Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 236: A Phoenix Playing with Flames

As Absence took the place of countless Celestials, the Convergence went on without a single hitch.

Apart from the many questioning Ash or simply being difficult, he found himself enjoying the event and feeling inspired to learn some of these unique talents.

“Hmm, learning to paint wouldn’t be bad at all. Maybe I could win a few hearts with those skills,” he said to Elysia with a smirk.

“If it’s not power, then it’s women!” she replied, shaking her small head while nibbling on fruit.

Ash chuckled at her words, but then Aurelia’s zafu rose. Glancing beside him, he saw her already watching with a mischievous smile.

“Let’s see who wins this little teasing game~,” she said as she was carried to the center of the stage. The moment she arrived, all the lights dimmed, and then she began.

She didn’t move from her Zafu or summon anything; no, she simply spoke.

It was a poem, drawn from the purest essence of her rebirth flames, woven with her power over fate and the gaze of her phoenix eyes.

As her first words flowed, her voice was like velvet fire, each syllable sparking golden script that shimmered and danced in the air for all to see.

“In the weave of fate, where threads branch infinitely and bright,

I see could-be’s like stars in endless nights.

Worlds where I burn alone, reborn in ash and glory.”

As she spoke, the script danced more vividly until it shaped into a vision—Aurelia and Ash living a life full of wonders.

They wandered through endless realms, stood atop mountains whose peaks kissed the stars, and shared quiet, intimate evenings where galaxies seemed to spin slower just for them.

It was quite the spectacle.

“Cycles unbroken, my story stands alone.

I could be a queen of flames, unchained and forever free.

I could be a wanderer, lost in endless possibility.

I could be the end of endings, the fire that never fades. Yet my path converges where the fateless one waits—

he who holds no thread, no chain of what must be,

the paradox who walks untethered, wild, and free.

Through visions of tomorrow, in rebirth’s golden pyre,

all possibilities collapse into a single fire.

For he who has no fate is the only end I see—

the could-be that becomes, the only truth for me.”

And as her poem ended… so did the vision peak in utter magnificence…

Ash and Aurelia stood in the midst of a universe made entirely of flames, just before transforming into two galaxy-sized phoenixes.

They merged, joining in the sacred union of the phoenix—a ritual of marriage in the phoenix tradition—in a breathtaking, cataclysmic fusion.

Flames intertwined to form a massive heart of eternal fire, pulsing across the boundless expanse.

Their shapes blended until only one radiant being remained, wings unfurled wide enough to eclipse galaxies, eyes dual colors rimmed with shared flame.

In that merged form, Aurelia’s voice resonated through the hall—not spoken aloud, but inscribed in blazing script across the emptiness:

“He has no fate, and yet, he is forever my destiny.”

The heart burst in a quiet, stunning rebirth—flames scattering into countless sparks that came together again as twin phoenixes, bound forever in an endless cycle.

Gasps swept through the pavilion—millions catching their breath, prodigies leaning in wide-eyed, auras flaring instinctively as the words lingered in the air like an unshakable truth.

Even Kha’Zul was a bit unsettled by this, though his plans went far beyond such a union.

Still, Aurelia’s zafu drifted back, her mischievous smile stretching wider than ever, flames flickering triumphantly around her as eyes across the hall lingered in a ripple of stunned silence.

Ash watched it all unfold, wearing a smile unlike any other.

It wasn’t that he was touched by the scene—no, he understood exactly what Aurelia was up to.

The Phoenix Union was no mystery to him; the instant it appeared in the vision, all the knowledge of the ritual from the lower dimension surged to the forefront of his mind.

As Aurelia returned to his side, she ignored both Cleo and Elara, winking at Ash as she spoke.

“Well, I didn’t exactly mean to throw you into the fire like that…”

“But I am a Phoenix, after all~” she added, stoking the chaos further with a playful kiss blown his way.

Ash’s eyes glimmered—not with savagery or malice, but with pure desire. The woman before him was the very embodiment of unruliness and mischief.

Yet, such a thing stirred him, a being with boundless desire. As he heard this, he simply smiled.

“Touche~” was all he needed to say.

The game was on, and the phoenix would soon learn that not all flames could be endured.

—–

“BLASPHEMY!” the Dragon representative roared, rising from his throne.

He had remained silent before, knowing Seraphiel was like a ticking time bomb when it came to Dragons. But now, standing in for their Progenitor, how could he let this continue?

“That boy’s charm is too strong,” Archie muttered, shaking his head.

“…You have no idea, Arch,” Layla replied with resignation. She still hadn’t recovered from the time at the Auction, and the more she saw the guy, the worse it became.

If she hadn’t held such power, she probably would’ve fallen for the guy’s charm.

Archie raised an eyebrow at her remark.

’She’s been different ever since the week of that auction…’ he thought, hearing the sudden roar of flames.

FWOOOM!

In an instant, the dragon representative was reduced to nothing but ashes, only to reform and carry on as if nothing had happened. Even though he had backed down, there was no way he’d let such behavior slide.

As he sat on his throne, a hissing voice slithered into his mind.

’Heh, that damned bird thinks she’s so tough. Just wait—soon enough, you can have those phoenixes and the boy, as long as you….’

And so, it began—plots within plots, schemes within schemes.

All the while, Seraphiel watched Ash and Aurelia in shock. She knew her daughter well, yet in this moment she couldn’t believe she would deliberately stir up such a hellish mess.

“Dammit, Aury… it’s not time yet!” she thought, gripping the edges of her throne.

Meanwhile, back down in the Harmonious Revelation, Ash had taken center stage.

[A/N: Alright, I won’t drag this event out endlessly—that’s just not my style! So, after Ash’s presentation, expect a brief time skip.]