Ten Lucky Draws: I Became OP-Chapter 361: The Second Inversion - Oculus Unus

It didn’t take long before the entire first Inversion no longer resembled what it once was.

Well, saying the entire Inversion might be inaccurate, as they simply didn’t feel the need to compete with a land that kept expanding alongside their senses.

For at least a light-year in every direction from the Bastion, the first Inversion seemed more like a paradise than a void.

Towering walls soared thousands of feet high, black as the abyss yet streaked with molten gold that pulsed like living sunlight.

The walls rose a light-year from the original Bastion, forming a vast, perfect ring that encircled the reclaimed land like the calm, protective embrace of a sleeping god.

Their surfaces were flawless, impossibly smooth, traced with golden runes that drifted lazily like constellations composing their own prophecies.

Nothing would break them; the walls simply existed—a barrier of pure being, untouched by the black lands beyond.

Beyond those walls stretched a fantastical stronghold that outstripped anything mortal minds could dream.

Golden citadels stood in graceful clusters, their black marble spires topped with golden domes that caught the bruised purple sky and scattered it into dazzling shades of rose, violet, and gold.

In perfect circles, healing groves thrived—ancient golden trees with leaves that mended, their roots drinking deeply from rivers of liquid divinity flowing where black oceans had once been.

The training fields stretched for thousands of miles, with sparring rings of pure existence where soldiers could push past any physical limit without lasting harm.

In the halls devoted to various professions, everyone worked independently.

Alchemy halls rose like cathedrals of glass and gold, while rune-forges echoed with the sound of creation—golden anvils ringing under hammers of pure forging essence, each strike bringing a new weapon into being.

At the heart of this reborn paradise, every Unus and former generals watched intently, unwilling to blink for fear of missing a moment.

For beings who had known nothing but lives of constant life-or-death struggle, seeing the new lands felt like a dream.

As Ash and his wives, along with Morgana, descended from the skies, there wasn’t a hint of disrespect.

The Unus were already kneeling, with the generals at the front. Ash watched them and nodded.

"As I said, the first inversion has become a Bastion of Existence," he remarked.

It went without saying that clearing these Eldritch, which were like mindless beasts, was actually quite easy.

They didn’t think, didn’t use any Strata, or properly apply their concepts.

It only took two hours for the Eldritch to stop coming through the tunnel and for enough land to be created to sustain life.

"We’re not stopping; our goal is to make each inversion down to ten, to look exactly like this..." he said, glancing toward his wives.

"Seraphiel, Aeloris, you’ll stay behind and defend this inversion. It won’t take long... so just relax and be your beautiful selves~" he added, gently rubbing Seraphiel’s belly.

That, of course, was the real reason he wanted her to stay behind.

Even though it wouldn’t slow her down in the slightest, he still felt she deserved to rest and enjoy some queen-like treatment.

By his calculations, it would be around 2,500 years in outside time before she would be ready to give birth.

The two women didn’t protest; they were used to each other’s company and, more than that, they cared far less about fighting than the other women present.

He glanced back at those kneeling before him.

"You’ll all be here on defense. Under no circumstances should my women have to so much as lift a finger. And if I find out anyone is making things difficult for them..."

His lips curled into a smile as his gaze settled on a woman kneeling with skin the deep, swirling blue of a nebula.

Her black hair framed features of striking beauty.

"Vetri will personally take your heads."

At the sound of her name, the woman slowly lifted her head to meet Ash’s eyes.

She was a general, a veteran of countless years in a war for existence itself—yet in that moment, she seemed shy. Her cheeks warmed, and she quickly lowered her head again.

"How cute~" Ash chuckled, before turning to embrace and kiss Seraphiel and Aeloris goodbye, vanishing a moment later.

-----

The group didn’t waste a moment entering the second inversion, as Ash transported them all with a single thought after extending his senses through the tunnel.

When they emerged in the skies, they were met with the same empty, nonexistent plane.

But this time, there was no Bastion. As mentioned before, the Eldritch had long since claimed control of this inversion, meaning every Deva was already gone.

No matter how far they looked, the landscape was overrun with endless Eldritch, constantly spawning yet no longer advancing toward the first inversion.

It was almost as if they had received some kind of order. Noticing this, Katherine spoke,

"Hmm, so I’m guessing they’re being controlled in some way by their leaders?"

"I wouldn’t doubt it," Sylvie said, her green eyes wandering. "Knowing they’re being spawned, wouldn’t be far-fetched to think they’re being controlled to some extent."

"Husband, what do you think?" Rune asked, arms crossed.

Ash tilted his head, studying the scene.

This had clearly played out in one of the many timelines he’d witnessed, though he could spot small, subtle differences.

In his simulations, he was always the same being, with the same powers and abilities. So how could he die so often if he could use foresight?

Well...

"You’re not wrong, but it’s not that simple," he said, continuing, "They are being controlled, though how... I’m not sure.... yet."

This was because, much like his own Sacred Dimension, the Null Firmament had no time continuum.

Unlike his familial dimension, this place, devoid of a time continuum, rendered matters countless times more difficult.

Imagine existing in a realm where cause and effect were essentially meaningless.

In layman’s terms, the Null Firmament was a place where everything had already occurred, was occurring, and would never occur—simultaneously, eternally, and not at all.

In this case, Ash’s foresight wasn’t exactly flawless—mainly because the things he saw either never existed, did exist, or would exist.

It was strange, but as always, such limitations weren’t something Ash cared nor liked to deal with.

His Eyes of First Dawn had largely overcome this, yet he knew that the effects of a broken time continuum would only grow more severe.

With all this in mind, he casually summoned his codex.

Given Ash’s wide range of abilities, there were countless ways he could handle the situation. He could, for instance, activate Quantum and bend this place into the state he wanted.

Sure, he could pull that off... but it wouldn’t be something that lasted for long.

They were already preparing to face 12D Eldritch, beings equal to their very existence (though not in power).

The further they ventured, the more entities they would encounter that could resist his powers to some degree.

|Authoring Potential|

As he activated Authoring Potential, he smiled, because frankly...

’I’m getting tired of these Eyes of First Dawn. Shouldn’t I have something better than the first guy?’ he thought and began to write.

One might assume his eyes had long surpassed the prowess of the first incarnation, but that would be entirely wrong. The Nine Organisms existed in a realm far removed from the hierarchy of power as Ash understood it.

It went without saying their abilities were far beyond as well.

"And so, the Eyes of First Dawn mutated into something unique to the Unus’ Origin, blending the essence of existence and nonexistence while amplifying all their previous abilities. The change will be effortless."

In the next moment Ash smiled as a status prompt showed.

[Oculus Unus (Tier 9) – Eyes belonging exclusively to the Unus Origin. At their peak, they serve as the bridge and judge between what exists and what doesn’t. You’ll see both at once and move freely across both planes.

(All Quantum Powers have merged into the Oculus Unus. Any progress beyond Tier 9 will further enhance its potential.)

Innate Powers

Absolute Refusal – The power to erase something from existence entirely, or to force it into existence even if it never was.

Non-Existent Blink – With a single blink, you can strike only at things that don’t exist.

For example, wounds can appear on targets you’ve never touched, and damage can build up from attacks that technically never happened.

One Sight – You perceive only one version of reality: the one you choose. All other possibilities are automatically refused, working even up to five-dimensional existences above your own existence. (Currently Seventeenth Dimensional Beings.)]