Ryougi Shiki — memorable quote from The Garden of Sinners Chapter 1: Overlooking View

“To live is to undertake a journey - no, to undertake a journey is to live. To face the wind or to follow it, all journeys lead to the gates of death... The light in which all journeys are taken is deceptive - not hopeful, but sorrowful. And the struggle never ends. Everywhere on the earth is fleeting life. We are blown by the wind. The words we write in the sand disappear and finally, when we are swallowed by the sea we do not hear the waves. The humblest of creatures must face these dreadful barriers. No-not barriers, but challenges rather...”

“What does it mean to be reborn? That isn't the life I had anymore. It's someone else's life. Everyone only gets to live life one time [Yuri places her hand on her chest.], and it's right here. I only get it once. This is my life. I can't entrust it to someone, I can't steal a new one, I can't force it on others, I can't forget it or erase it. I can't stomp over it, laugh at it, or beautify it! I can't anything! I'd have to accept my one shot at life no matter how cruel, merciless, or unfair I thought it was! Sir, don't you understand? That is why I must fight. I must keep on fighting! Because... because I can never [slams her desk with her hands] accept that kind of life!”

“The cycle of life goes only one direction, not even alchemy can change that.”

“Life perpetuates itself through diversity, and this includes the ability to sacrifice itself when necessary. Cells repeat the process of degeneration and regeneration until one day they die, obliterating an entire set of memory and information. Only genes remain. Why continually repeat this cycle? Simply to survive by avoiding the weaknesses of an unchanging system.”

“Time brings an end to all things. Even if we plug our ears and cover our eyes.”