Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 267: Dawn of Revealed Truths, The Snared Deception

Back in Universe 28, in a quiet sector that had barely changed since the war’s end, the Venia Galaxy still shimmered with its ancient, subdued elegance.

At the heart of it lay the Vossmere Consortium’s private realm—a pocket dimension folded away from prying eyes, accessible only to those who carried the right mark or blood.

Lady Truth… well currently Layla—sat on the edge of a low obsidian bench overlooking a garden of silver-white lilies that never fully bloomed.

The flowers hovered just above the dark water of a still pond, petals trembling as though listening.

The sky above was a gentle, endless dusk—violet and indigo merging together, with stars too faint to name. The realm held the kind of beauty abandoned places have: graceful, untouched, quietly sorrowful.

Elara sat next to her, still clueless about the truth of her grandparents’ identities or the fate of her parents. Although Lady Truth remained in her true form, Layla couldn’t perceive it simply because Lady Truth willed it. Layla stared at the pond for a long moment before finally speaking.

“I’ve never told you the truth of who I am or Archie,” she said quietly. “Not the whole truth at least.”

Elara’s eyes moved to meet Layla’s as she continued.

“I wasn’t born in the usual way,” Layla went on.

“I came into existence in the 9th Cycle—before the multiverse of that age took shape, before the first stars remembered how to burn. I wasn’t a Progenitor; no, I was the very Concept of Truth—pure, formless, and nameless, simply watching as everything unfolded. Eons drifted by, cycles turned, and eventually I grew weary of being just an idea. So I fashioned a body. This body.”

As she spoke, his form shifted in Elara’s perception. The familiar beauty of Layla’s dark hair and eyes vanished, replaced by Lady Truth’s true visage—flowing silver and purple hair, flawless skin, and an aura of pure ethereal grace.

She lifted one hand—long, pale fingers steady—and turned it slowly in the dim light.

“The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Archie. The Eternal Deceiver, destined to be my mate until the end… or so I believed,” she said with a faint chuckle.

“He looked at me, and from that moment, we simply existed together. For countless cycles, we wandered, watched, and shaped small things—games, bargains, fleeting empires.

In the 40th Cycle, we created the Vossmere Consortium: a multiversal auction that encompassed everything.

Every secret, every treasure, every forbidden thing had a price there. We ruled it side by side—not as king and queen, but as partners.”

Lady Truth’s voice softened.

“After seven cycles of that… we left. We had decided to start… No—now I see it was only me who wanted it. A family.”

Elara drew in a sharp, almost imperceptible breath.

Lady Truth looked at her granddaughter and smiled.

“We tried for so long, but nothing ever took root. I didn’t know then… but Archie had made sure of it. He never told me, never let me see his ’truth.’ For reasons I still don’t understand, he never wanted a child.

Though he always agreed, he never showed the same eager desire… but I made it happen anyway.”

She smiled—small, sad, almost proud.

“I used my power. I simply willed it into existence: I carried a son, born from me alone—my will, my essence, my truth. Archie wasn’t exactly warm, but he didn’t hate your father either. Still, we raised him. We loved him. And then… he and your mother had you.”

Elara’s eyes shimmered, the weight of centuries keeping her tears at bay.

“Our son vanished. One day he was here—laughing, growing, becoming himself. The next… gone. I’ve searched ever since. Every realm. Every rumor. I never found him.”

Layla reached out slowly, her hand gently resting over Elara’s.

“I don’t know exactly where he is… but I know he’s definitely still out there.”

Elara’s voice cracked—just once.

“Grandmother… why tell me now?”

Layla gazed out over the pond, lilies quivering, stars too dim to name.

“Because you deserve to know… and with Archie gone, it would’ve been strange for him to be missing without explanation. Besides, a certain someone told me I should start living more in my truth.”

Elara rested her head on Layla’s shoulder, silent tears slipping down, glinting like silver in the fading light. Layla’s arm came around her—warm, calm, and reassuring.

After a while, Elara’s voice broke the silence.

“So… you’re one of his women now too?”

The unexpected question left Lady Truth frozen in place.

Elara giggled as she sat up.

“Grandmother, you don’t have to hide it. From what I know about you and Grandfather, maybe his whole life was just a lie. Who’s to say he ever truly cared for anyone?”

Lady Truth shook her head at the calculations before her.

“You’re not wrong, dear… I’ve decided to uncover the mystery of Ash. And honestly, I’ve wondered the same about Archie—maybe I’ve never really knew the real him.”

And as their conversation went on, somewhere beyond the realm, the multiverse kept turning.

—–

In the universes that hovered closest to the Absolute Void Zone, these were universes that were considered the strongest and oldest universes in all of the lower dimension.

Not because it was a progenitor’s clan or anything so special.

Simply because each and every being in this world were Cosmic Overlords at the very peak. Not just that each of the first ten universes were ruled by beings that didn’t even ’inhabit’ the lower dimension.

They were ruled by Conceptual Existences, beings who spent most of their time inside the Nexus of Concepts.

Yet it was one universe that was different.

It was the very first universe, this place was not ruled by a Conceptual Existence but by Humans. Yes, humans… but it was something that made this Universe so strong that none other could even dare contest with them…

—-

At the still heart of Universe One lay the private domain of Vane, the oldest ancestor of the Arch Eternal Cycle Breaker Clan.

And within this realm, for the past two thousand years, there had been one enduring presence…

The Eternal Deceiver.

Since the Convergence, he had shed the facade he’d maintained since the dawn of time and began moving full throttle toward his goal.

With the power he possessed, he could have taken an easier path, as he was the literal embodiment of deceit. Yet there was a part of him that genuinely relished the excitement of plotting.

So, he went for it without hesitation…

Archie stepped into Vane personal realm disguised as always—another face, another name, another right hand who had served faithfully for a ’lifetime’.

The realm wasn’t flashy—it was stark.

An endless stretch of polished black stone that seemed to swallow the light.

The floor was flawless; the ceiling vanished into pure darkness.

No pillars, no adornments.

Just a lone platform of the same dark stone, and upon it, sat Vane.

He didn’t sit on a throne.

He just sat—cross-legged, back straight, hands on his knees, eyes closed. He looked like an ordinary man in late middle age, with short, iron-gray hair and sharp features softened by time, dressed in plain black robes without a hint of decoration.

The space around him felt heavier than any crown, burdened with the weight of one who had broken cycles older than most universes.

Archie—hidden behind the guise of “Drenn,” the quiet, ever-present attendant—moved with measured grace, carrying a tray of black crystal goblets filled with a faintly shimmering clear liquid. Without a sound, he placed it on the low table beside Vane.

Vane neither opened his eyes nor spoke, giving no sign of acknowledgment.

Archie straightened, clasping his hands neatly behind his back in the perfect posture of a devoted servant, even as his real thoughts churned beneath the surface.

’Two thousand years, and the seeds have been sown with care. Just a few murmurs about the Absolute Void Zone… That little Originat Clan—how they grow without ambition, how they take without greed. And of course, him… my dear little brother.’

For two thousand years, Archie had remained here, diligently carrying out his duties.

Vane had never spoken a word to him or even glanced his way, yet Archie talked endlessly—whether about the oddities of the Void Zone or about Ash and his clan.

He needed help and answers.

Aster, his clone, had been teleported to a world—or realm—called Earth, and since then, their connection had been completely severed.

Still, the strange sensation he felt through their bond was unlike anything else, as if the clone stood at the very center of all power.

Yet he couldn’t act recklessly, not even with his own immense strength, and the reason was simple: Ash.

From Elaris to now, he had witnessed Ash’s unbelievable growth—maybe not every step, but enough to see him leap from B or A rank to tearing through the Calamity ranks and beyond.

He stood still just long enough to appear attentive, but not so long as to overstay.

Then he turned, his quiet steps leading him toward the far wall where a plain archway awaited.

He passed through, and the instant he crossed the threshold—

Vane opened his eyes.

They weren’t human eyes. They were shards of starlight, something completely out of the ordinary.

He stayed perfectly still, speaking in simple words.

“Two thousand years, and the seeds have been sown with care. Just a few murmurs about the Absolute Void Zone… That little Originat Clan—how they grow without ambition, how they take without greed. And of course, him… my dear little brother.”

They were exactly the thoughts of The Eternal Deceiver, and as he finished, he shook his head, closing his eyes once more.

“Pitiful mortals.”

Silence returned to the realm.

Only the faint, endless drip of unseen water echoed somewhere in the darkness.