>> 3rd POV << 

"""""""""" HAHAHAHAHA """""""""

As a man with a skull-like mask, eye sockets that were downward-crescent, and bare teeth that were assembled in a creepy smile fell lifelessly to the ground, everybody was laughing.

They were happy. Drowned in a complete celebratory mood.

""""""""""" HAHAHAHAHA """""""""" 

They were happy for him that he finally could rest. He suffered for a long time but now, not anymore.

.

.

.

The mood slowly dried out as something came out of the man.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere immidiately turned sour. They were gloomy. As if what they were doing earlier was faked. But it was not. 

They laughed because they were happy. Because they knew the man did something great. They couldn't hold couldn't themselves back. Because what the man did was crazy.

But the happy mood didn't last for long.

Now that the man is back once again, clueless about everything they look at him with sadness and respect. 

An orb floated out from his head. A series of images were playing in it. 

"This makes it a millionth and the final requirement right?" Jack took hold of the memory orb and asked, with a grave expression.

"Indeed..." Queen said with sadness and a pained tone.

"He has suffered enough..." Tears were threatening to fall on Three, the little girl's eyes.

King gestured his hand as the orb floated towards him.

"Let's do this people."

""""""""Yes"""""""" 

Everybody affirmed with determination as if they have long agreed on something.

They moved and surrounded the man forming a circle, his body at the center.

King did some hand signs and appeared, a balance scale floating above the unconscious man's body.

He gestured and controlled the mystery box to be placed on the left scale.

King started a speech:

"There are absurd certain powers out there that can destroy a universe with a snap. We fought those in power and prevailed. We gained unimaginable powers but still... No one could escape the law. For every power, there is a price to pay. The man... No, our friend lost the meaning of his life but gained power. He fought and fought... Along with us. We protected the universe from 'Outer Dwellers' and gained peace. We enjoyed the peace but he couldn't. Searching for many years to find a way to turn back the time he finally found it." 

"The 'Rules of Exchange'." Jack mumbled out loud as everybody looked towards the balance scale. It had been emitting a divine pressure at the moment it appeared but everybody could withstand it. 

"He was tasked to live a different million lives and collect a million memory orbs to pay for a price to have a chance at regression to the time of his very first world" King continued.

"He had finally finished the task." Seven said.

"However, he was so desperate he didn't question a thing about the 'Rule'." King added.

"The stakes had to be too specific, as if 'Someone' was orchestrating it." Ten, the old man with a long white beard said.

"I saw the list. It was strange because he strictly had to follow the exact order of the 'being' he had to reincarnate." Two, a man with green skin and pointy ears said.

"He had to randomly roll a wheel consisting of ten given types of creature to reincarnate on." Eight the dwarf added to that.

"The chances are 1 out of 10 since he could only get one right pick because of the strange 'Order' but still has to reincarnate as the result of a wrong pick. Basically, a scam that tasked him to live more than a million lives asking for a collection of more than a million different sets of memories" Six, who had emo hair, cupped his glasses as he explained. 

"That's torture. There must be something else going on." Nine, the woman with jade skin, perky red lips, and rapunzel-like hair complained.

"Indeed..." King affirmed.

"Transcendent beings govern a certain 'Concept'. Take Zeus for example who governs 'Lightning'. Freya for the 'Love, Sex and War' etc. Almost every transcendent governs a certain aspect. But I believe no one has questioned who governed the concept of 'Rule'?"

""""""!!!""""" Everybody was shocked by this realization.

"One Above All" One, the cute little boy said. He quivered as he knew they finally have a lead to the mysterious entity.

To define 'Rule' it is one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere. 

(A/N: Google My friend)

"'Rule' is literally present in everything. The brain works following certain rules. Planets revolve on an axis and that is the rule. Galaxies are a system of stars held by a certain gravitation force. etc. Everything is a bunch of rules that work in unison."

"One Above All had influence in everything. He governs the 'Rule'" King finished his speech. 

Everyone was silent. How powerful could that 'being' be if he gains power everywhere?

"I don't trust this 'Rules of Exchange'. It basically screamed of something that had to do with that mysterious being. But unfortunately, it was too late. The deed has been done. The rule is absolute." King said. 

"That is why people, I once again affirm my determination that I will exchange my memories and burn this life to pay the price of breaking the rule."

"""""""" And so do I """""""""

*Stab* *Stab* *Stab* ...

Everybody took some kind of dagger and pierced their hearts with it. 

"""""""" Rules of Exchange! We offer our memories in exchange for a single memory. """"""""""

The scale as if it heard their offering glowed. 

The next moment thirteen memory orbs slowly came out of each of their heads. They gritted their teeth and did something. Finally the orbs came back in their heads but each of these was missing a piece. 

They had resisted as only a bunch of memory shards floated towards the mystery box which was on the left side of the scale. 

Opening, the mystery box had some kind of spatial extension as it was big enough to contain fist-sized memory orbs lined up. Different images can be seen. A rabbit running from something. Exotic deep sea creatures with peculiar eyes. Memories of a war going on etc.

Thirteen shards combined forming a single orb of various images.

The box that was placed on the left scale  was in a slightly elevated position before. But now it gained weight and completely balanced the scale.

The scale trembled, producing a blinding light and the next second an orb appeared on the right scale. It has a strange mechanical spinning nonstop in it. 

"I think this memory is the most identical to his original personality."

King could finally be at ease and return the memory orb to the man.

Queen took out a mysterious looking key from out of nowhere. She walked to the man's side, stabbed the key onto his heart and twisted it.

The man's body shook as the key was absorbed into his heart.

"We knew what power you wanted all along. You had it in you already but you decided to take it away and seal it on the key you gave me. Even if the condition was hard for you as the moment you started, everything from you will be erased. I genuinely admire your determination to push through." Queen spoke to the unconscious man as tears left her eyes.

"His mind might have been constantly cleansed, but his soul had accumulated countless burdens." Jack spoke.

"I'm surprised his soul could still hold up and didn't completely break, very astonishing indeed." Nine said.

The daggers that were stabbed in their hearts shone and slowly absorbed something out from each of them.

Finally finished absorbing, all the daggers floated and merged, shining in different colors before they turned into an extremely black orb. 

King, Queen, Jack, and the numbers had a proud look in their eyes. 

It was, after all, fundamentally built with their soul shards.

The black orb floated and came alongside the 'man' along with the mechanical orb. 

The man and the orbs shined with rainbow color and magically disappeared.

.

.

.

The royals, the knight and numbers weren't completely mindless as they were strong enough to retain some of the memories but at the cost of something great. They were extremely weakened and will disappear any second later. 

So was resisting just for naught?

No. They wanted to at least have some rational thought to do something before they will die.

Slowly raising their hands, they pulled a middle finger at the scale.

"""""""""" Fuck the n**** soul """""""""""

They chanted. They always wanted to say that. Not for anything else, but just for the sake of it. Of what? They had no idea. It sounded cool though.

"""""""""" HAHAHAHHAHA """"""""""

Why did they sacrifice themselves? Is it really just for the reason that they had enough with life and cannot find meaning in existing anymore?

It is. 

But there was another hidden motivation. They burned their souls to create a concept that will defy the 'Rule'.

They knew that even if 'He' could turn back time and change something, that wouldn't last long. Because everything will fix itself. That is one of the absolute rules of the universe and 'Rule' is the master of that.

They wanted him to escape the shackles of 'Rule'. 

Creating a concept out of the thirteen strongest individuals who once fought every big powerful figure and came on top, they could only hope it would be enough to fight 'it'.

They called the newly created concept:

"Plot Armor". 

A concept that will bend every logic and kick the rules to oblivion. 

"""""""""HAHAHAHAHAH"""""""""

They laughed as they gradually turned transparent and eventually disappeared along with the scale.

...

In a certain place, zillions of stars were painting the night sky. A man wearing a jumpsuit, his skin was dark and was holding a box painted with a big question mark on the front. He took one of the contents out of it.

His hands trembled and a creepy chuckle escaped from his mouth.

"Hehe ~ boi" 

"Finally. hehehe ~ boi"

He was the man who thirteen individuals speculated to be behind the concept of rule and they were right…

"Hahahahaha finally I can create a more realistic and interesting Minecraft world with this."

… and they were wrong at the same time.

Well, they are right that this guy is Rule. 

He could literally use his power to design a rule and implement it creating its own logic. He could make the sun very cold and it will be accepted as logical.

However, this motherfucker is too lazy to…-

"Who is the motherfucker huh?"

I mean, you could just let the man do at least 1 / 2 scale for that exchange right. 

But you! You made the man suffer, making him live more than a million different lives just for that?!

"What do you mean just for that?! I hate thinking and it's a chore to design lives you NEET." 

"With this I can just refer to the millions of lives in memory orbs to make an interesting Minecraft game!"

I'm speechless. You created the things in the universe with just a wave of your hand but…

Just for a game you went and made a man suffer.

"He was the one who wanted to turn back time and I hate trying to patch holes in things so he had to work"

"Hey, the 4th wall is becoming annoying too. Stop it will you? I'm too lazy to fix it."

…

Anyways, everything was just a bunch of "no-one-wanted-this-to-happen" nor anyone was plotting any harm.

The good thing is that a man who had acquired "Plot Armor" finally will start a new beginning. 

Follow his journey who will have a slice of life, romance and a bit of acting cool.

To be continued ~