SSS-RANKED Awakening: Supreme Fate-breaker System

Morning sunlight poured in through the translucent mana-treated windows, painting gold streaks across the floor of Ethan's home in Nexa. The familiar scent of clean linen, morning dew, and subtle traces of mana-infused wood greeted him as he stretched, rubbing the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

In the kitchen, Mia was already awake. She stood in front of the counter with her hair tied up in a lazy bun, dressed in one of the oversized sweaters Ethan had gotten her. A quiet smile tugged at her lips as she struggled to open a mana-sealed jar of spice with both hands.

"Need help?" Ethan said as he walked over, voice still groggy with sleep.

She looked up, mock-annoyed. "I almost had it!"

He gently took the jar from her hands, twisting the lid with a small burst of mana pressure. It gave a soft pop as it opened.

"Cheater," she muttered, grinning as she snatched it back and sprinkled some of the contents into the steaming pot.

"What's cooking?" he asked.

"Mana rice porridge, with beast bone broth. Thought you could use something grounding."

His chest warmed at her thoughtfulness. "Thanks. Smells great."

They sat down together moments later, eating in comfortable silence. The taste was nostalgic. Simple. Reminding Ethan of a time before dungeons, cores, and sanctums.

Later, they wandered into the city. The air in Nexa was clean, breezy, faintly buzzing with mana from the protective formations built into the architecture. As they strolled side by side, Mia clutched a small shopping list. Ethan had suggested they restock the pantry—half because it was practical, half because he just wanted to do something normal.

First stop: the local mana-fruit market. Vendors hawked everything from frost apples to ember berries, their colorful stalls bursting with energy. Mia lingered by a stand that sold tiny flame-plums, enchanted to gently warm the tongue when bitten into.

"Remember when I tried one of these and almost burned my throat?" she said.

Ethan snorted. "You ignored the 'low-mana resistance only' sign."

"And you still let me eat it!"

"You said you were 'adventurous'."

They bought a small crate of flame-plums anyway, along with some frost apples, silver wheat bread, and a bottle of star milk. While Mia argued good-naturedly with a stubborn vendor over the price of meat slabs, Ethan glanced around, taking in the bustle of life—people laughing, children playing with small mana constructs, couples arguing and making up in public.

He hadn't realized how much he missed it.

Afterwards, they visited a quiet mana-garden nestled between shops. Artificial sun filtered through a glowing dome above, casting glittering patterns over the gently swaying spirit grass. Mia sat on the edge of a koi fountain, dipping her fingers into the water.

"Does it feel weird?" she asked suddenly.

Ethan glanced at her. "What?"

"Coming back. To all this. After… everything out there."

He paused, then nodded. "Yeah. It's quiet here. Peaceful. Makes me feel like the Labyrinth was just a dream. But I know it's not."

Mia was silent for a moment. "I'm glad you came back. Even if just for a while."

He smiled softly. "Wouldn't miss this for the world."

They spent the next hour wandering aimlessly, letting their feet carry them from one corner of Nexa to another. At some point, they stopped for meat skewers at a food stall. Later, they shared a mana bubble tea, laughing when Mia accidentally swallowed a pearl that exploded into a burst of peppermint mist.

When they finally returned home, the sun had dipped low, casting amber shadows across their living room.

Ethan let himself fall onto the couch with a content sigh, groceries half-unpacked in the kitchen.

Mia flopped down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"No monsters. No warlocks. Just you and me," she murmured.

"For now," he said quietly.

But he didn't move. Not yet.

The last hues of daylight had faded, and the interior of Ethan's home was now bathed in a soft, ambient glow from the floating lightstones embedded into the ceiling. The silence between Ethan and Mia was warm, filled with unspoken comfort.

"Hey," Mia suddenly lifted her head from his shoulder, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Wanna play a game?"

Ethan turned to her with a faint smile. "What kind of game?"

She leapt off the couch with surprising energy, trotting over to the low cabinet beneath the shelf of neatly stacked books. After rummaging for a moment, she pulled out a hexagonal wooden box with intricate runes engraved along the lid.

"Mana Tiles," she declared, setting it down on the floor with a satisfied grin.

Ethan raised a brow. "That thing? Didn't we stop playing after you lost three times in a row and blamed it on my 'cheater's aura'?"

"That was before I read the manual properly," Mia said proudly, crossing her arms. "Now I'm ready for revenge."

He chuckled and joined her on the floor, stretching his legs out lazily. "Fine. But if I win again, I get the last star cookie."

"Deal."

The game board clicked open with a hum of low-grade enchantments, projecting a glowing, rune-lined grid between them. Dozens of small, mana-charged tiles hovered into place above the board, flickering faintly like fireflies. The objective was simple: form patterns faster than your opponent by manipulating mana through hand gestures and runes—like chess fused with puzzle magic.

They began.

Within seconds, the tiles danced in midair, rearranged with fluid wrist motions and focused mana pulses. Mia was quick, faster than Ethan remembered. Her patterns were clever, even daring. But Ethan had the instincts of a battle-hardened fighter—and that translated well into games that demanded split-second decisions.

Ten minutes in, they were tied.

"No way," Mia huffed as Ethan snagged a triple-tile streak using a single pivot of his hand. "You didn't even think, you just—"

"I felt the move."

"That's not fair! I was calculating everything."

"Maybe you should try feeling more," he teased, a smirk on his face.

They played two more rounds, each one more intense than the last. At some point, Ethan pretended to yawn mid-game to mess with her concentration. She retaliated by tickling his side during a key move, earning a scandalized, "That's cheating!" before they both burst out laughing.

Eventually, Mia dropped backward onto the carpet, arms splayed out like a starfish.

"Okay, okay. You win. Again."

Ethan fell back beside her, breathing lightly from the rush of laughter and play. "I'll take that star cookie now."

"No chance."

They lay in silence for a while, eyes on the ceiling, hearts beating in rhythm. The lightstones above began to dim slightly, adjusting to the night cycle of the city.

After a moment, Mia turned to face him, her voice quieter now.

"I'm really glad we had today," she said. "It's been... normal. And I needed that."

Ethan nodded. "So did I."

For all the fire and chaos of the Labyrinth, for all the lives he'd claimed and the weight of what still lay ahead—this one day had been something precious. Untouched. Real.

"I don't know what's coming next," he admitted. "But I know I'll face it better because of this."

Mia didn't reply immediately. Instead, she leaned over and gently rested her forehead against his.

"No matter what happens, I'll be here. Waiting."

His eyes met hers, a flicker of warmth passing between them.

Then, without saying anything more, they got up, packed the game away, and moved to the kitchen to prepare a late-night drink—spiced mana cider. They stood side by side, hands brushing occasionally, sipping from warm mugs, bathed in the soft light of home.

That night, before heading to bed, Ethan looked out the window toward the horizon—toward the world he'd return to soon.

But not just yet.

After finishing their mugs of warm cider, a comfortable silence hung in the air. Mia suddenly clapped her hands, mischief returning to her eyes.

"One more game before bed," she said, her tone almost daring.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You're brave. Or a glutton for defeat."

She didn't answer with words. Instead, she walked over to the side wall near the living area, pressed her palm into a seemingly random rune-inscribed tile, and stepped back as a sleek metallic panel descended slowly from the ceiling. It unfolded smoothly into a glowing table about waist high, with hovering arc barriers forming at each end and a shimmering orb of light materializing in the center.

Mia grinned proudly. "Arc-Pong."

Ethan stared at it for a moment, amused. "You're telling me you've had this the whole time and didn't bring it out first?"

"I had to warm up my ego with something easier before I lose spectacularly," she smirked. "But this? This one's mine."

Arc-Pong was simple in theory—each player had a rune-paddle infused with a minor mana circuit. Using it, they struck the arc orb across the table, which bounced off the magical barriers on either side.

***

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