Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 281: The Dimensional Gate (2)

At the sound of his words, a man appeared—though he was light-years away. Yet to Ash, it felt as if they were standing face to face.

The man was Vane, with short gray hair and eyes like literal crystals, standing right in front of Universe One.

Ash’s Eyes of First Dawn had evolved alongside him, which was why he moved with such meticulous intent now.

Vane’s arrival didn’t catch him off guard; Ash had sensed the man the moment he stepped back into the multiverse after his seclusion.

And Vane had sensed him as well.

“So, you’re the little brother,” Vane muttered, his voice carrying almost no emotion.

Ash smiled knowingly. “Ah, yes, that would indeed be me.” He paused, then added, “How’s my dear brother, anyway?”

Snap.

Vane snapped his fingers, and the space beside him warped as Archie—better known as the Eternal Deceiver—appeared.

His condition was abysmal.

His silver hair hung frozen in place, his body locked mid‑motion. His eyes were wide, his mouth parted as if the last thing he saw had been pure horror.

Which, of course, was accurate.

“Tsk, tsk. Schemes always crumble in the face of real power,” Ash said clicking his tongue, not giving two shits about Archie, Aster, the Eternal Deceiver, or whatever name he preferred.

As far as Ash was concerned, the man should’ve been dead already.

The only reason he’d lasted this long was because Ash was certain Kale would’ve led him straight to his death—just as he had with Ash’s father and second brother. Back then, Ash had no idea the guy was a clone of the embodiment of falsity.

However, it mattered little; in Ash’s eyes, they were one and the same.

And since his brother loved scheming so much… why not let his own foolish plots be the cause of his end?

Call it petty revenge or whatever else, but even after nearly 70,000 years, Ash still felt a certain way about how Aster had treated him.

“Let me guess—you want revenge,” Vane said. He was far too old, had seen far too much, not to recognize how this would unfold.

“Pfft!” Elysia burst into laughter at Vane’s detached nonsense.

“Slow your roll, big guy, before you roll into the abyss!” Creara added, laughing just as hard.

Ash only shook his head at their antics. He could tell Vane wasn’t bothered in the slightest; the man merely raised a brow.

’Are all beings above Cosmic Overlord so… dull?’ Ash wondered as he pulled up his status again.

—-

[Vane Cyclebreaker

Age – 70 Cosmic Cycles

Rank – Transcendent

Race – Chronovae (Chronovae Bloodline of Eternal Recurrence (Transcendent))

Talents – (View?)

Trans-Concepts – Recurrence 20%

Remarks – Escaped from his Lower Dimension, due to a bounty and its impending collapse. He has been present inside of this Lower Dimension since the 21st Cycle.]

—

“Actually, you can just toss that guy onto that world,” Ash said, gesturing casually toward Earth.

Vane, however, didn’t move. Instead, he shook his head.

“You do understand what you’ve done, correct?”

Ash tilted his head, genuinely confused about what the man was getting at. Seeing that confusion, Vane continued.

“That Void Zone… it was the best thing this Lower Dimension could’ve asked for. It prevents passage between Dimensions. However, now that the gate is active again, more of us will start showing up.”

By ’us’, he meant those who had transcended the framework of the multiverse—and even beings from other Lower Dimensions. Not that it happened often; Higher Beings had no reason to descend into a Lower Dimension.

But the others… they would indeed invade.

“So what? It’s not like that’s anything new,” Ash said, still not seeing the issue. He already knew the old saying.

’Beyond the sky there’s always another sky… or some Xianxia shit,’ he thought, right before Vane’s dull voice cut in again.

“You really don’t understand, do you?” Vane asked, sighing as a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

He couldn’t entirely blame Ash—there was no way he could’ve known without outside help. And while Ash technically had that ’help’ through the Mark of the Weaver, something he hadn’t bothered using it yet.

Though that would change soon, thanks to Vane’s next words.

“We cultivators are part of a much bigger organism than you realize…” Vane shook his head, as if speaking to a child. The gesture irritated Ash, though he kept his focus on the man’s monotone delivery.

“I suggest you find the Mark of the Weaver. Every dimension holds ten of them. I’m not sure if any still exist here… but it will do you good.”

With that, he vanished—though not before flinging Archie light‑years across the void, sending him crashing onto Earth.

As he traveled, Ash effortlessly reversed Archie’s condition and adjusted his memories so he believed he had stumbled upon Earth on his own. Simple tricks for someone at his level—Three‑Dimensional beings were like open canvases to him.

“I really wanted a fight,” Ash said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. Still, he couldn’t complain too much; Vane had given him some interesting information.

“So, I’m guessing the next stop is the Mark of the Weaver?” Creara asked, popping another grape into her mouth.

“Not yet. I’ll keep my word to Aurora first,” Ash replied as he slipped back into his own Lower Dimension.

He would continue experimenting with the power of Quantum until Aurora finished. Everything aligned perfectly with his wives as well.

—-

Vane reappeared in his solitary chamber, as plain and unadorned as ever.

But now, he looked nothing like the aloof cultivator or the mighty figure who had casually hurled Archie across light‑years.

Sweat poured down his body as if someone had dumped a bucket of water over him.

“What the hell is a Trans‑Conceptual existence doing in a damn Lower Dimension?!” His once‑flat tone was gone, replaced by a voice trembling with raw fear.

He had kept a strong front earlier, but the truth was simple: the moment Ash called out to him, terror had gripped him. It explained why he’d kept his distance. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe until the panic dulled.

When he opened them again, he felt marginally steadier.

“Should I flee?”