Combining the information revealed in the dialogue between the two friends in the scenes he recalled today, Notch could roughly piece together parts of a story he didn't know, but one he had actually taken part in.
He and those two friends had created a game world similar to the one that exists now.
They became the creator gods of that game.
That world also had players, and the living beings in that world seemed to have awakened their own consciousness.
For some unknown reason, those beings seemed to want to overthrow their rule.
His two friends each held different views and argued endlessly over it.
At the time, although they were arguing in front of Notch, he himself seemed not to have joined the discussion, nor did he adopt either side's proposal.
From the content of their conversation, it was obvious that the friend who was questioning the other was the one Notch referred to as "Mom guy."
As for the other one, who showed an attitude of disdain toward everything, there was no doubt he was the prank-loving friend Notch had mentioned.
After matching the information about the two friends with the various scenes from his own memories, Notch suddenly felt that his thoughts had become much clearer.
"They seem to be discussing why the living beings wanted to overthrow us?…"
Thinking about this question, Notch felt puzzled as well.
If the scenes he remembered were all real, then he truly couldn't think of any reason why those beings would want to overthrow them.
Although Notch didn't know exactly what had happened, judging from the two friends' dialogue, when all of this occurred, he himself should have been unaware of it.
Moreover, judging from what the "male mom" said, among the three of them, it seemed that only the prank-loving friend usually had more contact with the beings of that world.
In other words, Notch and the "male mom" hadn't actually intervened in the lives of those beings.
But that prank-loving friend had frequent contact with them.
And it even seemed that he had revealed his identity to them.
At this point in his thoughts, Notch suddenly froze, as if he had realized something.
"Pranks are actions without empathy…"
"Could it be…"
"Were those beings in that world trying to overthrow our rule because of him?!!"
Every time Notch recalled a scene, it was connected to what he was thinking at that moment.
The scenes he had just remembered were because he had been imagining what a monster without empathy would become after losing all restraints.
And while he was thinking about this, images of those two friends surfaced in his mind…
At this moment, he seemed to understand something.
"A person without empathy, becoming the god of a world without restraints…"
"Everything he did… wouldn't be limited to mere pranks anymore…"
After thinking this through, Notch stood there completely stunned, his scalp tingling.
He didn't want to believe his own conclusion, but he had no choice but to believe it.
Because only this explanation could make the entire incident make sense…
To that prank-loving friend, the world back then was undoubtedly like a paradise from a dream.
In that world, he had supreme authority and could play with anyone as he pleased.
Perhaps that was why he frequently interacted with those beings.
Perhaps that was why those beings wanted to overthrow them…
"Looks like he really did quite a few things that couldn't be undone…"
Thinking this far, Notch suddenly felt a sense of resistance toward that prank-loving friend.
If one person thinks you're bad, maybe that person is the problem.
But if a whole group of people think you're bad, then maybe you should look for the problem in yourself.
The same applied to what happened in that world back then. So many beings joined forces to overthrow their rule, it must have been because that prank-loving friend had harmed many people and done many things that could never be undone.
At this moment, Notch finally lost some of the blind admiration he once had for that prank-loving friend.
Just as he was about to tell Xu Yuan about the scenes he had just recalled, his mind once again replayed the moment when the two friends' voices had first sounded in his head.
He still remembered their words very clearly, even now.
"Since Minecraft is named this way, it should have been a world that belongs only to you from the start. You created this world. You stand above everything."
"Everything here exists to serve you. If various problems make you feel troubled, then erase those problems completely… This place is a pure land that belongs only to you…"
———
"This is no longer the world you created. Even if you created it in the beginning, it is no longer what it once was… This world has its own rules. It no longer belongs to you. You should not intervene, and you should not interfere…"
It wasn't hard to see that these two sentences represented the two friends' views on the situation of that world at the time.
These two pieces of dialogue should have occurred after the scene Notch had just recalled.
When the two friends were arguing back then, it should have been at the very beginning of the beings' rebellion.
Judging from these two later statements, after learning about the situation, the three of them seemed to have taken no action to resolve it because they all held different opinions.
Precisely because the issue wasn't resolved at the very start, it slowly fermented and grew more and more serious.
Until finally, when the two friends still couldn't reconcile their views, they both went to Notch to talk with him and asked him to make the final decision.
Thinking about this, Notch's heart tightened painfully.
Even earlier, when he had recalled these two statements, he had been unable to calm down for a long time.
From these words, it was clear that the final decision-maker in this matter was undoubtedly Notch.
And that was exactly what made his heart ache.
Now, having pieced together all kinds of information, Notch had already guessed that the rebellion of those beings was caused by that prank-loving friend.
So now, he was able to tell right from wrong. Naturally, he wouldn't listen to that prank-loving friend's opinion anymore.
But back then, Notch clearly didn't know the full picture. He couldn't determine what kind of choice he himself would have made at that time.
And judging from the outcome, that world back then seemed no longer to be the same world as the current game world.
In other words, it was very likely that he had listened to that prank-loving friend and, together with him, erased everything…
And the other friend, unable to stop them, could only allow it to happen.
After thinking this through, Notch felt utterly drained.
His eyes were dull as he blankly looked at Xu Yuan and said, "Looks like you were right…"
"I really didn't possess the basic qualities a game creator should have…"