She did not know many pieces. The one she knew best was definitely the one she had heard the most.
That was right—the new version of Chang'an Melody created by combining the Herrscher of Knowledge Authority.
The score was still pleasant to listen to, and Sirin's technique had several parts of Ye Chang'an's skill. The sound she played truly captured the girls' ears.
(⊙o⊙)...
(⊙o⊙)...
They forgot to cry, staring blankly at Sirin as she focused on playing music atop the crate.
Their panic faded, their fear settled, and even the gloomy prison became beautiful at that moment.
The girls from previous batches of test subjects in the cells also clung to the bars, trying their best to watch Sirin. Light called anticipation gradually filled their numb eyes.
—Was she an angel?
Music changed a person's temperament.
Even in the same prison uniform, Sirin looked like a pretty little angel descended into the human world.
Bringing beauty and hope to humanity.
Those were the things this prison lacked the most.
Today, they finally had them.
"Um... everyone, well..."
After finishing the piece, Sirin fidgeted, not knowing what to say.
Remembering how Ye Chang'an had once said that when she did not know what to do, she should listen to music, she got an idea.
"Do you still want to listen? I can keep playing."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The girls answered Sirin expectantly. This was also the first time so many people had looked forward to something from her.
Feeling a little puffed up, she immediately grinned. "Hehe, since you want to hear it so badly, I'll reluctantly play another piece for you."
A pufferfish was still a pufferfish. That inflated nature of hers had never changed.
She just had never found an opportunity like this before.
Now she was delighted. She played every piece she knew.
While Ye Chang'an climbed the tower and captured people, she played.
When Ye Chang'an jumped into the reactor, she was still playing.
She wanted more people to hear her music, so Destruction energy activated an amplification mode along with her wish.
It did not travel very far, but it was enough for Ye Chang'an inside the reactor to hear.
~
~
—The sound of a violin... Was Sirin playing for them?
The restless heart was soothed by the music, and a faint smile appeared on Ye Chang'an's lips.
He loved music too much. The moment he heard it, he forgot all his troubles.
Even the Arbiter personality causing trouble could not change that.
Thus, with Sirin's music playing, Ye Chang'an absorbed all 6,500 hw of Destruction energy and condensed an Arbiter Core.
But... this was the Arbiter of Void's core.
"Hmm? An Arbiter of Void core?"
"What?"
He was stunned.
Song of World Destruction: Displaced Time: 7. The Greatest Traitor on the Destruction Side Appears
Every Arbiter had their own Arbiter Core. As the vessel for an Arbiter's Authority, it was impossible for another Arbiter to condense one.
The Arbiter of Sound Reason could only condense a sound core, yet what Ye Chang'an had condensed was an Arbiter of Void core.
There was only one answer.
"When the hell did I become an Arbiter again?!"
He roared in utter defeat. He had never considered that possibility.
After all, he was already an Arbiter.
But this did not seem impossible.
In the original game, Sirin had used the Destruction energy sealed on the moon to create four Arbiter Cores.
Although the official setting claimed they had been bestowed upon her by a god, the appearance of the Cocoon of the End had stabbed that official setting in the back.
Prometheus could not explain it away, and the cowardly Will of Destruction could not stand up to scrutiny either.
Nothing was more fatal than the official story contradicting itself.
Therefore, gods did not exist.
Sirin had condensed four Arbiter Cores through her own power.
An Arbiter becoming an Arbiter again—Arbiter upon Arbiter.
By the same reasoning, Ye Chang'an had become an Arbiter again.
"Damn it, why didn't I feel anything? Fuck."
In a panic, he closed his eyes and carefully checked whether there was anything suspicious within his body.
The Arbiter transformation of the Previous Civilization differed somewhat from that of the Current Civilization. He had undergone the Previous Civilization's transformation, but this was his first time experiencing the Current Civilization's.
He needed to examine himself thoroughly.
In the end, he discovered something suspicious within his sea of consciousness.
A mass of golden radiance.
We meet again.
The thought carried a faint, ethereal voice.
Do you remember me?
Ye Chang'an recognized that voice, and his expression became extremely grim.
"An Changye."
The projection of the End that had dissipated on its own during his first Arbiter transformation had developed humanity after severing its connection and named itself An Changye.
"When the hell did you come back to life, and what the hell did you do now?!"
Ye Chang'an questioned him. An Changye took human form from the radiance and spoke calmly.
"When you used your Authority to recreate Starlight City, the Cocoon's power awakened me."
"I did not do much. I merely made a small attempt."
"I almost succeeded. What a pity."
Those three calm sentences represented the cause, process, and result. He had failed.
Sirin's music had forcibly calmed Ye Chang'an, the madman, and had also caused An Changye's plan to take over to collapse halfway through.
It really was a pity.
He had been so close.
If Ye Chang'an had continued condensing the core while controlled by extreme emotions, then at the moment the core was completed, An Changye could have used the Cocoon's power to completely suppress Ye Chang'an's personality.
—Damn music.
It seemed he was rather upset too.
"You bastard..."
Ye Chang'an was furious. He took several deep breaths before calming down, his face turning cold.
A chair appeared behind him. He sat down, crossed one leg over the other, and rested his head against his right hand on the armrest, assuming the same posture he had used when judging An Changye before.
"Come on, tell me about yourself. How do you want to die?"
He still wanted to kill this guy, lest he cause more trouble.
Although he did not know exactly what An Changye had done, he could sense that his thoughts had taken on an extreme tendency.
That was unlike his former self, so he could only pin the blame on An Changye.
And it truly had been An Changye's doing.
"I want to live until I want to die." An Changye also created a chair and sat opposite him, though he sat more properly than Ye Chang'an.
Apparently, he did not want to die.
"I think you want to die right now." Ye Chang'an sat upright and glared at him, refusing to let it go.
"I think I don't want to die." An Changye spoke seriously.
"I don't care what you think. What matters is what I think."
"I want to live." An Changye said it directly, his golden eyes fixed on Ye Chang'an.
"..." Ye Chang'an fell silent.
Should an Arbiter personality that wanted to live be allowed to live?
Ye Chang'an thought of another Arbiter personality that had also wanted to live—the Arbiter of Corruption.
Whether in the Previous Civilization or the Current Civilization, they had possessed the will to survive.
Now, his Arbiter personality had it too.
"Give me a reason," he said.
"Does wanting to live not count as a reason?" An Changye asked in return.
"Not with me."
"True. You once chose death." An Changye nodded in understanding. It seemed his memories were not limited to this simulation body's memories.
Because this time, he was not a thief sent here to forcibly log into an account. He was a remnant consciousness awakened by the Cocoon's power.
He possessed all the memories Ye Chang'an had experienced after he originally dissipated.
"...If I must find a reason to live, then my reason is..." An Changye spoke after pondering, ending solemnly.
"I want to see Sirin grow up."
"Why?"
"Do I need to explain even that? You should know very well."
Ye Chang'an fell silent.
There truly was no need for an explanation, because he had the same thought.
His outburst, rage, and decision to abandon his connection to fate had not been caused solely by An Changye's interference. If he had not harbored such thoughts himself, An Changye could not have done anything at all.
This Arbiter personality could only amplify certain emotions within Ye Chang'an and push them to extremes.
After all, An Changye was only one person, while Ye Chang'an had millions of people.
So both he and An Changye wanted to watch Sirin grow up.
Grow up as Sirin.
"As long as you stay put and behave, I can keep you around." He accepted An Changye's reason for wanting to live.
Before you continue