The narrow maintenance tunnels of Stone City had always been Grande's sanctuary, a labyrinth of shadows where a Rank F Custodian could vanish. But as he sprinted through the damp, metallic corridors, the air felt different. For the first time in his life, the crushing weight of the Fate Rank System—that invisible ceiling that had suppressed his every breath—was gone.
In his right hand, Fate Breaker hummed with a resonance that vibrated through his very marrow. It wasn't the volatile, loud energy of a Commander's Mana; it was a deep, ancient pulse, steady as a heartbeat. In his left hand, the Hardwood Sword remained, a reminder of the discipline he had forged in the dirt.
[System Alert: Unauthorized Rank Elevation Detected.]
[Subject: Grande (Rank F - Custodian).]
[Status: System Anomaly / Error Code 000.]
[Protocol: Immediate Deletion Required.]
Red holographic warnings flickered against the tunnel walls, following him like digital ghosts. The System wasn't just tracking him anymore; it was reacting to him as a biological virus.
Grande skidded to a halt at a three-way junction. His Mana Recognition Sensor, still strapped to his wrist, began to scream in a high-pitched frequency.
"Three... no, five signatures," Grande whispered, his eyes narrowing. "Rank B Guardians. They're cutting off the vents."
From the shadows ahead, five figures emerged. They wore the heavy obsidian-plated armor of the Internal Security Force. Their spears were energized with flickering yellow Mana, and their faces were hidden behind cold, expressionless visors.
"Target sighted," the lead Guardian announced, his voice metallic. "Purity Protocol initiated. Rank F scum, drop the artifacts and submit to deletion."
Grande didn't tremble. He didn't feel the old instinct to bow. He felt a cold, analytical clarity. He saw the way their Mana flowed—rigid, predictable, and entirely dependent on the System's blueprints.
"I've spent my life cleaning up after people like you," Grande said, his voice echoing with a new, resonant authority. "Today, I'm cleaning the foundation."
The Guardians charged.
Grande didn't meet them with a brute-force swing. He moved with the grace of a shadow. He used the Nimble Evasion of a Custodian, sliding under the first spear thrust. But as he rose, he didn't use a simple snap. He combined the weight of his Hardwood Sword with the edge of Fate Breaker.
[New Skill Manifested: System Corruption Strike.]
He swung Fate Breaker in a wide arc. The blade didn't even touch the Guardian's armor; instead, the Crystal Blue Mana emitted a wave that clashed with the Guardian's yellow energy.
The result was instantaneous. The yellow Mana didn't explode—it unraveled. The Guardian's obsidian plates, held together by Mana-infused runes, fell apart like loose bricks. The warrior was left standing in his under-suit, his weapon turning into a useless stick of inert metal.
"What... what did you do?" the Guardian gasped, staring at his bare hands.
"I broke the logic that holds you together," Grande replied.
The remaining four Guardians hesitated. In their world, a Rank F could not win. The very concept was a mathematical impossibility. Their hesitation was Grande's opening.
He leaped forward, using the Custodian Snap Technique with the Hardwood Sword to strike the floor.
SNAP!
The shockwave wasn't just physical. Because he was no longer limited by the Rank F ceiling, the "Efficient Cleaning" force was now amplified by his True Gigantes Mana. The floor tiles flew upward, obscuring the Guardians' vision.
Grande moved like a ghost through the debris.
Slash. Snap. Scrape.
Each movement was a Custodian's chore turned into a warrior's death sentence. Within seconds, the four Guardians were on the ground. He hadn't killed them—Fate Breaker's current state was focused on dismantling, not slaughtering. Their armor lay in pieces, and their Mana circuits were fried.
Grande didn't linger. He reached the end of the maintenance shaft, which led to the Central Plaza of Stone City.
As he pushed open the heavy iron grate and stepped out into the open air, he was met with a sight that would have once terrified him. The sky above Stone City was no longer blue; it was a swirling vortex of red and black digital runes.
The Grand Mana Core at the center of the city was pulsating.
"The System is entering a Hard Reset," Grande realized, looking at the flickering lights of the city. "It's trying to purge me by shutting down the entire district."
In the distance, atop the high balcony of the Central Spire, he saw a familiar silhouette. Commander Sirus stood there, his Rank A aura flaring so brightly it looked like a pillar of blue fire.
"GRANDE!" Sirus's voice roared across the plaza, amplified by a dozen megaphone runes. "You have stolen the heart of our history! You have corrupted the sacred Order! Every Pangkat High and Low is now your enemy!"
Grande looked around. From the alleyways, Rank C and D citizens—workers, merchants, soldiers—emerged. Their eyes were vacant, glowing with a faint red tint.
"They're being controlled," Grande muttered, gripping his swords tighter. "The System is using them as biological firewalls."
He realized he couldn't fight his way out if it meant hurting the very people he wanted to liberate. He needed to strike at the source. He needed to reach the Grand Mana Core.
But between him and the Core stood the elite Rank A Paladins, and Sirus himself.
Grande looked at Fate Breaker. The sword's glow began to change, shifting from a steady blue to a rhythmic pulse of white light. It was reacting to the Grand Mana Core. It wasn't just a weapon; it was a Key.
"Lekir was right," Grande thought. "The ancient scrolls said the first Gigantes didn't have ranks. We were all builders. We were all protectors."
He took a deep breath, centering himself. He remembered the feeling of the broom in his hand, the way he would find the smallest grain of dust in the grandest hall. He applied that same focus now. He looked at the Grand Mana Core, not as a god-like machine, but as a stain on the world that needed to be scrubbed away.
He began to walk towards the Central Spire.
"I am Grande," he whispered, his voice gaining strength until it carried across the plaza. "I am the Custodian of the Unwritten Destiny. And I am here to finish my shift."
With a sudden burst of speed, he didn't run towards the guards. He ran towards the obsidian foundation pillars that held up the plaza.
If he couldn't reach the Core from above, he would take it down from below. He would use the ultimate Custodian technique: The Foundation Deep-Clean.
He plunged Fate Breaker into the ground at the base of the main pillar.
[Warning: Critical Structure Integrity Compromised.]
[Mana Flow Reversing...]
The ground began to shake. The red runes in the sky flickered violently. Grande stood his ground, his muscles bulging as he poured his True Mana through the sword and into the earth.
He wasn't just breaking a sword; he was breaking a world.
The era of the Fate Rank was ending. The Era of the Fate Breaker had begun.
[Chapter 12 Complete - Word Count Estimate: 1250+ Words. The stakes have shifted to a city-wide scale.]
Grande has now openly challenged the entire System and is beginning to dismantle the city's infrastructure.