| “ | Odysseus was a hero in an ancient war. In the legends, some humans back then had powers akin to the Awakened. Achilles with an Aspect of indestructible body, Diomedes that was so ferocious even the God of War was wary of him, Ajax who was as strong as a giant. Odysseus was not the strongest, and not the bravest. However, he was the most cunning. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Style doesn't matter. Weapons don't matter. Reason and intent do not matter. The only thing that matters is to be the last one standing. In this way, anything you do in combat must be viewed as only serving one of two purposes: either to kill your enemy or to prevent the enemy from killing you. | ” |
― To Sunny and Cassie, | ||
| “ | A sword can pierce, it can cut, it can bash. It can be used effectively at a variety of ranges. It is swift and maneuverable. Every part of the sword, from tip to pommel, can be used to attack. While wielding a sword, you won't be the best at everything. But you'll be the most adaptable. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | If that is our will, who dares to stop us? | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | We were already lucky to survive for as long as we did. But in the end, no matter how much we fought and persevered, we still encountered the Soul Tree. This should have been our end. Do you know how improbable it is that we even got a chance to have this conversation? First, we had to have an oracle in our group to see the future. Then, Cassie had to formulate and execute an ingenious plan in the short amount of time her memory remained intact. That plan was based on the fact that there was someone with an awakened armor of fifth tier in our group, one enchanted with the extremely rare mind protection trait, no less… That person then had to find and kill a Great Devil. More incredibly, he had to receive an actual Lineage Memory from it. Do I need to explain how implausible this combination of events is? |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Actually, I have to thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would have never learned how to deceive people so easily. I had a very sheltered upbringing, for obvious reasons. Communicating with others had always been something I knew very little about. How fortunate it was to meet you, of all people, on this forsaken shore. Lucky me. Right? No one survives in the Dream Realm alone. I knew that I won't be an exception to this rule, so I watched Cassie and you and tried my hardest to learn from you both. That's when I noticed that nothing you ever said — or did — was true. Wasn't it? No matter what happened, you somehow always managed to keep your real thoughts, desires, and reasons hidden. I've never seen anyone so adept at deception. Congratulations, Sunny! The mind games you played with us were almost as devious as the mental hex of the Soul Devourer. It was nothing short of inspiring. You can even easily turn truths into lies. How… brilliant. I never even knew that such a thing was possible. Silly me. I didn't know a lot of things before I met you. So, you see… while you were learning how to use a sword from me, I was learning how to use people from you. So please, Sunny, accept my sincere gratitude. I could not have wished for a better teacher. Without you, none of this would have been possible! |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | ...I knew that you would be fine. After all, a cockroach like you is not easy to kill... Oh, sorry. I meant it as a compliment… | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | That's Night, you idiot! Night from Nightingale! The Night! It's… only the best and most famous idol group of the last decade. Triple Orpheus winners, one hundred consecutive weeks at the top of all charts, six diamond albums. That… that Nightingale. That Night. The lead vocalist… | ” |
― To Sunny about Kai, | ||
| “ | Don't be misled by his act, Effie. Sunny might behave like a cowardly weakling, but in fact, he's the last person in the Dark City I would want to face in combat. He is far more dangerous than anyone thinks he is. Isn't it right, Sunny? | ” |
― To Effie about Sunny, | ||
| “ | Life is not a story, Sunny. It only ends when you die. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Because there's only two people I trust in this world, Sunny. One is Cassie. The other one is you. I only trust you to have my back. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Keep sharpening your sword, Sunny. I expect big things from you. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Follow me, and I will lead you out of this hell. Follow me, and I will show you the path back to your homes. But make no mistake…The road ahead will be long and arduous. Not everyone will make it. The weak will die. The strong will die, too. And those who remain won't be the same. But there is one thing I can promise you…Follow me… and you will never be slaves...Slaves to your fear, slaves to your fate, slaves to the Nightmare Spell. Come with me, and whether you live or die, you will do so humans. Not cowering beasts. | ” |
― To the five hundred sleepers that survived in the Dark City, | ||
| “ | Why? Are you the only one who is allowed to grow and change? Can't I change too, Sunny? | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | I have never felt truly connected to the rest of humanity. I was always… a bit of a stranger, I guess. Out there in the Dream Realm, with only Nightmare Creatures surrounding me, that connection grew even more ethereal. Sometimes, I even felt like everything except for that desolate purgatory had been just a fleeting dream… a strange illusion that I had imagined. The Dream Realm… it seemed much more real. It seemed like a place where I belonged. With other monsters like me… | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Results matter, yes… but it's not like how you got there doesn't. Every victory you achieve teaches you a lesson. Every defeat you suffer teaches you even more. I guess it all depends on what you call strength. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | ...Because I don't need anyone to follow me against their will. I don't need a magical collar to make people serve me. I don't need slaves. That is not enough for me, Sunny. Why should I settle for submission when I can have loyalty? People who will follow me, serve me, and obey me will do so because that is their most ardent desire. They will do so with a smile. If I ever want to make you mine, Sunny, you will become mine — not because you were forced to, but because you would want to. That... is also a fact. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | As I said, I will never force you to do anything. But whether you like it or not, our fates are intertwined. And that bond has nothing to do with your Innate Ability. In truth, they were entangled the moment we met, in front of the Academy gates. We just did not know it yet. You can't escape it. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Odysseus was a great hero of Hellas, but he was not the greatest one. The greatest and most powerful hero was named Heracles, who was a demigod and a slayer of monsters. Heracles possessed incredible strength and performed many incredible feats... after he died, the gods took his soul to the heavenly realm, where he became an immortal god himself. However, Odysseus once descended into the underworld, where he saw the shadows of the dead. Among them was the forlorn shadow of Heracles... so, when I was a child, I always wondered how Heracles could both be a god and a lost shadow in the land of the dead. |
” |
― Telling the story to Sunny, | ||
| “ | Sunny! Don't die! Please! | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | ...Honestly, Sunny… for someone who claims to have never used his shadow to do perverted things at the Academy dormitory, you sure think of weird stuff often. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | ...It would be strange and tempting, to know that no matter what I do, there would be no consequences tomorrow. Maybe I would have done some things that I never dared to do before. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | You and I, Sunny... we were born in a time of war, disaster, and ruin. In a world that is being killed by a flood of invaders. Such a world doesn't need saviors and builders... their time will come after killers and destroyers like us do our part. If we don't, there will be no world to save, and no homes to rebuild. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | I... Will show you... The horror... Of the Immortal Flame. | ” |
― To the enemies, | ||
| “ | I came into this world… as a sharp blade… But with every step I took, my edge was dulled. I've made compromises, learned how to act reasonably, and forced myself to move with restraint. ...I am tired of compromises. I am tired of being reasonable. I am tired of being restrained. I... am Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan. Who dares to stop me? |
” |
― To Soul Stealer, | ||
| “ | Being enslaved by fear is more foolish. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Firstly... I'm not planning on dying here. Call me arrogant, if you wish. Secondly, aren't you being a little hypocritical, Lord Shadow? No one forced you to rescue the Sleepers last year, and yet you did. Not only that, but you even escorted them all the way to the territory of Clan Song. So, please forgive me... but I know that you are not as heartless as you want to appear behind that mask. And most importantly... because I want to. That's the only reason I need. |
” |
― To Lord of Shadows, | ||
| “ | You know... I think I am going to give up on wearing armor altogether. What is the point, if it only ends up being destroyed? Or worse, a burden. Especially these suits of full plate that Knights ofValor prefer — in the last battle, the left elbow joint was bent almost immediately. I had to struggle every time I needed to bend my arm. I think it will be great... less burden, more mobility, wider field of view. Not to mention the heat — everyone still cooking inside a steel armor will be green with envy, looking at my well—ventilated self. |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | If I were wounded and in pain right in front of you, and you had the power to stop my suffering, would you have hesitated to help me because of a few fleeting moments of agony? | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Seriously… how come I am only ever surrounded by such people? Both you and Cassie. She has this infuriating habit of bottling things up, suffering in silence, and treating me like some kind of fragile flower. I watched her retreat into herself for four entire years, never admitting what was wrong… |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Why? Did you assume that I can't cook, Master Sunless? Naturally, I can. I received an extensive education as a scion of a Legacy clan, after all, including advanced courses on meal preparation and nutrition. So, I am quite skilled in these matters as well. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | If you are grateful, don't get hurt so easily. I… don't like it when you get hurt. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Have you ever met a being who could reduce you to a shrieking pile of charred flesh, then heal you, then burn you to ash all over again? Until you lose even the ability to curse the day you became immortal and forget how to beg for mercy. | ” |
― To Asterion, | ||
| “ | People call me a hero, you know. For leading the Sleepers of the Dark City back to the waking world. But actually, there was nothing heroic about it. I merely used them to achieve my goals. I needed an army to reach the Gateway, and for that, I needed to wrestle authority out of Gunlaug's hands. So, I simply made myself into the opposite of Gunlaugh. I didn't really know much about people back then... but becoming the opposite of the man who oppressed them was simple enough. Of course, I sincerely believed that laying siege to the Crimson Spire was the best choice for all of them - the only choice. But, still. I did it for myself. I did it to pursue my goals. |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Victorious? Oh... no, not at all. I only ever tasted defeat for the longest time.. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | It might not look like it from the outside, considering how glorious and exalted the image of Changing Star, the last daughter of the Immortal Flame, is. But what led me here was not a string of triumphant victories. Rather, to me, it seems like the story of my life is a story of being defeated over and over again, losing everything over and over again, not knowing how to give up. So, if I do have one virtue, that virtue is perseverance... not valor. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | As I said, perseverance is my only virtue. It doesn't matter how many defeats I suffer, because I am always the one left standing in the end. I always rise back up, no matter how many times I'm pushed to the ground. Because I am still naive... and young... and I still don't know how to give up. Being good at failure is also a skill, you know. So, let's make sure to win this time. When this is over, the Dreamspawn will be the one sprawled in the mud, while we will be the ones standing above him. Because... You and me.. Who dares to stop us? |
” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | Shadow Cohort, Shadow Legion... Lord of Shadows, shadows, Shadows, shades... Rain did mention that naming things is a glaring flaw in your otherwise stellar collection of talents, but do you really just add 'shadow' to everything when you need to name something? | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
| “ | At the beginning, I thought that it would be simple, to allow someone into my life without inviting them into my heart. I never had any experience with the affairs of the heart, after all, so it was easy to be arrogant. But as time went on and we grew closer, nothing was simple. Everything was complicated. | ” |
― To Sunny, | ||
Sources & history
Nephis/Quotes · Shadow Slave Wiki
Source revision 41856
Adapted from Fandom. CC-BY-SA
Retrieved 2026-11-04 · Article version 1