
He paused, letting his sharp eyes sweep over Dyralfa, Sephiran, and the twins to make sure they grasped the weight of his words.
"They are engineered to walk right back into the light of the surface, wearing the very faces of the people who defied us," Frovian whispered, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "They are going to infiltrate, subvert, and completely destroy the entire nation of adventurers from the inside out."
As Frovian finished explaining the grand design, a vivid memory resurfaced in his mind.
Before Maddy had set off on her surface adventure, she had pulled him aside into the deepest, quietest corner of the hive. Frovian wasn't just a caretaker; he was one of her absolute masterminds and finest strategists. Together, analyzing the capabilities of the hive, they had mapped out the blueprint for this very moment.
The turning point had occurred when Maddy first encountered the entry for an elusive creature:
[Doppelganger — Habitat: Cities / Forests / Ruins / Caves]
[A mysterious creature capable of perfectly imitating the appearance, voice, and even some abilities of other beings. Doppelgangers use this power to infiltrate communities, deceive prey, or ambush opponents. Though their physical strength is usually comparable to that of an average human, they rely on cunning, stealth, and mimicry to gain the upper hand. Prolonged exposure to a Doppelganger can confuse even the most experienced adventurers, as they struggle to discern friend from foe. Some are drawn to powerful individuals, choosing to replicate their skills in order to test themselves or dominate their targets.]
Maddy hadn't just seen a new monster; her brilliant mind had immediately grasped the terrifying potential of its biological traits. Frovian remembered the dark, ambitious grin on her face as she reviewed the system's breakdown of the creature's extracted essence:
Doppelganger
[Trait Acquired: Perfect Mimicry]
[Can flawlessly imitate the appearance, voice, scent, and mannerisms of another creature after sufficient observation. Mimicry remains active until dismissed or disrupted.]
[Trait Acquired: Ability Replication]
[Can temporarily reproduce a limited number of abilities, skills, or traits from its copied target. Replicated abilities are generally weaker than the original and consume stamina rapidly.]
[Trait Acquired: Identity Concealment]
[Suppresses its natural presence, masking hostile intent, magical signatures, and abnormal energy fluctuations while disguised.]
[Trait Acquired: Adaptive Physiology]
[Body structure can reshape internally and externally to match the proportions and movement patterns of copied beings.]
[Trait Acquired: Behavioral Analysis]
[Rapidly studies speech, combat habits, posture, and emotional reactions to improve impersonation accuracy and predict target behavior.]
[Trait Acquired: Ambush Instinct]
[Excels at deception-based attacks. Reaction speed, precision, and stealth improve significantly when striking from disguise or surprise.]
[Trait Acquired: Mental Disruption]
[Prolonged interaction with the Doppelganger creates uncertainty and distrust among groups, making it difficult to distinguish allies from impostors.]
[Trait Acquired: Shadow Observation]
[Can silently observe targets for extended periods without easily revealing its presence, gathering information before assuming their identity.]
[Trait Acquired: Perfect Assimilation]
[After prolonged exposure to a target, the Doppelganger can permanently retain fragments of their abilities, memories, or instincts even after abandoning the disguise.]
Frovian recalled how Maddy's eyes had danced with absolute delight as she pointed to the screen.
"Look at this, Frovian," she had whispered, her voice laced with a cold, beautiful malice. "Perfect Mimicry, Identity Concealment, Behavioral Analysis, and Perfect Assimilation... these are the most important traits we have ever acquired. With these, we don't just build monsters to fight the Adventurers' Guild. We build the perfect weapons. We take the corpses of the high-ranking adventurers who dared to trespass in our home, weave their flesh with these traits, and send them back. They will have their faces, their memories, and their skills, but their loyalty will belong entirely to us."
In that memory, Frovian had simply bowed his head, a thrill of profound respect running down his spine. He had realized right then that his Mother's intellect far exceeded any primitive beast's instincts. It was a masterpiece of a strategy.
Blinking back to the present, Frovian looked down at the silent, newly born adventurer clones standing before the Mobile Womb. The chaos in the room had completely died down, his siblings staring at him in awe as the sheer scale of Mother's genius finally clicked in their minds.
"They are our vanguard," Frovian concluded, his voice smooth and entirely confident. "And the Guild will open its front gates to them with open arms."
Back from that day, these Hero Son's Party came home, Johnn just grabbed Maddy's hand and they squeezed through the final layer of onlookers, Maddy's breath caught in her throat. Standing in the center of the cheering circle, showered in the adulation of the public, was the them… who had supposedly returned from their dangerous peak expedition.
It was her first time seeing them out in the open world. But she didn't see enemies. She saw her brand new children.
Deep inside, a profound wave of nostalgia and fierce excitement rushed through her. They looked flawless. The doppelganger traits had seamlessly molded their flesh, voices, and presence to perfectly match the original invaders. To the entire kingdom, they were returning heroes; to Maddy, they were her most magnificent creation yet.
