The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1777: As One

The ground seemed to vanish beneath him for a fleeting instant.

Rex struggled to maintain his footing and keep his cool—but he had wagered so much and made so many promises, only to stumble at the final threshold. A clean, decisive defeat might have been something he could endure. But to fail when he was mere steps away from her salvation? That was a reality Rex refused to stomach.

He simply could not accept it.

However, reality cannot be rewritten or ignored at will.

That agonizing truth was made painfully clear by the dust swirling before his eyes.

Although his physical form, mind, and soul were currently shattered from the ordeal of securing the final ingredient for the remedy, no wound felt as draining as this single moment. The Divine Chalice clutched in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds now, causing his arm to shake as he held it aloft.

Despite the eerie silence of the Banished Realm, the frantic thumping of his heart echoed in his ears like a hammer.

In this second, the world felt simultaneously empty and overwhelming.

It was as if a tidal wave of emotions was crashing into him, yet his mind and senses were too paralyzed to process the impact.

Unbidden, a single tear traced a path down his cheek and fell from his chin.

He was certain that this collapse would signal the start of the end for both him and his companions.

Given how mercilessly the world had treated him, there seemed to be no way to halt the coming ruin.

It appeared this was the end of his journey.

But for once in this desolate and dark existence, a sliver of light pierced through the abyss to reach him.

<Notice: an entity has entered the Banished Realm.>

<The Dame of Snow takes pity on the user.>

Two system notifications materialized before his eyes, jolting him out of his catatonic state.

Rex wiped the moisture away with the back of his hand and stared at the messages again—clinging to them as if they were his final lifeline. His pulse quickened—the impending "beginning of the end" loomed, yet what he saw was the exact opposite of his grim expectations.

"The Dame of Snow...?"

It felt like a repeat of past events.

Previously, another entity had rendered him unconscious and seized control of his body to crush his foe.

And now, this being had shown him compassion, touching him with a ray of hope.

Swish...

Rex glanced toward the void above and witnessed a thick ribbon of ice-blue energy spiraling down like a serpent, an answered prayer in motion. It was vibrant and stunning. He had never beheld anything so simple yet so capable of stealing his breath away.

The energy swept past him and began to circle the pile of ash, meticulously collecting every single speck.

Even the grains that had begun to drift away were pulled back into the center.

Before Rex could wrap his head around what was happening, Nivellen’s head began to take shape once more from the remains.

Surreal was the only word capable of describing the spectacle.

Following this miraculous event, the System began to recalibrate the failed objective.

<Sudden Quest: Heal the Countess of the Dark Lunirich from her Chaos Corruption has resumed!>

<Notice: the Countess of the Banished Dark Moon is vanishing!>

<She will die in ten seconds.>

Finally, a stroke of luck occurred without him having to pay for it in blood and sweat.

Rex’s shoulders shook with emotion, but his survival instincts took command immediately.

Tilting the vessel, he poured the remedy into her mouth—draining every last drop of the liquid.

For one heartbeat—no change occurred.

Then, a soft yet powerful radiance ignited within her core.

It expanded and spilled outward, a light from beyond this world that flared from her center, burning through her skull until every opening in her face—eyes, mouth, and nostrils—glowed with a brilliant luminescence that felt searing yet strangely comforting.

Then came the fire.

Swoosh—!

A magnificent, rushing pillar of flame roared upward, swirling with elegance rather than destruction.

Rex watched as it spiraled grandly into the sky, condensing into a massive orb of intense heat—a flaming egg of rebirth. Everything—Nivellen’s essence, her divine energy, and the tainted chaos energy—was sealed within that shell.

Slowly, a fracture appeared on the surface.

From the crack spilled a deeper, more ancient fire that began to manifest a shape.

First came a head—adorned with flowing locks of living fire—then the line of the shoulders, the curve of the waist, and the length of the legs—a Goddess, fashioned from light and heat. The very person Rex thought he had lost moments prior.

But she was not yet whole.

Dark purple, invasive fractures spider-webbed across her body, making her look like glass pushed to its breaking point.

She was seconds away from crumbling.

However, the very fires that had birthed her began to stitch her back together.

They washed over the damage, sealing every crack with golden seams, restoring her until she was flawless. She was returned to the perfection she possessed before the corruption took hold. It was a form Rex found just as graceful and dominant as the day they first met.

Once the repairs were finished, the Goddess pulled her knees to her chest.

She curled into a silent, floating embrace.

Then—a sudden outburst of light and flame.

Splash—!

A massive, silent wave of fire and raw chaos energy surged outward before dissolving into nothing—vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. All that was left was the veiled silhouette of the Goddess, floating in the quiet of the Banished Realm, fully restored.

She had returned to her former glory.

<Sudden Quest completed!>

<Obtained: 5x Instant Level Tickets, 30 Divine Upgrades, 50 million gold, and 1x Banished Dark Moon Ability Amalgamation.>

As the notifications confirmed the quest's success, Rex’s head slumped forward.

He stared into the shallow water at his feet and released a trembling breath.

It had been so close, terrifyingly close.

Rex had nearly failed. In truth, he had already failed, only to be granted a second chance by the Dame of Snow.

At this moment, he was completely overwhelmed by the impossibility of the situation.

Meanwhile, still drifting in the air, Nivellen blinked and scanned the realm—as if seeing it for the very first time. She lifted her hands, inspecting them as though they were foreign objects. "How am I still here...? Am I alive?"

"No, more importantly," She shook her head, looking through her own skin. "I can no longer feel the corruption..."

As that realization hit, her breath hitched in her throat.

Nivellen looked down toward the ground and, as expected, found the man who occupied her thoughts.

Disbelief didn't even begin to describe her current state of mind.

Though she had feigned trust in Rex’s promise out of respect for his resolve, she had never truly believed he could succeed. It simply shouldn't have been possible.

Chaos Corruption was a blight that even the gods struggled to manage.

Anything involving the Chaos Realm is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Frankly, mortals shouldn't even understand how to begin dealing with Chaos or its derivatives.

A mortal being cured of Chaos is already an impossible feat, but this was Chaos Corruption—affecting a Goddess. Rex should have had zero chance of success, which was why she had already reconciled with her own demise.

It wouldn't have been much, given Rex had declined her source.

But it would have at least been enough for him to keep his Banished Dark Moon King Mark.

To her total shock, that sacrifice was unnecessary.

Nivellen stared, her breathing shallow.

Tears, shimmering like moonlight on water, began to fall down her face.

"He did it," she murmured, her voice thin with awe. "He actually did it. He fulfilled his promise."

Filled with pride and joy, Nivellen drifted down toward him.

She hovered over him, her tears flowing without end—not out of grief, but from a relief so intense it felt like a new beginning. She was grateful that Rex wouldn't have to endure the agony of another loss, for he had already suffered far too much.

Gently, she reached out.

Her hands, cool and shaking, cradled his face as she tilted his head up to meet her eyes.

"You did it..." she whispered.

Rex pulled back from her touch and averted his gaze. "Yes, I did it."

"Hmm...? Then why do you look so unhappy?" Nivellen’s eyes widened as a dark thought occurred to her, and her throat tightened. He might not be grieving for her, but perhaps he was grieving for someone else. "Who? Who did you have to sacrifice?"

Even though she was proud of his impossible achievement, she didn't want it to come at such a price.

If Rex had been forced to choose between her and another, she would have preferred he let her go.

She never wanted to be the catalyst for even one more of his sorrows.

"No, it isn't that..." Rex muttered, his head still bowed. "No one was sacrificed. At least none that I know of."

"Then why...?" Nivellen asked softly, urging him to open up.

She wanted him to share his burden.

Anything at all.

Rex didn't respond at first.

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

He did the same with his other fist. Then again and again.

Each strike against the shallow water grew more violent—as if he were discharging his internal fury into the ripples. Nivellen was caught off guard. She didn't fully grasp what had happened, but she could see that Rex needed comfort more than anything else right now.

Before he could strike again, Nivellen gently caught his fist and knelt in front of him.

She leaned in, forcing Rex to look into her eyes.

No dark veil hid her features now; she had cast it aside, allowing her face to be seen clearly.

"Talk to me, Rex. Please..."

"I... I nearly failed. I almost failed to save you."

Upon hearing his voice—softer than she had ever heard it—Nivellen’s eyes went wide.

She hadn't known what to expect, since no one important had been traded for her life.

But she never imagined he was in this state because of how close he came to failure.

"The cure was in my hand, but you... the last of you turned to ash. I was a few seconds too slow. If the Dame of Snow hadn't stepped in, I would have been too late. I would have lost you forever."

"Oh, my dear..."

Nivellen pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him so close there was no air between them—as if she could draw his pain into herself and free him from his grief. "It doesn't matter that you almost failed," she whispered into his hair, her voice gentle but firm. "Even if you had been too late, the fact that you tried, that you gave everything, would have been enough for me. You have done more than enough."

She felt him shiver, a silent tremor passing through his body.

Rex didn't weep.

He didn't make a sound.

But that single shiver conveyed everything he was feeling.

Gently, she stroked the back of his head.

"And I am still here, am I not? That is because of you," her thumb brushed against his temple. "That is because of you, Rex... because of you."

For a long moment, they stayed joined together—entwined amidst the gloom of the realm, two figures held close in a way that made the surrounding void feel smaller. In that hug—they weren't just the healed and the healer, or the saved and the savior, but simply two souls who had prevented each other from breaking further.

It was a fragile, deep serenity.

One that, for the first time, made every scar that led them here seem like a price worth paying.

Nivellen rested her cheek against Rex’s hair, breathing in his scent, which brought her a sense of peace.

Then, she tilted her head back slightly, looking toward the heavens.

Beyond the desolation of the Banished Realm, past the frozen, colorless clouds, her eyes caught a glimmer of snow-blue above. It looked like a figure watching them from the mist. A figure Nivellen recognized.

A smile touched her lips at the sight.

"Thank you."

Nivellen spoke the words without a sound, profoundly grateful that this being had descended to this realm to aid Rex.

Whether it was pity or something else, she was thankful for the help.