After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Juni and Fable smiled at the crowd, waiting patiently for the applause to die down—which took a good few minutes to happen.

"It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we landed in this new place—" Fable began. "At the time, I would never have imagined I'd be in a spot where I'd happily call it home."

Juni nodded. "While so many of us struggled to call it such—despite its dangers, I know this land had grown into your hearts."

"We gather now to celebrate this change, as well as the new doors that had just opened to us."

The two stared at the crowd, in-sync. "We will celebrate us—our victories, our growth, and everything that is yet to come."

Applause burst again, but this time the hosts raised their hands to cut it short. "Before we start anything though, let's start tonight with our new Hymn!"

The two smiled at each other as curious murmurs echoed across the crowd. "This new Hymn was composed by our very own Crump and Mirka!" Juni said, and then turned to Fable who was already walking to the front of the stage. "And sang by our very own Fable."

Juni clapped as she slowly left the stage, amidst the applause that resounded along with hers.

The crowd was very interested in the new Hymn, but they didn't expect anything too profound. Some assumed it would be a fun party song Fable would dance to.

However, as more and more people entered the stage—with instruments— the crowd realized they might be underestimating this performance.

It seemed like they already had a full orchestra?!

The orchestra was led by a man in his early 30s. He had a proud stance and was wearing a relatively formal suit, his hair combed to the back of his head, adding classiness around him.

He was not conventionally handsome, but at this time he looked very charming.

Crump was one of the refugees who appeared during the heatwave. He was one of the earth users who arrived with Tot, and had found his place under Ansel's wing shortly after.

Next to him was a young man with pale skin, Mirka, who was lucky and got to Alterra early on. He even had the honor of performing in Althea and Garan's renewal of vows back then.

While he was mainly a harp player, he was also a gifted composer. This hymn was primarily credited to him.

The conductor—Crump—headed up a podium in the front-center of the stage, right next to Fable. He faced the crowd for now, standing coolly while the orchestra behind him headed to their positions.

The crowd realized that they had a complete ensemble now, slowly formed through the months—with the instruments being perfected bit by bit. This was news to many Terrans as they hadn't seen many of these instruments yet.

It seemed like Elder Ansel and his team decided to unveil these new instruments today, which was quite fitting.

The first orchestra performance…

Considering how many people thought orchestras were boring back in Terran, they sure were extremely excited now!

Crump took a deep breath and looked at the crowd that extended far into the two avenues. He then looked at the people watching from balconies, and even from the roofs.

This was the biggest event Alterra had done so far, and he was standing in front of thousands of people waiting for him to entertain.

His heart beat loudly, feeling the pressure. Although the Elders never emphasized how important this was for momentum, it didn't mean Crump didn't feel it.

However, they practiced weeks for this, knowing full well such a celebration would be held eventually.

With renewed determination, Crump took a deep breath as he turned to face his orchestra, who were all similarly tense.

Before, the players would just perform in pairs or trios in smaller events or even solo in restaurants. This was their first public performance as a group.

They were understandably a bit nervous in their debut.

He could only nod at them, masking his nervousness with sternness. He refused to show any weakness. As the leader, he could not be the cause of anxiety, but rather of comfort and confidence.

The members were arranged in a small arc. They were all positioned and ready to play, just waiting for the decisive wave of his hand.

Crump turned to their lead singer at the side, and the background singers right behind him. Fable nodded, signaling he was ready, and Crump raised both his arms above his head in response.

His earth ability exploded as he took a few carved rocks from his space, and let them soar around him.

For drama and flare, they decided to let a few pieces of carved rocks hover around him. They were unmoving for now, but they would soon dance along with the rhythm, like floating musical notes designed to fascinate those who listened.

With a sweeping gesture, the conductor brought the baton down, and the notes immediately filled the air.

The music began slowly, with a low hum of strings seeming to rise from the ground. The carved rocks also followed this movement, giving the audience the illusion that they could see the music.

This was followed by the deep resonant sound of drums that touched the heart, as if echoing with people's heartbeats.

The melody swelled with the entry of the horns and the flutes. The uplifting tunes echoed around the Town, carried by the speaker systems they had just introduced.

Fable closed his eyes, drowning in the sounds and floating in the rhythm.

He trained a lot for this song, as his usual 'pop' voice didn't quite fit with the grandiose a hymn was supposed to invoke.

As a result, his voice matured—almost unrecognizable to his fans—but it definitely struck deeper into people's hearts.

With a breath, he opened his mouth to sing the words.

We build our roots in this new home.

We rise, we stand, and we build this land.

Through the trials we've faced, our strength grew and grew.

With hearts set as one, we forged something new.

People's faces lit up as they listened, inexplicably recalling the adventures they had gone through and how they built a new life here.

Soon, the anthem soared, lifting everyone's heart with it.

All hail, fair Alterra! So bold and so bright!

A beacon of hope, our unwavering light.

In Unity, we find our might!

Steadfast and strong, we claim our right.

All hail, our land, where banners fly high!

Glorious and free under the endless sky!

The listeners' hearts rose and rose with the chorus, their souls drowning in the music, and the blending of the voices taking them into a daze. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

The song soon descended into a soft lingering finish, and the floating rocks disintegrated like glitter along with it.

The entire square was held in profound silence as the Victory Hymn lingered in their minds and resonated to their hearts.

The citizens would definitely memorize this hymn very quickly.