THE ONE WHO WAS THROWN AWAY
Darkness.
Not the comforting kind.Not the sleep-heavy, dream-warm kind.
No—this was the kind that pressed in from all sides, a suffocating void that felt aware.Watching.Judging.
Leon Valtaris lay on cold stone, cheek glued to the floor by blood that had already dried.
His blood.
His body refused to move, but his mind replayed the last twenty seconds of his previous life with perfect, vivid cruelty.
The raid.The betrayal.The shove.The fall.
And above all—
His captain's voice.
"You're dead weight, Leon. Someone had to be the sacrifice. Stay down."
The memory hit him like a fist. His eyes snapped open.
The darkness around him pulsed.
A soft chime echoed:
[System Installation Complete.]
Leon froze.
"…what?"
A new sound followed—like old parchment tearing itself out of the void.
[Welcome, Castaway.]
A small window materialized, glowing in the dark.
[Only one rule governs this place:— Only the one who was thrown away may enter.]
Leon's breath caught.His heartbeat quickened.The void shifted, and a thin, black parchment floated down from nothingness and hovered in front of him.
He didn't reach for it.
It reached for him.
[The 9,999 Names List has been bestowed.]
Words appeared on the parchment in blood-red strokes.
At first, only one name.
But it was enough to ignite something very old inside him.
— Jareth Mallon.His raid captain.
Leon stared, jaw clenched so tight he felt something crack.
"…Why?" he rasped. "Why is his name here?"
The parchment responded.
[Because he betrayed you.]
A second pulse.
[Because he threw you away.]
A third.
[Because you remember his name.]
The letters shimmered, fading into the parchment as if being carved permanently into its very soul.
Leon pushed himself to his knees, trembling and bleeding but awake in a way he hadn't been in years.
"Where… am I?"
The void heard him.
It answered.
A distant rumble followed—like the gears of a god beginning to turn.
Floor beneath him shuddered.Light tore down from above, splitting the darkness like a blade.
And a new window appeared.
[You have entered:— The Endless Tower.]
Leon blinked.
The light revealed a massive obsidian circular room, walls stretching upward into infinity. A single door waited ahead—ten meters tall, carved with shifting shadows and symbols he didn't recognize.
A final window appeared.
Name: Leon Valtaris
True Circle: ●Level: 1Class: NoneTitle: He Who Was Cast Into the Dark
Strength 8 | Agility 9 | Vitality 7 | Intelligence 10 | Sense 11Available Points: 0
Skills: NoneShadows: 0 stored / 0 deployed
Leon's lip curled."Right. Level one trash."
A familiar bitterness welled up.He remembered the jeers. The pity. The whispers behind his back.
"Should've been kicked from the guild months ago.""Someone like him? Dead weight.""He's only here because of his sister."
Seris.
His chest tightened.
Where was she?Was she safe?Did she even know what happened?
He had no answers.
But the Tower seemed to know his thoughts.
[Your sister lives.]
Leon staggered."Where is she!?"
[Beyond your reach.][For now.]
His hands shook.
"For now," he repeated under his breath. "Fine. Then I'll climb."
He pushed himself fully upright.
Only then did he notice the faint outline of a staircase winding upward beyond the massive door.
Infinite.Impossible.Inviting.
The System chimed again.
[First Trial: Floor 1 — The Hall of Shadows]
Objective: Survive.Reward: Class Selection.Penalty for failure: Death.
Leon let out a single, humorless exhale.
"Of course it is."
He approached the door—each step echoing through the empty hall like a verdict.
His legs protested, body screaming from the fall, from the beating, from the betrayal.But he didn't stop.
Let pain come.Pain meant he was still alive.
At the door, symbols rearranged themselves, forming a message.
[Castaway, enter and be judged.]
Leon placed his hand on the door.It was cold—unnaturally so.
"Judged?" he muttered."They already judged me. They threw me away."
The door boomed open.
And the shadows inside laughed.
THE HALL OF SHADOWS
The moment Leon stepped in, the door slammed shut behind him, vanishing into the wall.
Darkness warped around him.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of shadow-like figures peeled off the walls and ceiling, dragging themselves into humanoid shapes.
Headless.Hollow.Doll-like.
And every single one turned toward him.
Leon swallowed.
"Of course. Monsters."
A window opened.
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Extraction Lv.1]
Leon blinked."What does that—"
One of the shadows lunged.
Leon dodged by instinct, rolling under it.
The creature slammed into the floor where he had been, claws carving long marks into the obsidian.
Leon gasped for breath.
Then the System whispered:
[Because you remember their names, you cannot die here.]
Leon gritted his teeth."I don't remember these things."
[But they remember you.]
The shadows rushed as one.
Leon threw himself backward, adrenaline surging.
His hand brushed something cold.The black parchment.
The List.
He held it tightly—moreso out of instinct than strategy.
A shadow leaped.
Leon raised the parchment—
—and the creature froze mid-air.
A tendril of darkness extended from the parchment, wrapped around the monster's form, and crushed it into smoke.
Leon stared.
"…What?"
The System chimed.
[Shadow Extracted.]
[Shadow Count: 1][Shadow Extraction Lv.1 → Lv.2]
The remaining hundreds of shadows trembled—not with fear, but with hunger.
They all lunged.
Leon acted before he could think.
Swing parchment.Point it.Hold it out.
The List moved on its own, drinking the shadow bodies one by one—some pulled screaming, others dissolving instantly.
Leon felt their essence surge into him, raw and cold and intoxicating.
Windows burst across his vision.
[Shadow Extracted.]
[Shadow Extracted.][Shadow Extracted.]
Shadow Count: 32Shadow Count: 48Shadow Count: 89
[Shadow Extraction Lv.2 → Lv.7][New Skill Awakened: Monarch's Domain Lv.1]
The last shadow flickered, breaking apart like fragile glass.
Leon stood alone again.
Chest heaving.Hands trembling.Eyes wild.
The List pulsed once, like a heartbeat.
Leon stared at it, voice barely above a whisper.
"…What are you?"
The reply came in italics, voice soft and cold as the void.
I am the memory of those who wronged you.I am the weight of your suffering.And I am the weapon you will use to break this Tower.
Leon swallowed.
"Are you… alive?"
A pause.
I am your revenge.
Leon exhaled slowly, long and steady.
The System chimed.
[Trial Complete.]
[Reward: Class Selection Unlocked.]
A wheel of black flames appeared before him—ten class icons spinning.
Then nine shattered instantly, consumed by darkness.
Only one remained.
A crown of shadows.
[Available Class: Sovereign of Eternal Night]
Leon stared at it.
"…Why only one?"
[Because this class chose you.]
He didn't hesitate.
Confirm.
Dark fire wrapped around him.
His bones burned.His veins ignited.His heart screamed.
Leon gritted his teeth through it all.
When the flames died, he stood taller.
Calmer.
Colder.
The System displayed his new stats.
Name: Leon Valtaris
True Circle: ●Level: 6 → 12 → 20 → 34
Class: Sovereign of Eternal Night (Monarch)Title: He Who Was Cast Into the Dark
Strength 92 | Agility 107 | Vitality 88 | Intelligence 95 | Sense 111Available Points: 0
Skills:— Shadow Extraction Lv.7— Monarch's Domain Lv.3— Ruler's Authority Lv.1
Shadows: 89 stored / 7 deployed
Leon stared at the numbers.
He didn't smile.
But something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
"…They threw me away," he whispered."And I fell upward."
The Tower rumbled.
A glowing staircase unfurled ahead—toward Floor 2.
Leon turned toward it.
He tucked the parchment into his coat.
Jareth's name burned faintly at the top.
Leon touched it gently with one finger.
"I'll come for you," he murmured. "Every one of you. I remember all your names."
The parchment pulsed.
The shadows behind him bowed.
Leon stepped onto the first stair.
The Tower whispered back:
[Climb, Castaway.][Let the forgotten rule the void.]
And Leon ascended into the darkness.