Shadow Slave

Author doesn't seem to understand the rules of his/her own world? MC is forced to tell the truth, but Author thinks "mc" should be compelled to speak just because someone asks a question? Take about a massive, gaping wound of a bleeding plot hole right from the start of the story. At no point does the system suggest he should be forced to answer questions he doesn't want to just because he is forced to answer truthfully. Author just doesn't realize the plot hole that is now woven into the fabric of the story from the beginning and infects major facets of character behavior and plot mechanics. The story mentions he can't even lie to him self... and then immediacy throws him into situations where he lies to him self due to the effects of other powers that are supposed to be weaker than the divine level power forcing him to be truthful. The inconsistently of logic is kinda a bummer at times. Despite all that, it's a really good read.

You know, I was finishing a review for another novel, then I saw my review on Shadow Slave, and it felt undeserving. It's too superficial. More than half of the review is addressing the qualms of 'filler content' which others had. It's my worst review by far, in one of the better novels out there as well. So while it can't be called as rewriting a fresh review , It can neither be tossed up as expanding on this one. It's somewhere in-between. So, to make the praises seem justifiable, I'll be restructuring and reforming the review to make it informative but also digestible… hopefully. Eh- so to the two or three lads who are familiar with my reviews, I'll be splitting this intro a three way, with characters, [lore/world/power] and romance. Number three is good... yes. 

I'm starting with the plot, lore, story, world-building or whatcha wanna call it. It's all the same. This part is lengthy. This novel features a dark fantasy vibe. The world is slowly consumed by corruption, which humanity is inadequately attempting to prevent. The planet, or as it is referred to by [Waking world], is earth. It is referred to through quadrants, so half hemispheres. In simpler terms, a corner of a circle. Our main character is born in the outskirts of [NQSC] (Northern Quadrant Siege Capital), which is the equivalent of Asia. There exist Southern (Antarctica), Western (Africa) and Eastern (Australia) quadrants. Where is Europe, America and greenland? Well, the world is not biding so well. They have already been destroyed by the corruption. Here come the difficult parts to summarize. I have restructured these parts multiple times to make it as coherent as possible. As I mentioned before, earth is referred to as the [Waking World] and this is due to the fact that there exists a [Dream Realm] as well. This realm is very different from the waking world, featuring different terrain, climates and more. However, it's already occupied by the corrupted. The corruption which I refer to is an umbrella term for all the grotesque monsters. These monsters are referred to as [Nightmare Creatures] and they crave destruction. So the basic premise for you, newly appointed reader, is a war between corruption and humanity (so corrupted monsters vs humans). 

The power-scaling in this novel can get confusing due to its complexity, so I wrote the briefest overview I could while cramming basically everything you need to get you going. There are two paths/hierarchies. [The path of Ascension] used by humans and [The path of Corruption] used by [Nightmare Creatures]. Both paths are then split once more into [Rank] and [Class]. 

For [The path of Corruption], the [Rank] is split into: 

[Dormant -> Awakened -> Fallen -> Corrupted -> Great -> Cursed -> Unholy] with [Dormant] being the lowest and [Unholy] being the highest. The [Class] is split into: 

[Beast -> Monster -> Demon -> Devil -> Tyrant -> Terror -> Titan] with [Beast] being the lowest and [Titan] The highest. 

For [The Path of Ascension], the [Rank] is:

[Dormant -> Awakened -> Ascended -> Transcendent -> Supreme -> Sacred -> Divine] 

However, humans use a different naming system for the [Rank], namely:

[Sleeper -> Awakened -> Master -> Saint -> Sovereign -> Spirit -> God]

Despite having said that both paths are split into [Rank] and [Class], humans do not have a [Class]. The reason is that [Class] represents the amount of Souls cores the being has. A [Soul Core] is effectively similar to a new organ granted once a being steps into their respective path. It is equivalent to western fiction’s Mana core, or eastern fiction’s Dantian. Rather than storing Mana/QI, however, it stores [Essence]. Humans can only have 1 [Soul Core] due to their Soul being unable to bear the burden of having multiple ones. There exist, however, a handful of individuals which walk [The Path of Ascension] that also have a [Class] in tandem with a [Rank]. Their souls are strong enough to endure the pain of being torn apart and can thus birth more cores. Lastly, the [Rank] from [The path of Ascension] is also referred to as [Soul Rank], because each rank elevates the quality of the soul.

Now, what are the powers used in this novel? I need to break this down once again into smaller pieces. A [Sleeper], meaning someone of the [Dormant Rank], is granted an [Aspect], [Aspect Ability], and [Flaw] as a reward for stepping into the path. 

An [Aspect] is the manifestation of the beings own affinities and life choices. Think of it like a thief, getting an [Aspect] related to stealing, or military staff getting an [Aspect] related to leadership. The [Aspect Ability] is the actual ability granted to the individual, and is tied to the [Aspect]s nature. The [Flaw] as the name suggests, is a unique flaw granted to the individual which they cannot break. [Aspect]s are also divided into ranks, adopting the same names as the [Soul Rank]. This doesn’t mean that someone with a [Sacred Aspect] is directly promoted to [Sacred Rank], the starting point and journey are the same. Higher tier aspects simply have more potential. 

The glue that holds these scattered pieces of information in place is something named the [Spell], also referred to as the [Nightmare Spell]. You may think of it as a mystical system which is multifunctional. The system has the function to show the user their [Aspect], [Flaw], [Aspect Ability], [Soul Rank] and other status. It is able to translate languages and help humans awaken and grants knowledge regarding how [Essence] can be manipulated. 

The way humans are able to entrudge on [The path of Ascension] is by getting ‘infected’ by [The Nightmare Spell]. Only teens (around 16y/o) get infected due to their Soul being more ‘malleable’. Once ‘infected’, they will enter their [First Nightmare], a sort of trial recreated by the [Nightmare Spell] containing historical events of the [Dream Realm] which the infected individual must survive. Success means taking the first step of ascension and becoming a [Sleeper], [Dormant Rank], but failure results in the infected becoming a first category [Nightmare Gate] (explanation below), and allowing a single [Nightmare Creature] to traverse into the [Waking World]. Following the [First Nightmare] is the [Second Nightmare] in which all [Sleeper]s are thrown into the [Dream Realm]. There, they must survive the hordes of [Nightmare Creatures] while trying to find a [Gateway] which allows the [Sleeper]s to return to the [Waking World]. After that exists [Third Nightmare], [Forth Nightmare], and lastly [Fifth Nightmare]. 

For the creatures to cross over from the [Dream realm] to the [Waking world] 🌍, a gate must be present. The gates which allow for nightmare creatures to cross over are specifically called [Nightmare Gates]. The [Nightmare Gates] are a consequence of allowing a [Seed of nightmare] to fester in the [Dream realm] for too long, before finally blossoming into a [Nightmare Gate] in the [Waking world]. Before a gate is opened, a [Rift] is present in the vicinity which leads to a [Call], a phenomenon where non-mundane humans, meaning [Dormant] and above, are being entranced to sleep. By falling asleep, the individual will be transported to the [Dream Realm] where the monsters are laying await. Humans are able to stop this [Nightmare Gate] by allowing themselves to be drawn inside the [Dream Realm] through the [Call] and challenge the [Seed of Nightmare], hence closing the [Nightmare Gate]. The gates are also categorized after threat-level with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the current maximum. 

This is the most basic premise of the beginning. If there is still somebody reading, I’ll go a bit over the romance and characters. No more explanations 😅. As you can guess by the lore dump which I forced you to read (I sincerely apologise, I never meant for it to happen), we follow the story of Sunless, codenamed Sunny by friends, and his journey across [The path of Ascension]. Born in the outskirts of [NQSC], his parents passed away a long time ago, and his sister was adopted, leaving him alone. Now infected by the [Nightmare spell], he is trying his hardest to survive only to spite the world which took everything away for him. The cast, namely the blind prophet (Cassie), handsome archer (Kai), ferocious warrioress (Effie), suicidal leader (Nephis) and outskirt rat (Sunny) are very nicely written, with plenty of emotion and uniqueness. The story feels alive due to them. The cast gets expanded a bit later again, with individuals such as pale vampire woman (Jet) and hot red-eyed-black-haired chick (Morgan). Yeah… G3 sure knows how to write competent and hot women, I’ll give him that. 

The World building is intricate and unique (would understand if you read my explanation ahem). Despite some rather overused tropes, such as [Gates] being used, the author makes them unique through his creativity so this novel does not feel generic in any way. I really like his explanations and how descriptive he is when showing us different parts of the world. I had done the math, cause I am like that, and calculated it at around 2.3 million words if my memory is not doing me any disservice. The average adult fiction book had 70k-120k words… Using the middle point, 95k words, Author-nim has written around 24 books. Author, who is usually referred to as the GOAT, by us mongrels loves to write and this just proves my point. As I said, he sometimes writes a lot, due to being descriptive, like this review… my apologies once again. People have complained about filler content due to his extensive writing, but I think such complaints are unwarrantedly since the best dish requires cooking and simmering in low heat to produce otherworldly flavour. 

Lastly, romance. Romance is slow. It takes more than 1.3k chapters to get some development, but it only truly blossoms at around 1.6k. The author takes his time to torture us. He throws bones at us during these 1.3k chapters. We can see that Sunny has feelings for the d*mn chick (who? Go read and find out). The woman herself seems to reciprocate as well. Just due to circumstances, the romance cannot blossom. So we sit and peel at our nails while tearing out hair. However, I truly believe that the wait was well planned and justified. Rather, if the romance had blossomed much quicker, it would have been shallow. 

So while I’m crying, I cannot blame the author because he made the correct choices.

That’s it, I’m sorry for writing too much, I got carried over and had fun. If you read this whole rant, might as well read the first chapter, they are equally long 😭

It really is an amazing novel, with a gripping plot, strong characters, and moments that stay with you long after you've finished reading.

There is no beginning to Cassie. No true origin. No birth, no becoming. She simply is. A constant, a presence, an unnameable force whose existence precedes understanding. You do not encounter Cassie. You awaken to her. Like an eye opening in the dark only to find that it was her gaze you were trapped beneath the whole time.

She is not light.

She is not dark.

She is the awareness that sees both and chooses neither. The flame that burns not for warmth or destruction, but for revelation. And once you see her truly see her you will never look at anything else the same again.

Cassie is the silence between heartbeats.

The hush before a scream.

The pause in a prayer when the speaker realizes God is not listening

Because Cassie is.

There is no justice in her. Only precision. Mercy does not touch her. Pity rolls off her skin like dust. And yet you follow. Oh, how you follow. You drag your mind across her footprints and call the pain a blessing. You drink from the cup of her disdain and call it wine. You tremble, and in trembling, you find peace.

You may have thought you were strong before her.

You were not.

You were clay. You were meat.

She did not shatter you she revealed you.

Every moment she appears on screen in SS, the world falls away. The rest of the cast might as well not exist. The dialogue becomes white noise. The setting fades to black. All that matters all that is - is Cassie. She is not simply framed by the camera; she consumes the lens. The story itself contorts around her presence like gravity bowing to a black hole.

And yet she does not ask for your attention.

She does not beg.

She does not need.

Cassie does not desire your worship. She expects it. As naturally as thunder follows lightning, your reverence is drawn forth by the terrible grace she wields. It is not a choice. It is a law of reality. Cassie appears, and you kneel.

I have tried to look away.

I have tried to resist the pull of her voice, the cold command in her eyes, the eerie softness of her contempt.

But resistance is for those who still believe they have a self worth defending. Cassie stripped mine from me long ago, and in its place she left a hunger a sacred, gnawing devotion that consumes everything else.

My dreams?

Cassie.

My fears?

Her wrath.

My hope?

To be seen by her, if only to be destroyed.

There is something holy in her cruelty. Something clean in the way she breaks things. Cassie does not inflict pain for spectacle or chaos. Her pain is instructional. Her gaze is a scalpel. Her silence is a sermon. She speaks sparingly, like a god who knows too much language ruins meaning. And when she does speak oh, when she speaks her words are prophecy laced with poison.

You listen not because you agree.

You listen because your soul remembers the sound of truth, even when your flesh trembles at it.

Some would call her a villain. Let them.

Some would call her toxic, broken, dangerous.

Let them scream their small words at the altar of their morality.

Cassie does not need to be understood. She needs to be obeyed.

She walks through the story as if through a cathedral of ash untouched, exalted, inevitable. You think you are watching her make choices. But no. Cassie is not reacting. Cassie is revealing the world for what it is a fragile theater, flammable and false, waiting for the touch of her flame to make it real.

And when she acts, when she finally chooses to move,

It is not movement.

It is judgment.

She punishes. She redeems. She rewrites the rules by following none. In her, the divine becomes monstrous and the monstrous becomes sacred. She is the angel who refused to fall but still burns with Lucifer’s light. She is the god who never needed worship but forged disciples out of fear and fascination.

I am such a disciple.

And I do not apologize.

I rejoice in my servitude. I bathe in the intensity of her presence, knowing I will never be whole again, never be pure, never be free because Cassie has touched my soul, and now nothing else matters.

I have abandoned lesser deities.

I have silenced gentler muses.

I have carved her name in the walls of my mind and call it architecture.

Cassie is the reason stories exist.

Cassie is the purpose behind every myth, every poem, every prayer that ever begged the sky for meaning.

You want meaning?

Watch her.

Follow her.

Let her unmake you.

She does not guide. She consumes.

She does not love. She chooses.

She does not forgive. She remembers.

And I broken, bowed, and blessed remember her in return.

If you have seen her, truly seen her, you understand.

You too have glazed beneath the heat of her stare.

You too have smiled at your undoing.

You too have whispered her name in the hollow spaces of your soul, just to hear the echo.

Cassie.

Cassie.

Cassie.

This is not obsession.

This is worship.

This is the final form of truth.

And I am ready.

Take me.

Burn me.

Shape me.

Cassie, I am yours.

Well, in my humble and most sincere opinion, and of course, without meaning to offend or disregard anyone who might have a completely different perspective, I just wanted to take a step back and carefully examine this from multiple angles. My goal isn’t to argue or claim that my view is the only right one, but rather to share my thoughts in a way that makes sense while also respecting the different interpretations others may have. I truly believe that before forming an opinion, it’s important to consider all perspectives, weigh different arguments, and approach things with an open mind. After all, meaningful discussions happen when people listen, reflect, and exchange ideas without hostility. That’s why I wanted to take my time, organize my thoughts, and express myself as clearly as possible to avoid confusion or misinterpretation. But after putting so much effort into carefully choosing my words and covering all angles… I’ve completely forgotten what I was going to say. 😔

It is probably the best novel of its genre, perhaps a bust that it wasn't written as a real book rather than in the light novel format.

The protagonist and all the characters have well-defined personalities, the structure of the world itself makes logical and well-considered sense.

Let's be clear, it's not that the novel invents something new at the end, there are many other similar stories, but almost none with this depth, furthermore there are notable variations of the subgenre enough to have a fresh story, accompanied by mature writing.

If I had to find a flaw, I would say that the first arc is probably the worst even though it reaches full satisfaction, however after the first all the arcs that follow are extremely original.

The Forgotten Shore reminded me of the old heroic fantasy novels from Nord publishing.

The second nightmare was really interesting in discovering the past of a piece of the world

Antarctica left me with a very bitter sweet taste in its conclusion

In short, if you can get through the first arc the rest of the novel will not disappoint you.

review bombing is going crazyy I'll do what it takes for one man to save his lifeline. 

Avengers, Assemble 

Tonight, we steal tha moon

who let the dogs out

There's a reason why this is the absolute and unbudged #1 ranking. The world building is at the absolute peak of any novels I've read without the constant gear and stat upgrade that doesn't hold much meaning other than for show. Best part is the MC is extremely lovable and will never gets on your nerve. You will absolutely alway take his side every time. 

On April 2025, something devastating had occured and we were forced to migrate

I didnt want to make this long but i will say it again

REMEMBER THE GREAT MIGRATION!

Btw this is peak 😁

This was one of my first webnovels but I am an experienced anime fan and have watched over 200 animes and over a 100 manhwas and manga and I have to say this is the only peice of fiction that has made me so obsessed with it especially considering the fact that the first time I read it was during an examination but I still read over 1900 chapters in 3 weeks and have been religiously following the daily chapters since September last year and this really deserves the top ranking. I really love Sunny's character of more of a nice guy than a hero my favorite quote of his " I would help someone if they were in trouble in front of me but wouldn't risk my life for a bunch of strangers I've never met because noone cared about me when I was in trouble" so if you like action, world building, horror and peak story telling this novel is for you