Leon's mind raced, his body frozen in place as the mammoth barreled toward him, its massive form like a living avalanche. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs were locked, his heart hammering so loudly in his chest he could barely hear the thundering footsteps.
Okay, okay, think. His brain scrambled for something, anything that could save him.
Suddenly, the shadows around him shifted—no, they moved.
A whisper in his mind. Use it. The power is yours.
Leon blinked, unsure if the voice was real or just his panic-fueled imagination. But something—something deep within him—responded to it, a strange pull that didn't come from his mind but from everywhere else.
The shadows at his feet twisted and writhed, stretching up like tendrils. His body didn't even seem to control it. It was as though the power was flowing through him, pushing him forward.
With a grunt, Leon raised his hand, and the shadows shot out like a whip, coiling around the massive creature's leg. The mammoth let out an angry bellow as it tried to push forward, but the shadows held firm, wrapping tighter and tighter.
The beast stumbled, its charging momentum halted as the shadows constricted, dragging it down to its knees. Leon's heart raced—he was doing this. He was controlling the shadows. The power was real.
"Holy crap, this is insane!" Leon gasped, half in disbelief, half in awe.
The mammoth, now trapped and enraged, began thrashing violently. Leon could feel the energy drain from him as the shadows stretched to their limit. He gritted his teeth, fighting to maintain control. He had no idea how long he could hold it.
The voice in his head spoke again, more insistent this time. Focus. Push further. Harness it.
"Alright, alright!" Leon snapped, gritting his teeth. He drew the shadows closer, weaving them tighter around the creature's form. His palms were slick with sweat, his mind swimming with the sensation of raw, untapped power. He could feel it surging through him, responding to his every thought.
"Stay down!" Leon yelled, his voice shaking as the shadows pulled even harder, yanking the mammoth to the ground with a deafening crash.
The beast let out a final roar before collapsing in a heap, its massive body now immobilized. Leon stood there, panting, his chest heaving with the effort.
"What the hell just happened?" he muttered, his mind still reeling from the surge of power.
As the echoes of the mammoth's roar faded, a silence filled the air. Leon looked around, trying to process everything. The jungle, the mammoth, the shadows... It was all so overwhelming.
And then, as if on cue, the voice returned, calm yet commanding. You have awoken as the Shadow Monarch's vessel. This world is now your domain.
Leon stumbled backward, his eyes widening. "Wait, what? Shadow Monarch? This is... this is insane. As in Solo Leveling?."
But there was no time to process. His surroundings began to shift again. The trees, the sky, the air—all of it seemed to warp, as if it were being pulled into some new dimension. Before he could even react, the world around him dissolved, replaced by an empty void of swirling shadows.
Leon's heart skipped a beat as he felt himself falling, though there was no ground beneath him. He tried to reach out, but there was nothing to hold onto. Panic set in.
You are not alone, the voice echoed, calm yet distant. This power is yours to command. Harness it and shape your future.
Just as the shadows seemed to close in on him completely, he hit the ground with a thud.
Leon groaned, pushing himself up, his vision blurry. He blinked, rubbing his eyes. When his sight cleared, he found himself standing in a vast, empty space. There were no walls, no horizon—just an endless stretch of nothingness.
"What the hell is going on?" he breathed, more to himself than anyone else.
This is your domain, your power. The voice rang clear in his head now, as though it were right next to him. You are the Shadow Monarch. All that is lost shall be found in your shadows. But first... your journey must begin.
The reality of the situation hit him like a tidal wave. He wasn't just some regular guy anymore. He was the Shadow Monarch, and all of this was somehow his to command.
The mammoth, now lying still in the dirt, its massive body a testament to his new power, seemed to loom in his vision. The shadows at his feet still swirled, as if waiting for him to direct them again.
He didn't know how he knew, but somehow he knew what to do.
Leon focused, his breath shallow and uncertain. He'd barely even begun to process this new ability, and yet the shadows at his feet thrummed with energy, ready to obey.
"Arise."
Immediately, the shadows surged forward, writhing in anticipation. They wrapped around the fallen mammoth's massive form, coiling and twisting like serpents, sinking into its skin. At first, Leon wasn't sure if it was working. But then, the shadows seemed to pulse with an unnatural rhythm, and he could feel the power flowing through him, responding.
The mammoth's body began to twitch. Its massive muscles jerked, and a low growl echoed from deep within its throat. Leon's heart skipped a beat. The beast was… coming back?
The shadows fed into the mammoth, sinking deeper, rising higher. The air around him thickened with dark energy, the very ground beneath his feet humming with a strange resonance. Leon's hands trembled as the beast slowly, impossibly, began to stir.
The shadows pulled the mammoth to its feet.
Its eyes—now glowing faintly with an eerie, unnatural light—opened. The massive creature let out a roar, but this time, it wasn't a roar of rage—it was a roar of life. The mammoth, dead moments ago, was now... alive again. But it wasn't the same.
It was... his.
Leon stared in awe, the weight of what he'd just done sinking in. He had brought the mammoth back to life with nothing more than the shadows under his control.
"Holy crap," he breathed. His heart raced, adrenaline still coursing through his veins. "I just— I just did that."
The shadows at his feet writhed again, hungry for more, waiting for his next command. The mammoth, now standing tall and unshaken, turned its head toward Leon, its glowing eyes focused on him.
It was his servant now, a manifestation of the power that had taken over his body.
"Bow."
The mammoth growled, bowing its head in submission to him. Leon grinned, feeling the raw power coursing through him, giving him the strength to command not just the shadows, but the very creatures they revived.
He took a step forward, still a little in shock at what had just happened. The creature followed, its massive footfalls creating small tremors in the ground. Leon raised his hand, and the shadows swirled around him, acknowledging his will.
"This is... unreal," he muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.
The shadows twisted around him again, forming and shifting.
But… not yet.
This wasn't the endgame version—the god-tier, one-man-army monster Jin-Woo became. Leon didn't have a system feeding him quests or leveling him up like a gamer grinding for gear. No pop-up windows. No stat points. Just raw power humming in his veins like a storm he didn't fully understand.
He could feel it, though. The potential. Like standing on the edge of a cliff with the wind daring him to jump.
No manual. No guide. No safety net.
He wasn't the Shadow Monarch from the stories.
And still… it was his.
He looked down at his hand, watching as it flickered with inky tendrils, coiling and retreating like they had minds of their own.
Somewhere deep inside, he knew—this was just the beginning. The throne might be his, but the crown? He'd have to earn it.