The Reincarnated Prince And His Rune Dominion

Chapter 02 – Ending & Beginning

In a modest rental house at the edge of a bustling city, a middle-aged man lay exhausted on his bed, wrestling with the decision ahead of him: return to his home country or continue chasing the dream project he had devoted so much effort to.

As he drifted in and out of thought, a memory surfaced.

He recalled walking into the grand lobby of the company’s towering headquarters, every detail a testament to ambition and authority. Clutching a neatly organized folder, he approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me, ma'am… has the director arrived yet?” he asked politely.

The receptionist glanced up. “Oh, he left about an hour ago. He had a meeting.”

He frowned, checking his watch. “But... isn't the meeting scheduled for now? How could he have left already?”

“He said the schedule was changed yesterday. Didn’t you receive the update?” she replied.

His expression darkened. “No, I didn’t.”

He retrieved an envelope from his coat pocket and quietly placed it on the desk. In a low voice, he said,

“Please, ma'am… can you help me?”

The receptionist’s eyes flicked to the envelope before she slipped it into her pocket. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice to a whisper:

 "You can go to…"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Who is it? What is it?" asked a middle-aged man, half-dressed, clothes scattered across the floor.

From behind the slightly ajar door came a voice,

"Boss, he's here..."

Realizing who it was, the man clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Tch... always such a bother."

He turned to the woman beside him and said,

"Step out for a moment. Just five minutes."

He gave her a quick kiss while slipping on his shirt.

As the kiss ended, the woman smiled and replied,

"Alright, darling… we’ll pick this up later, okay?"

She left the room, which remained in disarray.

Moments later, another man entered and started,

"Director, this project is-"

not even pausing to acknowledge the room’s condition.

But before he could finish, the director cut him off coldly,

"You have five minutes to explain. After that, I’ll read the documents later."

His tone was sharp, his eyes indifferent, he looked at the man as if he were an insect.

The visitor sighed.

"Understood…"

He began his presentation.

Six minutes passed.

The director raised his hand.

"Time’s up. Leave."

The man paused, startled. He stammered,

"At least… give me five more minutes. I-"

"No," the director interrupted firmly.

"Leave. Your time is over."

He didn’t even look at him, his gaze fixed on his wristwatch.

Hearing “leave” a second time, the man exhaled deeply and replied,

"Yes, sir," then turned to exit.

As he reached the door, the director called out,

"Don’t forget to give the documents to my assistant."

The man’s expression darkened, but he only muttered,

"Understood," and left the room in silence.

After the man left, another man wearing a lab coat entered through the back door and sat across from the director. Moments later, a seductive woman walked in, took a seat beside the director, and began kissing him.

In the middle of the kiss, the director spoke casually,

“Check the documents. Are they useful?”

The man in the lab coat opened the file left behind, reading it carefully. After a few silent minutes of analysis, he finally said,

“Brilliant work… but unfortunately, he’s an unstable variable.”

Hearing that, the director spoke as if he were ordering coffee,

“Then just get rid of him. The data is proven to be valid, right?”

The man in the lab coat hesitated, visibly uncomfortable in his seat.

“But Director…”

The director, uninterested in hearing excuses, cut him off,

“If you’re hesitant, I’ll handle it myself.”

He reached for a phone that had fallen to the floor, dialed a number, and waited for the line to connect. Leaning back in his chair, he spoke in a cold tone,

“Hey… I have a job for you.”

----

The next day, as the man was preparing the schedule for his next presentation, he received a call on his phone, from the receptionist of the company he visited yesterday.

He frowned as he saw the caller ID.

"Didn't I already submit the file? Could they have approved it faster than I expected?" he muttered doubtfully.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," said the voice on the other end politely.

"Oh, it’s no problem. What is it?" he replied.

The receptionist continued,

"I was asked by the director to contact you. The director said, ‘The proposal you submitted is too ambitious, and we've decided to decline it.’ However, he also said, ‘You’re welcome to submit another project, we’d be happy to consider it.’”

Her tone was apologetic.

The man's face went pale. He took a deep breath and replied,

"Alright. Thank you for informing me."

After a brief pause, the receptionist added,

"Thank you again, sir. Best of luck," before ending the call.

He sat frozen, silent, unable to believe that his proposal had been rejected so quickly, especially by someone who had once supported him enthusiastically.

Several hours passed before he fully collected himself. He stared at a neat stack of business cards, directors and companies he had met before.

Slowly, he opened the box and picked out the cards one by one.

The rejection stung, but he tried to calm his mind.

With a heavy breath, he stood up and began calling other companies, one by one, to schedule meetings.

He visited several companies, presenting the proposal in full detail.

But the results were always the same, he thought gloomily.

After meeting with a director and pitching his promising proposal, the only response was,

"Sorry, this is too much for us to handle..."

The next day, he met another director. Again, he presented his project, yet again, the answer was:

"Sorry… we truly can’t support this project."

Days went by. At the twelfth company, he heard the same words once more:

"Sorry... we just can't afford this," the director said with clear reluctance.

------------------------------------------------------

Now, exhaustion and despair blanketed him.

He lay motionless on the bed of his rented apartment, staring at the wall filled with framed certificates, reminders of a once-brilliant past, and a future that now seemed uncertain and bleak.

PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Physics.

PhD in Chemistry.

PhD in Computer Science and Computer Engineering.

All those achievements felt meaningless if his dream project could never come to life.

He still wanted to keep going, but limited funds, an overly ambitious project, and a lack of strong connections were beginning to crush his spirit.

“Maybe… it’s time to give up and go home,” he muttered to himself quietly, as he opened a flight booking app on his phone.

An hour later, after a long moment of hesitation and reflection, he whispered with a heavy heart,

“I give up…”

With trembling hands, he tapped the ‘Book’ button.

---

At the intelligence office, a senior officer was sorting through documents when his phone rang.

It was a call from one of his subordinates.

After picking up and answering, he said in a firm tone,

"Yes? I hope this is important."

His subordinate responded quickly,

"Boss, he's going home. He booked a plane ticket an hour ago."

The voice sounded confident.

The officer asked, slightly confused,

"Who?"

"Project 1337..." the subordinate replied.

Immediately, the officer searched for the file on his computer.

Once he found it, he grinned.

"Oh... that damn pawn. Do it now. Erase everything. Make sure there's no trace, no suspicion pointed at us."

"Understood," the subordinate replied before ending the call.

The boss stared at the screen for a few seconds longer.

"Smart... but unfortunate. If he gets away, he could become a serious threat. What a shame."

Then he closed the document and fell silent.

**At the Airport**

"Gate 8, Gate 8... Oh, here it is."

A female officer at the counter smiled. "Ticket, please."

"Here..."

She glanced at it. "B-20. Go to the right, sir."

"Okay, thanks..."

As he walked toward his seat, he accidentally bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry, sir," the man said.

"It's fine," he replied, unaware that in that brief contact, he had been injected with a nearly imperceptible anesthetic.

Five minutes later, he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the man who had injected him walked toward the cockpit. Approaching the pilot, he simply said, "Sir, CIA." At the same time, ten other passengers exited the plane.

**One Hour Later**

He woke up to an eerie silence. The plane was still in flight, but the passengers were gone.

"You're awake..." a voice said.

The man who had spoken earlier emerged from the cockpit, wearing a parachute and holding a gun.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"CIA," the man answered.

He was still confused. "So..."

The agent continued, "At 15:00, you booked a flight ticket home. The moment you did that, you became a threat to us. You understand, right?"

His face paled. "But... I just wanted to go home..."

"That's not my problem." The agent walked to the door and pulled it open, the wind roaring through the cabin.

"Good luck. Have a nice flight." With those final words, he jumped from the plane.

The man sat frozen, processing what had just happened. Then, realization dawned on him, and he whispered, "Damn... I was betrayed..." Those were his last words before everything went dark.