Simulation of Destruction, Why Am I Always the Arbiter

"What's the name of this piece of music?"

In the space where Ye Chang'an was, the Arbiter's authority asked again.

"The song is called 'Eden.' Eden composed it, and I wrote the lyrics."

"What do you think? Is it good?"

Ye Chang'an replied with a smile, his temper no longer as volatile as before.

He was completely absorbed in the music, lost in it.

The Arbiter's authority didn't speak again, and the pitch-black space gradually gained color.

The color of "Eden."

"The Arbiter's authority has recognized you," the Arbiter personality stated indifferently, having completely lost control of the body.

The authority of the Arbiter of Reason no longer belonged to him.

This vessel, which carried the Arbiter's authority, had taken over the authority and transformed it into a completely new one.

He was now facing the name of Sound Reason.

Arbiter of Sound Reason, Chang'an, an Arbiter who governed the reason of music.

"Thank you," Ye Chang'an said politely, expressing the gratitude due after his music had been recognized.

But after thanking them, he had to get down to business.

"Come, let's talk about you. How do you want to die?"

Ye Chang'an casually conjured a chair and sat down, crossing his legs. He rested his right hand on the armrest, propping up his face, and began to judge the Arbiter who had forcibly logged in and caused trouble.

He had no intention of letting the Arbiter live, as he didn't want to get along with this guy anyway.

The Arbiter remained silent, closing his eyes indifferently as his body began to dissipate.

Stripped of everything, he would leave nothing behind.

But before completely vanishing, he opened his eyes and looked at Ye Chang'an.

"What should my name be?"

Ye Chang'an's physical memory contained countless pieces of music, each with a name.

They were proof of their existence in the world.

The Arbiter had also existed, but he had no name.

When asked, he could only call himself Destruction.

Before disappearing, he wanted a name, but didn't know what to use.

"How about An Changye? I used that as a flag before."

If the plan failed, he'd say his name backward. This plan, however, had failed quite spectacularly.

"That was your flag, not mine."

The Arbiter shook his head, a smile appearing as he dissipated. He thought of a name.

"Let's call me An Changye. An Changye of Sleepless Chang'an."

He completely dissipated, and only that one sentence lingered in Ye Chang'an's ears.

"This guy seems to have gained a bit of humanity."

Ye Chang'an muttered, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

The Arbiters of the Previous Civilization were controlled by the Cocoon of the End and could not develop humanity.

But An Changye had indeed developed a sliver of humanity because Ye Chang'an had intercepted and severed the Line of the End that controlled him.

The moment the Arbiter's authority recognized Ye Chang'an, he had already shed his puppet identity and, influenced by his physiological memory, developed a tiny bit of humanity.

It was insignificant, and Ye Chang'an didn't care. He closed his eyes, comprehending the use of the authority, and gradually regained control of his body.

He obtained memories from his flesh that occurred after his Honkai-ification. He was surprised by the appearance of Maris and other Pseudo-Arbiters.

—This could create thousands of Pseudo-Arbiters, are you kidding me?

It was indeed a bit of a joke. Pseudo-Arbiters were beings below Arbiters.

If their resistance continued to improve, it wasn't impossible for them to become Arbiters from Pseudo-Arbiters.

Even Maris's strength was already comparable to an Arbiter's; she was only restricted to being a Pseudo-Arbiter due to the lack of corresponding authority.

The ultimate goal of human evolution was to become an Arbiter.

As long as they continuously adapted to Honkai, anyone could become an Arbiter.

This was the correct evolutionary path for humanity in the face of Honkai.

With a mortal body, wield divine power.

Unfortunately, Ye Chang'an had no time to ponder this deeply. He opened his eyes and looked at the group of Pseudo-Arbiters surrounding him, feeling a bit uneasy.

—Are they going to rush me?

A proper Arbiter can command Pseudo-Arbiters and control Honkai Beasts, but he isn't a proper Arbiter right now.

He was very likely to be ganged up on.

Fortunately, his worries were unfounded. The Pseudo-Arbiters showed no inclination to attack. Instead, they all knelt on one knee in unison.

"Chang'an, welcome back."

There was a significant difference between Ye Chang'an and An Changye. Even with the same face, they could be easily distinguished.

The former's demeanor was practically steeped in music.

"Heh, I'm back," Ye Chang'an greeted with a smile, then transformed his instrument back into his hand and asked, "Do you guys want to listen to some music?"

"Yes!"

Music filled the air once more. Ye Chang'an played with a smile amidst the wreckage of the stage, while the Pseudo-Arbiters sat obediently on the ground like kittens, swaying to the beat.

Even the unconscious Honkai Beasts and Death Warriors moved in unison.

The game once said that Honkai Beasts could communicate through dreams. Perhaps they weren't truly unconscious creatures, but rather a new, ignorant species corrupted and infected by Destruction energy.

Like newborn infants, they followed the Arbiter who gave them birth, blindly obeying commands to kill and destroy.

Like a group of children incited to commit crimes.

The current Arbiter was Ye Chang'an, the Arbiter of Sound Reason, who only wanted to play music.

So they relaxed their bodies and swayed to the beat, clearing their minds and dancing to the rhythm.

The scene was a bit jarring to the eyes, yet it appeared exceptionally harmonious under the accompaniment of the melody.

"I never want to go through something like this again in my life," Old K sighed, slumping back into his chair with relief. He looked at the restored superstar with a look of release.

He felt the matter had concluded perfectly.

This disaster was enough to make humanity recognize the dangers of Destruction, and there would be no more radical Destruction energy experiments in the future.

After all, the harm caused by this thing getting out of control was too immense; all of Germany was gone overnight.

More outrageous than a nuclear bomb.

But the perfect conclusion was only Old K's idea. Leaders from other regions did not think the same way.

Their eyes burned with greed as they looked at Ye Chang'an. Unable to suppress their avarice, they picked up microphones and made declarations.

"Sinner Chang'an, you are hereby arrested on suspicion of manufacturing a terrorist attack. Cease your futile resistance and cooperate with our investigation; we can guarantee your innocence."

Old K: ???

Ye Chang'an: ???

Ye Chang'an was somewhat surprised, then furious, doubting if he had heard correctly.

In a flash of thought, a giant drum set materialized above the heads of these idiots.

"Look at what's above your heads, and say that again!"

He issued a warning, showing no respect whatsoever.

Shameless fools didn't deserve respect. The best way to deal with fools was to slap them across the face.

Did they really think he wasn't an Arbiter just because he had regained consciousness?

Chapter of Creation · What Lies Beyond the End of the World: 41. What Lies Beyond the End of the World?

The idiots didn't dare to spout nonsense anymore, because Ye Chang'an didn't care about their rules of using power to suppress others.

Having their heads dictated by their rear ends for too long made them forget that heads weren't as durable as rear ends, but the giant drum set above their heads reminded them.

Thus, Ye Chang'an easily resolved the trouble he would have faced after becoming an Arbiter. With Old K's assistance, he boarded the plane home.

"Old leader, what's the date today?"

Looking at the night sky outside the window, he asked Old K.

"It'll be the 29th when we land."

"Oh~" Ye Chang'an replied listlessly.

It had taken him nearly four days to recover from his Arbitrification. It wasn't too long, but it felt incredibly long.

After all, it was four-sevenths of his remaining life.

"Chang'an, what do you plan to do with those people left behind in Germany?"

The Honkai Beasts, Death Warriors, and Pseudo-Arbiters were all still in Germany. If Ye Chang'an didn't give instructions, they wouldn't leave, and other countries wouldn't dare to make contact rashly.

The implications were too great, making it difficult to handle.

"Leave them there for now," Ye Chang'an waved his hand, unwilling to say more. He closed his eyes, refusing further conversation.

Old K didn't disturb him further. After taking Ye Chang'an home, he left.

Stepping off the plane, Ye Chang'an saw Eden and Mobius. He walked towards them with a bright smile.

"Eden, I'm back."

"Chang'an..." Eden rushed over, tears falling as she expressed her relief.

She had finally waited for Ye Chang'an to return safely.

Ye Chang'an smiled and reassured her, also nodding to Mobius as a greeting.

Mobius didn't disturb the couple, nodded back, and turned to leave.

There was no place for her here.

It was the 30th by the time he had calmed Eden down, staying by her side every second, not wanting to be apart.

"Eden, don't be like this. How am I supposed to go to the bathroom?"

"You go. I'll watch. It's not like I haven't seen it before."

Eden wouldn't leave. Ye Chang'an gave a wry smile and used his authority to create a wall, finally able to take care of his bodily functions in peace.

Arbiters are also human; he wasn't much different from ordinary humans.

Eden was unhappy until he dismantled the wall and came out, at which point she started to feel better.

...Well, there were still some differences. Ordinary humans don't dismantle walls to get out of the bathroom.

Eden hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go. Ye Chang'an let her, then hugged her back and carried her into the courtyard to admire the flowers and bask in the sun.

The air and sunlight exuded a sense of reality, which Ye Chang'an greatly enjoyed.

Eden lazily shifted in his arms, resting her head on his thigh as she gazed at his profile in the sunlight, and asked softly, "Chang'an, can we stay like this forever?"

"Yes, we can," Ye Chang'an nodded.

"And how long is forever?"

Eden asked again. Ye Chang'an was silent for a moment, then smiled and said,