While the two of them were talking, Xu Yuan had actually been observing Notch's every move the whole time.
Because of that, he could easily see through Notch's emotions.
After Xu Yuan's guidance, Notch should now have removed the filter he once had toward that prank-loving friend.
At this point, he should be able to properly view the relationship between himself and his friends.
Clearly, the issue of putting his friends on a pedestal had been resolved, but judging from Notch's emotions and the sentence he had just spoken, it seemed that a new problem had appeared.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan was about to ask Notch about it, but unexpectedly, Notch spoke first.
"I…"
Notch had only just begun speaking when he stopped, hesitation showing on his face.
After a moment, he took a deep breath. It was as if he had finally made up his mind. He raised his head, looked at Xu Yuan, and said, "Just now, I recalled some scenes."
"In those scenes, I and my two friends were in a world similar to this game world…"
"Our identities there seemed to be the gods of that world…"
"In the scene, my two friends were arguing. What they were arguing about was…"
"That the living beings of that world seemed to want to overthrow our rule…"
At this point, Notch was afraid that Xu Yuan might think these were just his fantasies, so he deliberately explained, "I'm certain that these are things that actually happened. They're not my imagination…"
Hearing this, Xu Yuan nodded, signaling for Notch to continue.
Seeing that, Notch let out a sigh of relief and went on.
"The reason those beings wanted to overthrow our rule, I've already guessed it now."
"It should have been caused by that friend of mine who likes playing pranks."
"He already lacked empathy. In the real world, laws restrained him, but once he entered the world the three of us created, he instantly became a god of that world. After losing all restraint, he must have caused irreversible harm to many people."
As he said this, Notch let out a long sigh, his face filled with self-blame.
"I thought too well of him. I naively believed he would still have a sense of limits like before…"
"And the other friend and I always indulged him. If someone had properly advised him, maybe he wouldn't have gone that far…"
Seeing the self-reproach on Notch's face, Xu Yuan was just about to say something, but Notch interrupted him.
"I know you want to tell me not to blame myself."
"Don't worry, I'm actually very clear-headed."
As he said this, Notch shook his head and continued helplessly, "If the one who knew the truth right now were my other friend, he'd probably take all the responsibility onto himself, saying things like he didn't do a good enough job persuading him…"
"That's why I always call him a 'Mom guy.' He cherishes the bond between the three of us. Whenever something happens, he always likes to take the blame onto himself."
Notch shrugged helplessly. Then he looked at Xu Yuan again, his gaze suddenly becoming firm.
"But I won't do that. I know right from wrong."
"He's the one who bears the main responsibility for harming those living beings. It has nothing to do with anyone else. That was his own subjective choice."
"The fact that he did all this behind our backs means he clearly knew we wouldn't agree with what he was doing. He knew very well that what he was doing couldn't be brought into the light."
"Even knowing that, he still did it, and it seems he did quite a lot."
Hearing Notch's words, Xu Yuan felt a deep sense of relief. Earlier, when talking about that prank-loving friend, the "Mom guy" tendencies Notch had shown had made Xu Yuan a bit worried.
He was afraid that Notch would be like his other friend, blindly covering for him, making excuses for him, and pinning all the responsibility on himself.
Unexpectedly, Notch was actually very clear-headed. Anyone who does something wrong should bear the responsibility they deserve. You can't confuse right and wrong.
And you can't apply double standards just because of emotional bias.
On this point, Notch was very clear-minded. That being the case, Xu Yuan no longer needed to worry that Notch would be misled and cover for his friend later on.
As Xu Yuan was thinking this, he saw Notch let out another long sigh and continue speaking.
"If I had known all this earlier, I probably would have chosen to strip him of his status as a god…"
"I should have been capable of doing that. After all, at the very end, it seemed they were both asking me to make a choice…"
At this point, Notch once again fell into deep self-blame and guilt.
"But back then, I didn't know about the things he had done…"
"And at that time, I didn't seem to choose to thoroughly investigate the truth of the matter…"
After saying this, Notch no longer dared to meet Xu Yuan's eyes.
He paused for a moment. After taking a very deep breath, he finally spoke.
"At that time, it seemed a great war was about to begin. Both of them gave me their opinions."
"That prank-loving friend suggested that I wipe out everything."
"And the other friend told me not to intervene."
"The one who made the final decision was me. And judging from the outcome… that previous world seems to no longer exist…"
Hearing this, Xu Yuan finally understood why Notch had suddenly said that he lacked the basic qualities a creator should have.
It turned out that Notch believed he had listened to that prank-loving friend and wiped out everything.
No wonder he didn't even dare to make eye contact with Xu Yuan at this moment.
In fact, after having these unfounded speculations, the state Notch was showing already proved that he was a qualified creator.
He wasn't arrogant like his friend, looking down on all living beings. He cared about those beings.
As for why Xu Yuan said these were unfounded speculations, although he didn't have precise evidence, he was still certain that Notch hadn't made a choice.
Entity 303 had analyzed it earlier. At the very last moment when Notch left that previous world, he himself likely didn't have time to do anything.
Part of his spiritual power stayed by his friend's side, while another part was given to the true HIM to maintain balance.
So Xu Yuan was certain that Notch had not wiped out everything.
As for what happened after Notch left…
Whether that previous world and the current world were actually the same world…
And where those previous living beings went…
Xu Yuan still couldn't figure these things out. To know the answers, he would probably have to wait until the Land of Trials ended and then ask the true HIM or Notch's friends.
Although Xu Yuan knew that Notch hadn't made a choice, he couldn't tell him directly. After all, the amount of information involved in this matter was simply too overwhelming.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan looked at the guilt-ridden Notch in front of him. After a moment of thought, he finally spoke.
"In the world you're in now, no one cares what you did back then."
"What they care about is what you will do now.
[🎉 Shoutout to Kaustup, Gonzalo, Tiago and Roger for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]