The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 2009: Realm Degradation

Rex and the others would only stay in the Temporal Labyrinth for less than two days.

Not because the Warden limited their time inside, but because they only had three days to prepare for the Purgation Duel. As much as an opportunity to be in this realm was—a rare chance to grow their power further—they needed to leave.

It would be incredible if they could stay for years in this realm, but they had to leave.

Anyone would kill to have this opportunity, and yet the three couldn’t make use of it to the fullest.

A shame, but there’s no other choice.

One more day before the Purgation Duel, and they still have one more stop to go.

”What do you mean, a secret?” Rex asked exasperatedly.

”What else does it mean?” Davina flicked her hair and crossed her arms. ”I’m not telling you.”

”Not telling me? I’m the one who brought you here! I need to at least know how much you’ve grown.”

”You’ll see when the Purgation Duel started.”

Rex stared at Davina’s back at a loss for words—he had asked her what part of her bloodline she chose to train during her time in the Temporal Labyrinth. He didn’t think checking her stats was necessary, as he could simply ask her, but then this happened.

She kept it a secret.

Annoyed, he snapped his head towards Lilliana.

”What about you?”

”I’m not participating in the Purgation Duel, so why do you need to know?”

”Because I’m your Alpha.”

”If you are, then you can somehow find out yourself without needing to ask me, right?”

Rex threw up his hands.

He was being a gentleman, deciding not to check on their stats and giving them the satisfaction of showing their growth to him—but these two kept their growth a secret from him instead. Played political games for too long, so they even remained closed to him.

As much as he wanted to force them to open their mouths, time was of the essence.

No time for playing games.

”Fine—Don’t tell me anything, then.”

Rex walked to the other end of the floating platform and pressed his finger to the space where the tear leading back to the obelisk had been earlier. His index fingertip touched something hard, and then a rippling effect spread across the space, opening the tear from earlier.

He stepped inside, followed by the others, and saw the Warden was still at his desk.

Reading books while still in his solitude.

”Leaving so soon?” the Warden did not bother lifting his eyes from the book—his attention captured by the pages as he turned them one by one. ”I expected you to linger at least a few centuries, which I don’t mind. After all, time is the one thing I possess in abundance. I won’t do this again for you.”

”Got some place to be.” Rex sat down on the chair across from the Warden again. ”And I know that this is a one-time thing. I know that it’s a good opportunity to stay in your realm for a bit longer, but I don’t have time.”

”Are you going to tell me where your next expedition will be?”

”Why not? I’m pretty sure you’ll forget about it as soon as we leave.”

Slowly, the Warden closed the book and lifted his eyes to look at Rex properly, and then squinted.

”Are you calling me old again?”

”Aren’t you—old?”

”Yes, I am older than time, but that’s beside the point, you brat. Don’t call me old again.”

”Even someone who was older than time is offended by being called old; I never expected that.”

”Just leave if you don’t want to tell me anything.”

”I’m going to the Great Pale Court. I don’t know if you’re aware of that rea—”

”It’s the Goddess of the Greater Moon’s realm—Do not insult my knowledge. I know about that place.” The Warden leaned back in his chair, and then crossed his legs. ”And why would you want to go to the realm of a fallen Goddess?”

”What’s wrong with going to the realm of a fallen Goddess?” Rex asked back.

”Because her realm is unstable. After being overthrown by her own children, most of her divine sources are taken away or simply destroyed, so the realm has no foundation to exist. It would degrade, and then be expelled from the God Realm.”

”Wait... You knew that much about the Goddess of the Greater Realm?”

”Who do you think I am? I am a Warden of Time. I know almost any God in existence.”

Rex’s heart thumped inside his chest.

Even though he knew the Warden was someone incredibly powerful and had lived from before time, he thought the God Realm was still vast beyond comprehension. No matter how old—there would always be Gods and Goddesses whose names had never reached his ears.

One being the Goddess of the Greater Moon, who had been defeated by the Lunirich Gods.

But he was wrong.

As the Warden said, Rex underestimated someone who had lived as long as he did.

”Can you... elaborate about that?”

”You came here asking for a favour; now you’re asking me for information? Have your shamelessness known no bounds?”

”For someone who loves reading books and is isolated, I’m sure you would like teaching an ignorant person like me.”

”... Fair enough.”

Despite his initial reluctance, the Warden decided to explain to Rex what he was saying about the Goddess of the Greater Moon—and her condition. Since Rex was going there, he needed to know about this or else he’d be in trouble.

A realm without divine sources didn’t necessarily mean it would be unstable.

For one, Rex could attest to that as the Silverstar Genesis was still new and growing, and it didn’t have even one divine source. At least not yet. But regardless, it remained compact, strong—and stable. Even Nivellen had remarked on its sturdiness when she first entered his realm.

If she saw no flaw, then lacking a divine source was no cause for concern.

However, it was different for a main realm of a God.

The God Realm was an ever-expanding higher plane, vast enough to contain the realms of every single God that existed. It produced divinity points in such abundance that it transcended the normal condition of dimensions and lesser realms, turning it into a Sovereign Realm.

Every single realm where a God lived was within the God Realm.

Cluster Gamma that High Lord Rashal possessed was a collection of realms.

But those realms are lesser realms.

In comparison, the God Realm consists of clusters of Sovereign Realms.

Just simply transcending the barrier and entering the God Realm would flood a new realm with immortal energy, which would cultivate it into a Sovereign Realm. And that meant a rise in production of divinity points, which led to the inhabitants growing stronger, which in turn would make the realm—even more prosperous and formidable.

And it was at this stage that a Sovereign Realm would ramp up its number of divine sources.

With an abundance of divinity points—the cost of maintaining the Sovereign Realm’s place within the God Realm was easily covered, and the surplus could then be reinvested to empower the God who ruled it, or to forge stronger inhabitants to defend and elevate the realm further.

Both the Warden of Time and the Cluster Custodian fell to the strong inhabitants.

In a case where the Sovereign Realm no longer produced enough divinity points to stay within the God Realm, a process called Realm Degradation would commence. It was a process of being expelled from the God Realm.

And this process was brutal.

Transcending to the God Realm is a glorious process, which would elevate a realm to a higher degree.

And being expelled from the God Realm is equally glorious.

Just that it was glorious in a bad way.

Not only would the expelled Sovereign Realm lose its original power and progress—but it would also be torn apart, shredded into fragments. Recovery from a Realm Degradation was a nightmare of impossible difficulty, demanding resources few could ever muster.

It was because the Sovereign Realm would be inflicted with a divine curse.

A divine curse called the Execra Poena.

It would prevent the realm from transcending again and devastate everything inside.

Only by getting rid of it with a ridiculous amount of divinity points could the realm be restored.

”You must understand... Her defeat happened a long time ago. Perhaps hundreds or even thousands of times your age ago. Yes, she was a prominent Goddess before what happened, so her Sovereign Realm clung to the God Realm harder,” the Warden leaned forward and placed both elbows on the table, ”but by now, it would be in the later stage of Realm Degradation. I don’t think I need to elaborate why being there is dangerous.”

Of course, Rex understood what that meant.

If even the Sovereign Realm would be shredded into pieces, then he would also suffer the same fate.

No doubt about it.

”Even though that was the case—finding her should be easier since her realm is probably in shambles, right?” Rex asked. It was a genuine question. ”I mean, there won’t be any traps or defensive mechanisms like this realm. And she wouldn’t be able to hide either.”

”Selective hearing, as I expected.” The Warden shook his head. ”Brats like you are really predictable.”

”Predictable or not, am I right?”

”Yes, but the God Realm’s influence would still be the death of you. One wrong move and there won’t be even a trace of you left. You’ll be shredded and erased to complete oblivion. Your flesh, mind—and soul... All gone.”

”Can’t you check how much time it would take for her Sovereign Realm to crumble?”

”Another favour?”

”Come on, don’t be stingy. If you’re going to help, then help all the way.”

”Sigh... No, I can’t. I have my limits. If it’s going against the God Realm itself—then I can’t. The God Realm itself is way above any God. The more Gods that exist, the stronger it becomes. It simply cannot be tampered with or destroyed. A balancing power.”

Rex’s eyes trailed away, contemplating whether he should go through with this.

But deciding what to do next is not hard at all.

Even though entering the Great Pale Court would be extremely risky, the choice otherwise would most certainly kill him. Battling against the enemies in the Purgation Duel without the Goddess of the Greater Moon’s help would be impossible.

So, he has no other choice but to take the risk and move forward.

Death and failure didn’t scare him.

”I appreciate all your help.” Rex stood up and nodded firmly, branding the Warden’s face into his mind so that he could repay this favour in the future. ”You helped me a lot, including in my training. I won’t forget about this.”

”If you have already come to a decision—then I won’t stop you.” The Warden shrugged and leaned back on his chair again. ”May luck be with you.”

Rex turned around, but then stopped midway.

”I never asked you this—” He said, turning to look at the Warden again. ”What are you doing here?”

”My duty is to watch any anomaly in time, so I stayed in this obelisk without—” The Warden paused for a good second, studying Rex’s face while squinting his eyes. And when he saw a small smile on Rex’s face, he sighed. ”Just tell me what you want again.”

”Erm...” Rex gestured towards Davina. ”She’s suffering from Time Bleed, and the only person wh—”

”Done. I cured her. Now leave. I don’t want you asking for more favours.”

”Right, right. Thanks, old man.”

Rex bolted for the staircase without a thought. He swept Davina and Lilliana up—one arm around each waist, hauling them onto his shoulders—and sprinted back down the spiraling steps just as a glowing lance screamed past his head and buried itself in the far wall.

”Calling me an old man again?! Get back here, you ungrateful brat!”