"So many people... where am I supposed to put them?"
Handling Sirin's mother alone would have been easy enough. He could just find her a place to live in seclusion.
But making a whole group live in seclusion... that was basically immigration.
It would be far too easy to expose them.
"How about making a place suitable for settlement?"
Ye Chang'an looked toward the vast Siberian Snowfield and led the group deep into its frozen expanse.
He stopped in a flat stretch of snow, surveyed the surroundings, and only then unleashed his authority.
Skyscrapers rose from the snowfield out of thin air as he once again played at creation.
Compared to creating a planet last time, though, creating a city this time was nothing.
Mu Continent, Starlight City—the homeland where he had lived the longest during the previous simulation.
His memories of that planet had already awakened.
"Whew~ I'm a little tired. Doing this without an Arbiter Core is way too exhausting."
Breathing heavily, Ye Chang'an felt a trace of fatigue.
Fortunately, the city had already been created. All that remained was to treat the patients and let them stay here to live.
The treatment process was simple. They just had to listen to records.
The illnesses they had contracted because of Destruction would also be cured through adapting to Destruction.
As for making them stay and settle down... that was even simpler.
He only had to alter their memories so they would regard this place as the hometown where they had grown up.
It did not take much effort, but it was rather mentally draining.
Ye Chang'an grew even more tired.
I really want to sleep.
Dismissing Feather Dust, he watched as everyone unknowingly blended into life in the city, and his eyelids began to droop.
"Lord God, are you all right?"
Sirin's mother came over and asked with concern. She had regained her health, but her memories had not been altered.
Because there was no need to alter them.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while. Also, don't call me that. I mean it."
Ye Chang'an smiled bitterly and waved his hand. He truly could not stand being called Lord God.
He was not some cringey teenage edgelord. How could he possibly accept such an embarrassing title?
It was one thing when Sirin called him that for fun, but Sirin's mother was an adult.
"All right, Chang'an. Let me take you somewhere to rest."
Sirin's mother reached out to support him, and Ye Chang'an did not refuse.
He was exhausted and sleepy enough that he was nearly staggering as he walked.
When they arrived at the home from his childhood in his previous life, Ye Chang'an entered the room and immediately collapsed into bed, making Sirin's mother feel a little heartbroken.
A child not even ten years old had created an incomparably prosperous city out of thin air and saved thousands of lives.
It was a miracle.
But what was the price of that miracle?
Sirin's mother did not know. She only knew that the price had not been borne by those who had been saved.
Ye Chang'an alone had borne the cost of this miracle.
~
~
When Ye Chang'an awoke from the bed, he looked at the room from his previous life with nostalgic eyes.
After lingering briefly over the past, he bid farewell to Sirin's mother.
With a recording on his phone, he returned to the safe zone where Sirin was staying, arriving just in time to see the Schicksal Organization solemnly announce the deaths.
"Your parents all died from an illness called Destruction disease.
"But do not be afraid. We, the Schicksal Organization, will take you in.
"Furthermore, you are very fortunate. You were born with antibodies capable of resisting Destruction."
"For the sake of humanity, we need your help in participating in certain experiments.
"To defeat Destruction, are you willing?"
Those high-sounding words deceived children who had just lost their loved ones, while also planting a seed of hatred toward Destruction within the girls' hearts.
In order to avenge themselves upon Destruction, the girls signed voluntary agreements and agreed to assist Schicksal with its experiments.
Ye Chang'an carefully read through the agreement and almost laughed.
Otto, is this the kind of trick you play?
The agreement explicitly stated the experiments' purpose and methods, and even mentioned that the risks were extremely high.
But what did such words mean to young girls?
They did not understand the information buried deep within those words. They only knew that the so-called experiments could be used to fight Destruction.
And so, deceived, they walked toward the abyss and became sacrifices beneath it.
To be deceived was because of ignorance!
Ignorance was a fault, because someone would exploit your ignorance.
But was ignorance itself at fault?
Apparently not.
Chang'an Melody was flawed because someone would exploit Chang'an Melody.
But was Chang'an Melody itself at fault?
Apparently not.
If it was not wrong, why should it be changed?
I never needed to restrict Chang'an Melody.
What I should restrict is humanity!!!
A streak of golden light flashed through his red eyes. The price of the miracle appeared.
Without an Arbiter Core, he had forcibly activated his authority to manipulate Destruction, opened a gateway to Imaginary Space, and drawn the attention of the Cocoon of the End.
PS: Happy New Year. Let's start becoming Arbiters from the very first day of the new year.
Song of World Destruction: Displaced Time: 5. Sirin: I Want to Become Overpowered
Accompanying Sirin onto the Schicksal Organization's transport vehicle, Ye Chang'an was about to head to the place where the tragedy of the Second Destruction of the Current Civilization began.
Siberia, Schicksal Babylon Laboratory.
As Schicksal's second-largest Destruction energy research facility, it contained the world's third-largest Destruction energy reactor, holding high-concentration Destruction energy equivalent to roughly 6,500 hw.
He had come here for only one purpose—to condense an Arbiter Core.
The exhaustion from creating Starlight City had made him realize how weak he was. He needed an Arbiter Core to support his actions.
As for whether Sirin would still become the Second Arbiter after all this Destruction energy was gone...
Why should he care about that?
Why should an innocent little girl have to suffer misfortune and become an Arbiter?
So that he would have enough time to complete the modifications to Chang'an Melody?
Fuck that!
Chang'an Melody did not need to be modified!
He should never have entertained the thought of changing it in the first place!
This was the wrong path.
It was the path of treating music as a tool.
Chang'an Melody could save people facing the threat of Destruction, not because it was a tool, but because it was music.
Music itself possessed the power to save hearts.
If he modified music in order to prevent people from abusing Destruction, then music would become a tool.
A tool for placing Swordheart shackles upon humanity.
That kind of thing was not what he sought.
"Sirin, I might become a bad person."
Within the dream linked by Feather Dust, he looked up at the false starry sky and spoke to Sirin beside him.
He was aware of that possibility.
"Hm? Why?" Sirin asked innocently, not understanding.
"Because I'll become enemies with many, many people."
The world bustled for profit, and people came and went for gain.
His restrictions would inevitably harm certain people's interests, and those people would inevitably become his enemies.
"Many, many people? Does that include me and Mama?"
"It doesn't."
"Hehe~ Then you haven't become a bad person, Chang'an."
Sirin smiled and rolled onto him. Supporting herself with her arms, she stared into his red eyes and spoke seriously.
"Lord God, you won't become a bad person.
"Because you saved Mama, saved so many people, and even created a beautiful home for them.
"A Lord God like you can't be a bad person.
"If bad people are all like Lord God, then I want to be a bad person too."
A child's heart had no clear standard for good and evil.
Sirin liked what Ye Chang'an did and also dreamed of becoming someone like him.
Before enduring torment, she could originally have fought for the beauty in this world as well.
Her smile now was so similar to Kiana's, before Kiana had lost Murata Himeko.
Ye Chang'an smiled and gently rubbed Sirin's little face, his heart utterly at peace.
Sirin's smile was exactly what he wanted to bring to people through music.
"Sirin, if one day you discover that I've become a bad person you no longer like, then come stop me."
He would not arrogantly believe that the path he had chosen could not be wrong, so he handed the power of judgment to Sirin.
"How am I supposed to stop you? Lord God, you're so powerful. I can't stop you."
Sirin answered in a joking tone. What she meant was that she would never stop Ye Chang'an.
But Ye Chang'an was a rather serious person, so he seriously considered the question before answering.
"You can pray to Destruction, become stronger than me, and then come stop me."
Sirin was an Arbiter vessel. She still had the possibility of becoming an Arbiter.
Before you continue