Hearing what J said, Notch finally let out a breath.
Given how well he knew J, he had expected J to try to excuse D and take all the blame onto himself. That was just the kind of person J was, like a "team mom," someone who valued friendship above all else.
So before meeting J, Notch had been thinking about how to persuade him.
He had been prepared for a drawn-out battle. He had even set aside half an hour for J. If he still couldn't convince him, Notch had already made up his mind to drag J over to Xu Yuan for some "reform," no matter what.
Fortunately, J didn't disappoint. Not only did he pull himself back from the brink, he also spared Notch from losing face.
In truth, Notch had noticed J's problem ten years ago. Back then, though, he didn't think being loyal and emotional was a bad thing.
And unlike D, the relationship between Notch and J had always been genuine. Notch valued J just as much as J valued him.
So at the time, he saw nothing wrong with J placing so much importance on friendship.
After all, Notch couldn't see the future. If he had known that J's excessive attachment to friendship would indirectly lead to the current situation, he definitely wouldn't have ignored it.
But what's done is done. The outcome is already set, there's no room for regret. What matters now is the road ahead.
With that in mind, Notch patted J on the shoulder and chatted with him casually for a bit. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, his expression grew hesitant.
That subtle change didn't escape J's notice. He cut straight to the point. "If you've got something to say, just say it. What, am I already an outsider to you now?"
Hearing the mock accusation, Notch shook his head and let out an awkward chuckle. He didn't answer right away. After thinking it through again, he finally decided to lay it all out.
He took a deep breath, his expression turning serious. "Do you know that the iron golems he controls are actually the living beings from that previous world?"
J's eyes flew wide open, his pupils shrinking sharply. "What did you say?!"
From the moment he asked, Notch had been watching J closely. Even though J hadn't answered, the look on his face already gave him the answer.
Only then did Notch finally feel the weight in his chest lift.
To be honest, he hadn't wanted to ask that question. He trusted J's character, more precisely, the J he had known for ten years.
If it were that J, then after learning that the iron golems had once been living beings, he would never have thought of using them.
But time changes everything, especially for someone like J, who had been trapped in the endless void for a full decade…
At that moment, after hearing Notch's words, J's mind refused to settle. He forced himself to calm down a little before asking, "What exactly is the method that can free me and him from the void seal?"
Notch let out a long sigh. Looking at J, his eyes were filled with guilt. "In the end, I was the one who sealed you into the void… or rather, it was my subconscious…"
"To break free, you need a force that can counter it."
He paused briefly before continuing, "That involves the rules of the inner world… I don't fully understand them…"
"There might be many ways to obtain power, but right now, I only know two."
"Faith… or slaughter."
"Faith is a form of energy. Life is also a form of energy."
Hearing this, J seemed to lose all strength at once. His body went limp as he muttered in a daze, "He never told me those iron golems were the living beings from before…" His voice trembled.
"He told me they were just consciousnesses that formed in this world… that he found them and gave them bodies…"
J's thoughts drifted back to the past, to those conversations with D.
Back then, D had confidently told him they could find a way out of the void, and that the method was to kill players.
"He said we only needed to kill players… he said he wouldn't harm those living beings…"
At first, D had indeed done as he said, not directly targeting those beings.
But as time passed, his patience wore thin.
"Gradually, he lost patience…" J's voice grew lower and lower.
"As more and more beings were 'accidentally' killed by him, he became more and more unrestrained…"
"I always thought killing was the only way… so I became his accomplice…"
The more J spoke, the more his emotions spiraled out of control, until he was practically shouting. "And now you're telling me killing wasn't the only way?!!!!"
Tears streamed down J's pale face. He clutched his head tightly with both hands, eyes squeezed shut, unable to face that cruel truth.
His body trembled, his breathing turning rapid and uneven.
"Why?! Why?!!"
Seeing J on the verge of collapse from guilt, Notch couldn't help but feel dazed.
It was like looking at his former self, the version of him that had once been crushed by the same guilt.
Those innocent lives… although they hadn't died directly at Notch's hands, their deaths were inseparable from him.
D, the true culprit, had used Notch's power. It was as if Notch had personally handed him the blade, then stood by and watched as D used it to pierce their hearts.
Notch knew he wasn't the one who struck the blow, but he couldn't escape the role he played in every tragedy.
Every time he thought about it before, it felt like something was suffocating him, dragging him deeper and deeper like a swamp.
And clearly, J was going through the same pain now, only his guilt was even stronger.
Because he had stood right beside D. Even if D had deceived him, he could have stopped it all. In the end, he chose to go along with him.
———
In truth, the moment Notch asked that question, J's reaction had already been the answer he hoped for.
J was still the same. He hadn't changed. He was still the kind, gentle person who cherished and respected all life.
But Notch also had to admit, when it came to the deaths of those beings, J and himself were both accomplices. That was an undeniable fact.
So he wouldn't pretend none of it had happened, nor would he comfort J by telling him not to feel guilty. Because he knew full well, when you make a mistake, you have to pay the price.
With that thought, Notch walked over, helped J to his feet, and said, "You're still the same as you were more than ten years ago. I am too."
"So I won't cover for you. You know that."
"The moment you made your choice, you already knew how you were going to atone, didn't you?"