Answer:
mocked
Explanation:
From the list of options a through d, option b has the best fit for the text.
Being derided means being mocked, ridiculed, poked fun at, make fun of, etc.
When you're answering questions like this, whatever new word you're bringing in must not only fit in, by syntax (grammatically correct); it must also fit in by meaning.
Using any other options aside option B may be correct syntactically but any of these options would give another meaning to the what is being implied in the original context.
So, the text
Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and mocked by vanity
has the same meaning as the text in the question.
