The final traces of winter lingered quietly across the Mauryan capital.
Cold wind still drifted through the palace corridors after sunset, though the air had softened compared to earlier weeks. Thin patches of snow remained scattered along the stone courtyards while torchlight flickered against ancient walls beneath the night sky.
Inside his chambers, the brazier burned steadily beside the wall.
Warm orange light filled the room softly.
Rudura sat alone near the low table once again.
Échecs Humains rested open before him.
The black-covered book had gradually changed the way he viewed people entirely.
Not because it taught him new emotions.
Because it revealed hidden patterns beneath emotions he had already witnessed his entire life.
Tonight, another title rested before his eyes.
Men See the World Less Through Truth and More Through Desire
Rudura stared at the words silently.
Then slowly lowered his gaze toward the opening lines beneath them.
Most men believe they seek truth sincerely. In reality, they often seek versions of truth that protect desire, identity, hope, or fear.
The brazier crackled softly nearby.
Rudura continued reading.
Human perception bends quietly toward emotional comfort long before logic notices the distortion.
That sentence lingered immediately.
Because almost at once, memories surfaced from his previous life.
Classrooms.
Friendships.
Arguments.
Beliefs.
Rudura leaned slightly back while staring thoughtfully into the firelight.
He remembered students asking teachers questions…
not always to understand the correct answer.
Sometimes they only wanted confirmation for what they already hoped was true.
Interesting.
People often searched for reassurance disguised as truth.
The realization settled quietly within him.
Rudura lowered his gaze toward Échecs Humains again.
Men do not merely observe reality. They interpret reality through longing, fear, insecurity, pride, and expectation.
That line connected sharply with countless memories.
Another surfaced immediately afterward.
Examination discussions.
Students frequently convinced themselves certain answers were correct after tests ended, even when uncertainty remained obvious.
Interesting.
Hope itself influenced perception.
The realization lingered heavily.
Another memory followed.
Friendships.
Rudura remembered people ignoring obvious warning signs because they desperately wanted relationships to remain genuine.
At the time, he thought:
"They're blind."
Now another possibility surfaced.
Perhaps desire itself softened perception intentionally.
Interesting.
Humans often protected emotional comfort by refusing clarity.
Outside, cold wind brushed softly against the palace windows.
Inside the chamber, the brazier flickered steadily.
Another memory surfaced.
Online discussions from his previous life.
Fans defending public figures irrationally despite overwhelming evidence against them.
Interesting.
People defended beliefs emotionally tied to identity far more aggressively than ordinary opinions.
The realization connected sharply with earlier chapters:
self-image
emotion
meaning
fear
Everything intertwined naturally.
Rudura rested one arm lightly against his knee while continuing to read.
Truth threatens men most when it endangers something they emotionally depend upon.
That sentence stayed with him immediately.
Because painful truths often faced the strongest resistance.
Another memory surfaced.
A student constantly convinced teachers disliked him personally.
Even when teachers praised him sincerely, he interpreted criticism more strongly than encouragement.
Interesting.
Fear altered perception selectively.
The realization felt painfully human.
Another memory followed.
Arguments between friends.
Both sides frequently remembered events differently afterward.
Not always intentionally.
Interesting.
Memory itself bent slightly toward emotional self-protection.
Very interesting.
The brazier cracked softly nearby.
Rudura slowly turned another page.
The human mind accepts comfortable lies more easily than uncomfortable truths.
That line lingered deeply.
Because it explained countless behaviors naturally.
Another memory surfaced from his previous life.
Students believing rumors quickly when the rumors matched their existing opinions about someone.
Interesting.
Desire influenced credibility.
The realization settled heavily.
People rarely judged information completely objectively.
Instead, they subconsciously asked:
Do I want this to be true?
Does this fit my existing beliefs?
Does this protect my worldview?
Interesting.
Emotion shaped logic more subtly than most realized.
Outside, clouds drifted slowly across the moonlit capital.
Inside the room, firelight flickered gently across the pages of Échecs Humains.
Rudura leaned back slightly while thinking.
Then another memory surfaced unexpectedly.
A classmate defending a toxic friendship repeatedly despite obvious emotional harm.
At the time, Rudura struggled understanding why.
Now another layer became visible.
Perhaps loneliness made painful comfort feel preferable to uncertain isolation.
Interesting.
Desire distorted judgment quietly.
The realization made human behavior feel simultaneously irrational and understandable.
Rudura lowered his gaze toward the next passage.
Hope sharpens attention toward possibility while fear sharpens attention toward danger. Rarely do men observe reality untouched by either.
That sentence remained in his mind immediately.
Because perception itself depended heavily upon emotional state.
Another memory surfaced.
Students awaiting examination results.
Optimistic students interpreted uncertainty positively.
Fearful students interpreted the same uncertainty negatively.
Interesting.
Reality often remained unchanged while interpretation shifted entirely.
The realization felt important.
Another memory followed.
Social interactions.
People often interpreted neutral behavior according to personal insecurity.
A delayed reply became rejection.
A short answer became dislike.
Silence became hostility.
Interesting.
Humans filled uncertainty with emotional assumption constantly.
The realization lingered quietly.
The brazier burned lower beside the wall.
Rudura slowly exhaled.
Then continued reading.
Men frequently mistake emotional conviction for objective certainty.
That line interested him greatly.
Because confidence itself often persuaded people regardless of truth.
Another memory surfaced from his previous life.
Arguments where the louder or more emotionally certain individual convinced others despite weaker reasoning.
Interesting.
Humans responded emotionally to confidence.
The realization connected naturally with palace life too.
Nobles believing flattering words because ambition desired advancement.
Officials interpreting events according to political fear.
Rulers surrounding themselves with agreeable voices.
Interesting.
Power probably distorted perception even further.
The more authority someone possessed…
the easier it became hearing only comforting truths.
The thought lingered heavily.
Another memory followed.
A teacher once saying:
"People hear selectively when emotion becomes involved."
At the time, Rudura barely remembered the statement afterward.
Now it suddenly carried immense weight.
Interesting.
Humans filtered reality constantly.
Very constantly.
Outside, cold wind moved softly through distant palace corridors.
Inside the chamber, silence settled warmly around the firelight.
Rudura turned another page slowly.
The wise do not ask only whether something is true. They ask why they themselves wish for it to be true.
That sentence struck him deeply.
Because it shifted observation inward.
Another memory surfaced from his previous life.
Students convincing themselves impossible goals required little effort because they wanted success without sacrifice.
Interesting.
Desire created illusion naturally.
The realization lingered heavily.
Another memory followed.
People believing compliments instantly while questioning criticism endlessly.
Interesting.
Pride influenced trust.
Humans accepted information differently depending on emotional comfort.
The realization made objectivity feel extraordinarily difficult.
Not impossible.
But difficult.
Rudura thought briefly about himself now.
About reincarnation.
Ambition.
Purpose.
Interesting.
Even he himself was not entirely free from desire influencing perception.
The thought lingered quietly.
Another line from Échecs Humains caught his attention.
Self-awareness begins the moment men recognize that wanting something true does not make it true.
That sentence remained in his mind immediately.
Because it felt foundational somehow.
Many people lived emotionally inside preferred interpretations of reality.
Interesting.
Truth often mattered less psychologically than emotional compatibility.
The realization felt both unsettling and deeply realistic.
Another memory surfaced.
A student refusing to accept declining academic performance despite obvious evidence.
At the time, teachers called him stubborn.
Now Rudura wondered if fear simply made acceptance emotionally unbearable.
Interesting.
Humans resisted truths threatening identity, hope, or self-worth instinctively.
The realization connected sharply with nearly every earlier chapter of Échecs Humains.
Fear.
Identity.
Emotion.
Meaning.
Reputation.
Everything converged naturally.
Outside, pale moonlight stretched across the sleeping capital while cold wind drifted gently through distant archways.
Inside the chamber, the brazier flickered softly.
Rudura slowly closed his eyes briefly.
Then another realization surfaced quietly.
Perhaps humans did not merely fear truth itself.
Perhaps they feared the emotional destruction certain truths carried with them.
The thought lingered heavily.
The room remained silent except for the steady crackling of charcoal.
Rudura lowered his gaze toward the final lines of the chapter.
Perhaps the most difficult truths for men to accept are not the truths hardest to understand… but the truths that threaten what they desperately wish were real.
Silence filled the room afterward.
Because the sentence felt painfully true.
Humans rarely observed the world completely objectively.
Desire shaped perception quietly.
Fear shaped interpretation.
Hope softened judgment.
Not always consciously.
Sometimes instinctively.
Outside, moonlight covered the sleeping palace while cold wind moved softly through the night.
Rudura finally closed Échecs Humains gently.
Thump.
The chamber remained warm and still.
For a long while, he simply stared at the black-covered book silently.
Then quietly murmured into the firelit darkness:
"…Humans rarely see the world exactly as it is…"
"Most only see the version their hearts are prepared to survive."
(Continued in Chapter 90)