Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP

Chapter 163: The World of Thal

When the trio appeared, they were on an empty road that stretched through a deserted town…

The skies were drenched in perpetual darkness, no light could be seen whatsoever—no stars, no moon, no distant glow of any kind, only an absolute, suffocating black that pressed down like a physical weight.

The buildings lining the road were all boarded up or destroyed windows shattered into jagged teeth, doors hanging off hinges, walls cracked and crumbling as if time itself had abandoned the place long ago.

Any sign of life here seemed nonexistent; the silence was so complete it felt alive, broken only by the occasional faint creak of settling wood or the soft rustle of dead leaves skittering across cracked pavement.

Sylvie looked around with furrowed brows, her reddish-pink eyes narrowing as she took in the desolation.

“It looked like a reaper came through here and made a new home,” she commented as she reached down to the dead flowers on the sidewalk—wilted petals black and brittle, stems curled like they had given up centuries ago.

The moment she touched it she channeled the Law of Zero, just enough to revert it back to a blooming state—petals unfurling in soft crimson, stem straightening, faint fragrance rising for a heartbeat.

However, moments later it died again—color draining, petals withering, life snuffed out as if the very concept of growth was forbidden here.

“It seems this place is not simple,” Kaelthyr commented as he noticed the oddity, his voice low and rough. He stood tall, clad in sleek black robes that absorbed what little ambient light there was, silverish-grey hair falling straight and smooth to his shoulders, grey eyes sharp and unyielding.

He then looked at Ash who had a goofy smile on his face, hands in his pockets, wings relaxed.

“Brat, do you seriously not know where we are?” He asked out to Ash who’d still didn’t reply.

He just stood there smiling as his eyes darted all over the place—taking in the boarded windows, the cracked streets, the absolute absence of sound or movement. Kaelthyr’s lip twitched as he was about to speak again before Sylvie spoke.

“Don’t be rude, Master is obviously having a moment,” she said which caused Kaelthyr to frown even more.

’A moment?’ He thought to himself before Ash finally moved.

“Ah, how lovely,” he said which caused even Sylvie to arch a brow. However he ignored them as he continued his chat with Elysia.

[As I was saying… we are currently in a new Galaxy. From my calculations we are about 87 trillion light-years from the Venia Galaxy—far beyond any known Gates or travel routes.] Elysia said as her voice had a bit of excitement that she couldn’t hide.

And who could blame her? She was now in a new place… which meant she could now gain more knowledge… more laws… and more ways to strengthen her Master.

’Do your thing. Before you begin though… can you tell me exactly what I’m looking for?’ He asked as he began to walk, boots echoing softly on the cracked pavement.

[Right… this is a 15th Era World, Thal. It is divided into three main ecological layers being the Upper Crown, Middle Veil and Lower Abyss… which you are currently located. Each layer is a new level of Power… at the lowest level you will only see Stellar Sovereigns… and at the highest expect Cosmic Overlords.]

’15th Era? That’s much higher than the highest in the Venia Galaxy.’ Ash noted as Elysia continued.

[Your goal is the Mark of the Weaver, which is located in the Upper Crown. Though, if I’m being honest, I don’t know exactly how this will help… but it’s just a sort of feeling?]

’Alright, I’ll find the rest out on my own.’ He said before he finally spoke aloud again.

“Well, welcome to the world of Thal.”

“The world of Thal?” Sylvie questioned followed by Kaelthyr.

“And what Era world is it?”

“It’s a 15th Era world… divided into three parts. We are currently on the lowest level, which is considered the Lower Abyss. Apparently, there are only Stellar Sovereigns on this level… Void Emperors on the Second… and Cosmic Overlords on the last level.”

Kaelthyr and Sylvie both stopped dead in their tracks. Now, Sylvie being from a Stellar clan was not as informed as Kaelthyr when it came to Power and its ranks.

However, when it came to world era’s… everyone in the Venia Galaxy was informed of them.

“1-15th Era?” She muttered in disbelief as she watched the back of Ash as he continued to walk casually observing the dilapidated town.

“Fuck that.” Kaelthyr said in a rough voice. “Did you say Void Emperors and Cosmic Overlords?”

Ash smiled as his words entered their ears loud as day.

“Yes, I did… and our goal is to reach the third level.” He said which caused them even more shock.

“Oh, and we won’t be taking a million years to do it either.”

—-

Even though the Lower Abyss of Thal was considered the lowest rung… it made no sense for it to be so dilapidated, right?

It didn’t gain the name Lower Abyss merely because it was the slums—no, it was named that purely because no light could survive for long in this world. The Laws of Light and Life were weakened here, dimmed and suppressed by an oppressive, unseen force that clung to the very fabric of the realm like a shroud.

Yet this place should have been filled with Stellar Sovereigns—vibrant, powerful cultivators carving out territories, building strongholds, trading in essence and relics. Instead… no major clans or factions could be seen anywhere in sight.

Well, except for one massive stronghold that resembled a castle. It easily covered 300 million kilometers of land and stretched far into the cloudless sky, its black spires piercing upward like the teeth of some ancient, slumbering beast.

The structure was built of obsidian stone veined with faint purple light, walls so tall they vanished into the darkness above, battlements lined with silent, unmoving figures. In this stronghold one could see millions of people… perhaps billions… and they all were Stellar Sovereigns.

Something was odd though.

No one here was moving.

No one was doing anything but standing around like undead creatures… And if one looked close enough then that’s exactly what they would see—Dragons with cracked scales and hollow eyes, Humans with gray, lifeless skin, Demons with wings folded and broken, Titans frozen mid-stride, and many more—all standing still with cracked and grey skin, with lifeless eyes that stared into nothing.

No breath fogged the air, no auras flickered, no heartbeats echoed. They were statues of the living dead.

All standing still except for one thing… Entering the stronghold was the smallest insect crawling—barely a speck against the vast black stone. The moment it crossed the threshold its form shifted into a Velox Phantom, a creature known across galaxies for its blinding, near-instantaneous speed, body blurring into a streak of silver-black that left afterimages in the dark.

As it ran it completely disappeared—gone in a flicker of motion too fast for the eye to follow.

When it reappeared, it was in a throne room kneeling as a being of pure shadows—formless, shifting, edges bleeding into the darkness around it.

In front of this being sat two people that both had blackish-purple skin with purple eyes.

They both looked like they were dead… or had died long ago—skin cracked and dry like ancient parchment, eyes sunken and dull, no breath, no pulse, no warmth. But the power stemming from these two… it said otherwise.

It pressed against the air like an invisible tide—dense, cold, and hungry—making the shadows in the room writhe and the very stone of the throne groan faintly under their presence.

“We have spotted new intruders,” the shadow being stated without raising its head, voice a low, rasping whisper that echoed unnaturally. “They randomly appeared in the streets about 2 million kilometers away. Two of them are in the Mid Sovereign while the other one’s power is unreadable.”

The man that was burly with long black hair spoke.

“What do you mean unreadable…” His voice sounded with no tone, no emotion… it sounded lifeless, as if words themselves were an afterthought.

“Patriarch Eldric… I couldn’t gauge his strength at all. It’s like he’s a walking enigma.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. She too had long black hair that hung straight and still, like it had never known wind.

“What… race do they identify as?”

The shadow shivered a bit the moment her words sounded—form flickering as if afraid.

“One is a high ranking vampire… If I’m not mistaken his bloodline is no lower than Divine… The other two are weird. One is a female with two massive wings unlike any other race… however they have phoenix feathers… vampire fangs… and all sorts of other races.”

Hearing this the two beings smiled as they licked their lips as if they just heard about the most delicious dinner.

“Akikikiii” The patriarch began to laugh… more like screech, a high, grating sound that echoed through the throne room like breaking glass.

“The Lower Abyss is our home… They have nowhere to go. They’ll arrive soon. And when they do they will never leave!”

The woman’s smile widened—sharp, hungry, fangs glinting in the dim purple light.

“Let them come,” she whispered, voice carrying the same lifeless tone as her mate. “We haven’t had fresh blood in centuries.”

The shadow being remained kneeling—silent, obedient, waiting.

In the distance, three figures walked the empty streets—unaware yet of the eyes that already watched them.

The Lower Abyss hungered.

And it had just found its next meal.