It could be Athetos describing his own infection. It could also be Xedur talking, or rather, the Athetos clone that became Xedur. Either A1 or A2 is describing the process as the pathogen took over his body, and says the pathogen calls itself Xedur.
The word "variant" does not refer to the clones themselves, but to the pathogens that overtook them. It- the pathogen itself- is sentient. It has a name. It has given itself a name (btw, Xedur, unlike most other words in this game, appears to be completely made up- I'm not finding any etymology or definition for it, which is extremely odd when you consider that Xedur is the form that we find the most often, in both games).
I feel like this further verifies the idea that the pathogen is not a germ, but nanotech.
