Novel Full Chapter 1381 Chains of Failure
Rex was going as fast as he could to complete the Sudden Quest to heal Nivellen.
It was by far one of the hardest Sudden Quest he had done.
He needed to find three ultra-rare ingredients—as well as gather divine energy to create the cure for Nivellen’s condition—to create the Celestial Purified Fire and Water. Out of the three ingredients that needed to be gathered, two of them were found through luck.
Now, Lady Luck had run out of power and he needed to get the third one himself.
One last ingredient before he completed the quest—a Phoenix Feather.
Frankly speaking, there’s a genuine possibility that a phoenix might emerge in this world now overrun—by Order Beasts. After all, even Dravitar, a massive mile-long dragon—has surfaced seemingly out of nowhere.
So the appearance of a phoenix isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
But waiting was no longer an option from the very start.
“I… I don’t think I’m going to make it”
Rex’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
Compared to Nivellen’s voice back in the Lunirich Gods’ realm, she was now very weak.
Almost as if she was going to disappear at any moment.
His heart was drowned in guilt as he was the one who would be responsible for her death.
It was his actions that caused her to become corrupted by pure chaos energy.
Recalling the times Nivellen helped him avoid death and even swore to him that she would be by his side always, Rex could not simply let her pass away. Shaking his head—he gripped her shoulder tighter, “No, don’t say something like that—you’re a Goddess, you will not die”
“I’m sorry,” Nivellen muttered whisperingly. “I know what I promised but this is beyond me”
Giving no chance for Rex to refute, Nivellen reached her hand into her chest.
Her hand seeped into her body, and came out with a raven-black mask with gassy baby-blue ornaments. It radiated with divine energy originating from a dark pendant at the center of the mask, seemingly pulsing with boundless power.
“If I die without my divine energy, I will perish completely,” Nivellen said, shoving the mask to Rex. “meaning, you will lose your King Mark. But with this… this mask, has a portion of what I am, a fragment of myself—you will not lose your King Mark, and you’ll even be stronger, your divinity will increase by wearing it”
“Take it and achieve what you wanted to achieve” She added. “I adore you…”
Even though her face was still shrouded in darkness, Rex could feel her warm smile behind it.
Giving this mask was basically Nivellen giving him everything she had.
Rex’s expression darkened upon being confronted by this situation.
<Notice: It’s advised to take the Banished Dark Moon Lunirich Goddess’ fragment>
What would happen to her if I took her fragment?
<She will perish since her remaining divine energy was fused into the mask>
Upon reading this notification, Rex gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly.
“No, I will cure you before you could die,” He determined. “Keep it so you can live longer”
Seeing this, Nivellen reached out her hand desperately.
She was aware there was a hidden power inside of Rex but she has her own doubts.
In rare cases, some moments couldn’t be changed.
And this is one of those moments.
“Don’t be stubborn…” She breathed heavily—still holding the mask. “Take it from me! If I die… b- before you can find the cure… you’ll not get this, the realm… will shatter. Take it now while you still can, while I’m still… alive… So that you can keep protecting them”
Even when he was provided with reason, Rex kept his back turned.
From the way his shoulders were moving up and down, he was in emotional distress. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire
His mind was swirling with the problems he had at hand.
Rex held his face, as the gears inside his mind were turning—he wanted to see if he was only being unreasonable and could not accept the fact or if there was really any chance for him to save Nivellen from her situation.
System, scan her, and calculate how much time I have left.
<Affirmative.>
<Calculating…>
<…>
<Completed!>
<At most eight days, the pure chaos energy is eating Nivellen’s essence rapidly>
A week… A week… I can make do with that, there’s still hope even if the chances are slim.
Forty days, no… twenty days. I could get to the Spirit Emperor in twenty days.
Since time flowed a tenth slower in the Spirit Realm compared to the real world—Rex could finish his business here in the next five days—and spare the last three days for getting into the Spirit Realm and striking a deal with the Spirit Emperor.
It was still possible, he could still save Nivellen.
<But be warned, it could change at any moment. Her death could come faster or longer>
Four days then, I’ll finish my business in four days and spare the rest just in case.
Having his hope rekindled, Rex clenched both of his fists.
“You will be okay!” Rex shouted with determination, surprising Nivellen who was still lying on the shallow water behind. “You will be okay! I will get the cure in time!” He shouted again but it was more of him convincing himself rather than assuring Nivellen.
In order to achieve something, one needs to believe it with all their beings.
Rex managed to avenge his parents because of that and it would be the same with this.
He needed to convince himself that it could be done no matter how hard it would be.
Failure was not an option.
Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at Nivellen, his eyes bulging with determination.
“You will be okay, I will make sure of it so keep that mask,” He said sternly. “Stay alive. Even if I have to overturn the entire Spirit Realm or make a deal with the Devil himself, I will save you. Believe in me”
As he said that, his body began to dissolve bit by bit.
Upon seeing him leaving, Nivellen forcibly pushed herself to stand.
“No, please…” She muttered weakly, reaching out her hand. “I don’t need saving…”
She dragged herself forward, each faltering step a battle against the weight of her own body—not wanting Rex to go through with this. Her legs trembled beneath her, shouting in protest as though iron chains bound them.
In this realm, she was less than a Goddess, the mortal struggles are now gripping her.
“Rex… take the mast from me, please!” She stumbled.
Nivellen collapsed to her knees with a strangled gasp but she was still determined.
Seeing her being this desperate, Rex’s expression tightened like iron, he wouldn’t budge from his decision no matter what, “It’s enough, Nivellen,” Rex said her name, for the first time. “You don’t always need to be the one protecting, and sacrificing yourself. I know that saving me all those times is taxing on you…”
Even though Nivellen never said it directly, Rex knew that she was paying the price.
Maybe now—the effect became evident from confronting the Chaos Realm.
But one way or another, she would be weakened.
Upon her freedom from the Lunirich Edict, her divine energy was exhausted.
She was recovering her divinity within the Banished Realm, it was her safe haven.
Of course, Rex was helping but his help was still not enough compared to the expenditure.
Every single time she saved him—or even gave him more power than normal, that burns her divine energy. Her divine energy ebbed like a crescent moon disappearing behind darkened clouds until eventually, she disappeared.
“You’ve suffered in this realm for your avatar, for trying to save your avatar,” Rex mused with conviction, looking at the struggling Nivellen with cold eyes. “This time, I am going to be the one saving you. You’ve redeemed yourself as a Goddess already”
Swish!
Splash!
Rex disappeared the moment Nivellen was about to reach him.
She tried to hold him but he disappeared, causing her to hold nothing but air.
Nivellen falls to the ground, splashing the shallow water, the divine mask is tossed out of her hand, landing a meter away. It slowly returns to its original form, dissipating from the top—as she clutched her fists weakly, “It’s not that I want to redeem myself,”
“I’m more afraid of you not being able to handle failing…” She whispered lightly.
Meanwhile, Rex felt the world a kaleidoscope of black and white as he exited the realm.
Upon checking on the Countess, he exited the Banished Realm.
Once he opened his eyes, he was back in the throne room.
…
<Penalty Quest>
Objective: Avert the loss of power!
Description: the user faces the dire threat of losing all progress toward Invincibility—a failure that cannot be permitted. Losing advancements—in either the Awakened—and Supernatural side is unacceptable! Prevent the loss of power, or risk being eliminated from the race to the peak of Invincibility!
…
As if his situation wasn’t bad enough, the System added that burden with a Penalty Quest.
Being deterred from the path of Invincibility, he was now punished for it.
He couldn’t blame anyone but himself, it was caused by a rash decision at the moment.
Rex reached towards his chest.
Underneath, he could feel his heartbeat rapidly pounding inside like a war drum, the situation had turned for the worse, “It feels annoyingly familiar,” He muttered, with a small smile curling on his lips. “Do or die… it feels the same to back during the Ghoul Den’s mission”
It’s been quite some time since he realized that there was no rest for him in this world.
But today the pressure bearing on him has reached the breaking point.
Despite the throne room being empty—and spacious, he felt like the walls were closing down on him. He felt cramped, and it was suffocating. Just last night, he was threatened to lose his Awakened power with Devo being captured and extracted from him.
Failing to save Devo would result in him losing all his progress.
Now, Nivellen was on her deathbed.
He would lose his Banished Dark Moon King Mark if she actually died.
Maybe he would still be quite strong with two King Marks but he couldn’t afford it.
Not because he wasn’t ready for a setback but because of the situation.
Once that happened, he would have no chance—if Void was ever attacking the city, with his tenth-rank realm power. Now that the Angels made contact with his forces by attacking and humiliating Naela, their confrontation was inevitable.
Nivellen understands this.
She probably had already probed his memories and knew his true feelings.
Because of that—she was giving him a way out by offering him that divine mask.
Had he accepted that fragment of hers, he would’ve retained his King Mark and even had his own divinity increased, as he essentially devoured her. Even if he lost his Awakened power, it wouldn’t mean no fighting chance with the mask in his possession.
Just from that alone, it was clear that Nivellen had already prepared for him.
Prepared for him to visit her one last time before dying.
In that moment earlier, Nivellen was ready to die.
However, Rex couldn’t accept that—not with what Nivellen had done for him.
“But if I really fail this…” Rex gripped the handrests of his throne. “Everything will perish”
Rex was the backbone of his empire, there would be no empire without him.
As he thought of that, the others’ faces flashed across his mind, all of them would certainly perish alongside him. His expression instantly turned stern, as he stood up from his throne, and coursed through the hallway.
He went over to Evelyn inside her bed-chamber, waiting for him to finish contemplating.
Even though he felt like refusing Nivellen was the right thing to do the weight of the decision was not his alone to carry. Stepping inside the bed chamber, his eyes fell—on Evelyn, seated quietly on the edge of the bed.
Once their gazes met, her expression shifted.
She didn’t need words to know something was amiss.
Despite not wanting to admit it, she had never seen the expression Rex was wearing now.
“Is everything okay…?” She concernedly asked.