'Divine Stairs.'
Not far from the manor was a gargantuan tree-like structure that pierced their very sky.
This structure, as the name made obvious, held stairs that allowed one to climb up its height.
And yes, 'climb up,' for this realm had layers, or as they liked to call them, strata, each accessible only by such Divine Stairs.
The fact that one was so close to their home spoke of just how important their House was.
At least in this Stratum, because, well, the Second and First Strata above them were leagues 'above them' both in strength and influence.
That was only natural. After all, when the Runes fell from Heaven far above, the home of the Gods, the First Stratum met them, then the Second, and only then did the Runes trickle down to the Third, the bottommost Stratum, where their House thrived for many a century.
So the Runes at the bottom were the weakest of the bunch, as anything remotely noteworthy was picked up long before then.
Of course, some outliers made it through, but that was rare and often extremely fought over, making it so that if any House or Runebearer wanted to be of more importance or simply become stronger, they had to climb the stairs and reach the top.
Those at the bottom would forever fight for scraps, a fact that Ignotus knew full well.
Consequently, that made the Runebearers' Day of Ascension even more important.
If the Rune they were bestowed wasn't suitable with their Stratum, what Ignotus's father called 'talent,' they'd be thrown aside; after all, Runes required synergy, and if one had a rare Root Rune, a "bad" Element, it'd be hard or just impossible to continue ascending, requiring them to walk an entirely new path.
Because yes, there were preestablished paths called Rune Paths, where Runebearers would chase after the same Runes as the Gods they followed, since it saved them from the risk of death with each Ascension, something which Ignotus didn't care for.
'I've got ideas, but I need to see my options first.'
With that thought, he finally reached the Hall of Ascension, something of a grand temple.
Squeezing through the gathering crowd, he made it in, passing mural after mural of Gods.
His arrival brought a few stares, but mostly everyone kept their eyes on the dais up front.
There, a new adult woman could be seen kneeling before a white-robed man, Divinity thumping around them both.
"...The Fire Element!"
Just as those words left the man's lips, most of the crowd began cheering.
"Another Primary Element?!"
"This might be the best Ascension Day we've had in years!"
"Glory to the Gods!"
Though they went wild, Ignotus kept still, staring at this Runebearer before him, scanning her from top to bottom.
He could feel her… Aura, change. Or rather, it was the presence of her body's Will imposed onto the world.
'Hm~.'
It made Ignotus feel excited for what was to come.
"The Sound Element!"
Immediately after, the scene flipped, as the crowd turned into murmurs and silence while Ignotus's eyes burned with interest, finding Sound to be quite good.
"...Damn, an Ethereal Element?"
"Poor guy. He has no future."
"I don't think we've discovered a single Sound Rune in the last ten years."
If it wasn't obvious enough by now, a Runebearer would begin their journey on their Rune Path with only one Rune, a Root Rune, and again, most were looked over if the first Rune was barely able to synergize with anything early on.
Yes, those who had 'late-game' Runes like Ignotus's Time Root Rune were ostracized, as most preferred the Primary Elements, like Fire, Water, Earth, or Wind.
And though that made the competition for those Runes tougher, they were the only Runes they could get anyway, so it wasn't like they had a choice.
Of course, and again, Ignotus didn't care for that.
'I'll build my own path this time~.'
And speaking of...
"Ignotus of House Plant, son of Genus!"
With his name being called, he stepped through the crowd, up the stairs, and kneeled before the old man.
"I, a Warden of House Plant, deem you to be a child no longer; may the Gods bestow upon you a Rune."
Ignotus lowered his head as his body was flooded with Divinity.
Thump!
Before he could even realize what happened, his world turned black.
No longer kneeling, he felt as if he were in some sort of endless void, floating in its embrace.
Yet he wasn't alone; three Runes sat before him, somehow lighting up the void.
They were large, colorful things, all glowing a bright white.
[ᛈᛚᛑᛃᛪᚾ]
He read the first.
It was green with solid lines.
The same Root Rune that his House forever boasted of.
'Plant.'
[ᚦᚬᛃᚾᚻ]
He read the second.
It was black with bleeding edges.
A Root Rune he expected to see.
'Time.'
Again, his return had to have influenced it.
Unfortunately, the Rune didn't interest him.
Besides, even if he did pick it again, he'd run into the same problems.
His three killers would never allow him to live and would get in his way early on, perhaps even earlier than in his past life, as his knowledge would be on full display, gaining their attention much quicker...
Especially that Queen of Time; she wasn't exactly interested in competition.
Nothing he could do would change that outcome, only delay it; after all, Runes were limited, and there was no way two Time Runebearers could share the same realm under Heaven; Ignotus was to die.
He had to pick something else.
[ᛑᚴᛈᛊ]
The third made him pause.
It held the image of a weighing scale.
Surrounding it in a circle was Arcane.
Letters that spoke of one Element.
'Luck.'
Not even a Derived Element; it was a damned Ethereal one.
If he picked this, he'd be considered the trashiest of trash, like that Sound Runebearer from earlier.
He could choose Plant and live a normal life, but no…
Luck was calling him.
And so…
'I choose you.'
He reached out to it...
'Don't let me down.'
And the black world broke apart.
Thump!
Ignotus stood up under the disappointed gaze of the Warden.
"The Luck Element!"
Almost instantly, everyone in the hall began to murmur.
"I knew it!"
"Hah! You owe me five silver!"
"Luck? What the Hell is that going to do?"
They seemed to think themselves validated.
Yes, they thought right; Ignotus was useless.
At least for now, he accepted that.
So he said nothing.
Ding!
Instead, his smile widened the furthest since waking up...
{Ethereal Element 'Luck' Found!}
Calling it unnatural was the least of it.
{Prerequisite Condition Met!}
But he didn't seem to care...
{Saint System Activated!}
For his promised system had arrived.
{Welcome, Ignotus!}
'They' of the 'Truth' hadn't lied.