The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1777: As One

For a brief second, it felt like the ground left him.

Rex tried to remain steadfast, to keep his composure—but he had done too much, promised too much, only to fail at the final moment. He could have accepted—an outright defeat. But to fail when he was a few steps away from saving her? That, Rex could not accept.

He simply couldn’t.

But reality couldn’t be denied or overwritten.

And that bitter fact was made absolutely clear by the blowing dust before him.

Even though his body, mind, and soul were destroyed right now from obtaining the last material to make the cure, none felt draining as this moment. The Divine Chalice in his hand, it felt like it weighed a ton now, and his arm trembled from holding it up.

Despite the muteness of the Banished Realm, his pounding heart hammered his eardrums loud and clear.

In this moment, everything felt bleak and verdant at the same time.

Like there were a lot of emotions rushing into him, but his senses and mind couldn’t process them.

Unknowingly, a tear slid down his cheek and dropped from his chin.

He knew that this failure would be the beginning of the end for him and those around him.

And knowing how cruel the world was to him, there’s no stopping this.

It seemed this was as far as he went.

But for once in this bleak and dark world, a light seeped through and reached him in the abyss.

Two notifications appeared before his very eyes, which snapped him out of his daze.

Rex wiped the tear with the back of his hand and read the notifications again—staring at them as if they were his only hope. His heart pounded harder—that possibility of the beginning of the end, but what he read was the complete opposite of what he was expecting.

”The Dame of Snow...?”

It was similar to back then.

Another entity knocked him unconscious and overtook his body to defeat his enemy.

And now, this entity took pity on him and stroked him with a light of hope.

Swish...

Rex looked up at the empty sky and saw a thick strand of ice-blue energy descending like an answered prayer, slithering like a serpent. Vibrant. Beautiful. He had never seen something so ordinary, but at the same time was able to take his breath away.

It went past him and swirled around the pile of ash, gathering each grain.

Even those that slipped away were pulled.

Before Rex could even process what happened, Nivellen’s head formed again from the ashes.

Surreal was the only word he could think of to describe the sight.

And following this magical moment was the System, recalibrating the failed quest.

One good thing finally happened without him needing to fight blood and sweat for it.

Rex’s shoulders trembled, emotional, but instinct quickly took over.

Tipping the chalice, he poured the cure into her mouth—emptying the contents until the very last drop.

For a heartbeat—nothing happened.

Then, a radiance, soft and profound, kindled within her.

It grew, spilling outward, a light not of this world that flared from the core of her being, blazing through her skull until every orifice of her face glowed—eyes, mouth, nostrils—filled with radiant luminescence that felt hot yet comforting at the same time.

And then, fire.

Swoosh—!

A beautiful, torrential column of flame erupted upward, swirling not with destruction, but with grace.

Rex looked up and watched it spiral majestically into the air, drawing itself together into a great ball of scorching heat—a flaming egg of rebirth. Everything from Nivellen’s presence, divine energy, and the pure chaos energy was trapped within that egg.

Slowly, a crack split its surface.

From within spilled a deeper, more profound fire, which began to take shape.

A head first—crowned with flowing tresses of living flame, then the slope of shoulders, the curve of a torso, the length of limbs—a Goddess, woven from light and heat. Someone Rex thought she lost a few seconds ago.

But she was not whole.

Deep purple, invasive cracks webbed across her form, as though she were glass strained to its limit.

Moments away from shattering.

Yet the very flames that birthed her began to mend her.

They washed over the cracks, sealing each one with seams of gold, repairing her until not a single flaw remained. Back to how perfect she was before the corruption began. A form that Rex found as graceful and powerful as the first time he saw it.

Once the cracks were mended, the Goddess drew her knees to her chest.

She curled her body in a silent, suspended embrace.

Then—an explosion of light and fire.

Splash—!

A massive, silent splash of flame and raw chaos energy burst outward, dissolving into nothingness—as suddenly as it came. All that remained was the veiled figure of the Goddess, hovering in the stillness of the Banished Realm, returned whole.

Returned as she once was.

Upon seeing the notifications, confirming that the sudden quest was completed, Rex’s head dropped.

He stared at the shallow water under him and let out a shaky breath from his mouth.

It was so close, very close.

Rex almost failed. No, he already failed but was shown mercy by the Dame of Snow.

And right now, he was overwhelmed by how surreal the situation was.

On the other hand, still levitating above, Nivellen blinked her eyes and looked around the realm—as if she was looking at it for the first time. Then, she raised her hands, observing them as if they weren’t her own, ”How am I still here...? Am I alive?”

”No, more importantly,” She shook her head, and saw through her skin. ”I don’t feel the corruption...”

At that thought, her breath was suddenly caught in her throat.

Nivellen looked down at the ground and, as expected, saw the man who crossed her mind.

Disbelief was an understatement for what she was feeling right now.

Even though she had pretended to trust Rex’s desire to save her out of respect for his determination, she never thought the possibility of him—being able to truly save her. It shouldn’t be possible.

Chaos Corruption was a plague even deities struggled to contain.

A matter involving the Chaos Realm is not something to be braved easily.

And frankly, mortals wouldn’t know how to even begin to deal with Chaos and anything related to it.

Mortals being infected by Chaos is already impossible enough to cure for mortals, and this was Chaos Corruption—involving a Goddess. Rex should have absolutely no chance of accomplishing this, which was the reason why she already prepared for her death.

It wouldn’t be much, as Rex refused to accept her source.

But it would be enough for him to retain his Banished Dark Moon King Mark at least.

To her absolute surprise, there was no need for that.

Nivellen stared, her breath catching.

Glistening tears as moonlight on water traced paths down her cheeks.

”He did it,” she whispered, the words fragile with wonder. ”He really did it. He kept his promise.”

Proud, happy, and glad, Nivellen glided down towards him.

She hovered above him, tears still falling endlessly—not from sorrow, but from a relief so profound it felt like a second down. She was happy that Rex didn’t have to bear the pain of another loss, as he had suffered more than enough.

Gently, she reached down.

Her hands, cool and trembling, cupped his face, and she tilted his gaze up to meet hers.

”You did it...” She whispered.

Rex pulled his face away from her hands and looked away. ”Yes, I did it.”

”Hmm...? And why do you not seem happy?” Nivellen’s eyes widened in realization, and her throat tightened at the thought that crossed her mind. He might not bear the pain of losing her, but he might bear the pain of losing another. ”Who? Who did you sacrifice?”

Even though she was proud that Rex managed to do the unthinkable, she didn’t want it like this.

If Rex had to choose between her and another, she wanted him to sacrifice her.

She didn’t want to be the reason for even one of his sufferings.

”No, it’s not that...” Rex whispered; his head still lowered. ”Nobody is sacrificed. At least not that I’m aware of.”

”Then why...?” Nivellen asked gently, wanting him to talk to her.

Share his worries.

Anything.

Rex didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he raised his fist and hammered the ground, splashing the water onto his face.

He did it again with his other fist. And then again.

Each time he struck the shallow water, it progressively get harder and harder—like he was venting out his frustration to the water. It came as a surprise to Nivellen. She did not really know what happened, but she knew that Rex needed to be consoled more than anything right now.

Before he could strike again, Nivellen caught his fist gently and knelt before Rex.

She leaned forward, trying to make Rex look her in the eyes.

No dark veil covered her face now; she stripped it down and allowed her face to be seen clearly.

”Talk to me, Rex. Please...”

”I... I almost failed. I almost failed to save you.”

Hearing his soft voice, the softest he has ever sounded, Nivellen’s eyes widened.

She didn’t know what to expect since he didn’t sacrifice anyone really important to save her.

But she never expected that he was acting like this because he almost failed.

”I was already holding the cure, but you... The last remnant of you turned to ash. I was a few seconds too late. Had the Dame of Snow not intervened, I would have been too late. I would have lost you.”

”Oh, dear...”

Nivellen drew him into her embrace tightly, pulling him close until no space remained between them—as if she could absorb his pain, let it flow from his body into hers, freeing him from any sorrow. ”It doesn’t matter that you almost failed,” She whispered into his hair, her voice soft but sure. ”Even if you had been too late, the thought of you trying, giving everything, would’ve been enough for me. You’ve done enough.”

She felt him tremble, a silent tremor beneath her touch.

Rex didn’t cry.

Didn’t let out so much as a whimper.

But that brief tremor told her everything he was feeling right now.

Gently, she cradled the back of his head.

”And I’m still here, aren’t I? That’s because of you,” Her thumb brushed his temple. ”That’s because of you, Rex... That’s because of you.”

For a profound moment, their bodies remained connected—entwined in the bleakness of the realm, two forms held together in a way that made the emptiness around them feel less vast. In that embrace—they were not healed and healed, savior and saved, but simply two people who had spared each other a deeper kind of breaking.

It was a fragile, profound serenity.

One that, for the first time, made every wound that lad them here feel worth the cost.

Nivellen rubbed her cheek on Rex’s hair, inhaling the deep, masculine scent that made her feel at ease.

Then, she tilted her head up slightly, looking skyward.

Beyond the bleakness of the Banished Realm, the clouds that never moved and had no colors, her eyes spotted a strand of snow-blue above. It resembled a figure, peeking at them from the clouds. Someone that Nivellen recognized.

A smile formed on her lips at the sight of the figure.

”Thank you.”

Nivellen said without a voice, grateful that this figure went to such lengths to come down to this realm to help Rex.

Pity or not, she was grateful for the intervention.