Reincarnated with a lucky draw system

Chapter 542: STRANGE UNIVERSE

Nightflame sat motionless in the churning chaos for what felt like an eternity.

He lost all track of time, letting the unstable energy continue to pour into him without resistance.

Then, without warning, the violent storm around him began to fade.

He reached his destination.

"Huh?"

Nightflame’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. The place was utterly bizarre.

It was a strange, broken dimension, some kind of universe or maybe even a fractured multiverse.

He couldn’t tell yet.

Everything was painted in shades of dull grey, stripped of every other color.

No vibrant blues, no fiery reds, no living greens. Just endless, lifeless grey.

There were no stars. No moons.

Only flat planets drifting like massive celestial slabs, cold and lifeless.

Space itself felt wrong, twisted and unstable.

Random objects and fragments kept teleporting without pattern, blinking in and out of existence.

Time moved only forward in a strict, linear path.

No branching possibilities. No chance to turn back.

The entire universe felt lacking. Imperfect in every way.

"Another reject," a voice muttered nearby. "It’s been a while since a new defect was sent here."

Nightflame turned sharply.

The speaker was a weird-looking being, clearly the source of the voice.

He looked almost human, yet not quite. More like a failed mutation, something twisted by forces Nightflame couldn’t yet understand.

One large ear flopped like an elephant’s.

Patches of green hair sprouted wildly from his scalp.

Two ordinary eyes stared out, but below them stretched a long, flexible elephant trunk.

His body had the broad shape of a man, yet his skin was thick, wrinkled, and grey like an elephant’s hide.

"Who are you?" Nightflame asked, surprise still coloring his tone.

"Doesn’t matter who I am," the being replied, his voice low and tired.

"We are all defects here. Cursed to this universe of endless suffering and pain."

He paused, glancing around cautiously.

"Come with me. You wouldn’t want anyone to find out you’re a new defect. Especially not when you look this near-perfect."

The elephant-like man’s eyes lingered on Nightflame with a mix of envy and genuine concern.

"What happens if someone finds out?" Nightflame asked.

"I’m not worried about just anyone finding out," Trunk answered, already turning to move.

"But Scar shouldn’t. You will die a gruesome death if he does."

"Scar? Who is Scar?" Nightflame pressed, already giving the stranger the nickname Trunk in his mind.

"We will talk along the way," Trunk said quickly. "Just stick close. Hold this, so we don’t get separated."

He tossed Nightflame a thick rope.

"It’s made from void shard," Trunk explained as they began to move. "It will keep us linked even if a space storm hits us."

"Alright," Nightflame replied, gripping the rope firmly.

Both of them lifted into the air and flew through the warped space of the universe, Nightflame trailing just behind Trunk.

The grey emptiness stretched out endlessly around them, cold and oppressive.

"Oh. It’s Trunk," a rough voice called out from the side.

"You seem to have some good goods there. Want us to take a look?"

A small group was slowly drifting toward them, eyes gleaming with greed.

"He’s not a product," Trunk warned, voice hardening.

"He is my friend. So back off."

"Come on, Trunk," one of them replied with a mischievous smile.

"We’ll give you a nice commission if we sell him."

"You all stay back," Trunk growled, drawing a sword in one smooth motion. "He is not for sale!"

He swung the blade in a wide arc, the threat clear in the air between them.

"Annoying fool!" the leader of the group snapped. "Kill him and capture the goods!"

"Wait here and hold tightly to the rope," Trunk told Nightflame, eyes fierce. "I will protect you!"

Nightflame simply nodded, fully agreeing with the plan.

With Nightflame on the same page, Trunk launched forward to deal with the group.

From his long trunk, he suddenly fired several powerful blasts of thick grey liquid straight at them.

The shots hissed through the air like living venom.

"Dodge!" the leader shouted.

Fear flashed in every eye as the group scattered desperately.

Not all of them were fast enough.

Some members failed to evade in time. The grey liquid splashed across their faces with wet, sickening impacts.

"Ignite!" Trunk called out sharply.

The grey liquid splashed across the attackers’ faces suddenly burst into raging grey flames.

The fire burned viciously, eating away at skin and flesh with merciless hunger.

Screams ripped through the empty space as the victims clutched at their melting faces.

"Trunk! You dare to kill my men?!" the leader roared, his face twisting with raw fury. His eyes burned with hatred.

"I will do far worse if you don’t let us leave," Trunk replied calmly, staring straight at the leader with unshakable confidence.

His trunk twitched slightly, ready for another blast.

"You will regret this. I promise you!" the leader swore through gritted teeth, his voice shaking with rage.

"Let’s leave," he finally spat at his remaining men.

The battered group turned and drifted away into the grey void, casting hateful glances over their shoulders.

"I’m sorry for that," Trunk said once they were gone, his tone softening.

"Within this universe, there is no law. Only one rule, the weak must bow to the strong."

"Quite the crazy universe," Nightflame muttered, still gripping the void shard rope.

"Yeah... Well, let’s go," Trunk replied.

They continued navigating through the strange, colorless world.

The flat celestial slabs drifted silently in the distance while random objects kept blinking in and out of existence around them.

"So what do you mean by defects?" Nightflame asked after a while.

"Defects," Trunk explained heavily. "Beings that aren’t perfect.

Beings that are seen as bad products, flawed creations, are sent here.

Not just living things.

Everything.

Celestial bodies, elements, entire concepts... We are like the bugs of all universes. The rejects no one wants."

"So this place is like the recycle bin?" Nightflame asked.

"Exactly," Trunk nodded. "And here, you have to fight every single moment just to stay alive."

Nightflame nodded in quiet understanding.