My Charity System made me too OP
Chapter 428 - 428: Void Walker IX

When the gate opened this time, there was no blinding light, no pulse of energy.

Just a deep stillness.

Leon stepped through first—and the world bent around him.

It wasn't a new place.

It was the same place.

Only… wrong.

They stood in the middle of a city street—quiet, abandoned. The buildings were familiar. The sky was familiar. The smell was familiar.

Leon realized it was a near-exact replica of his old home… from before he ever set foot in the Tower.

[Welcome to Floor 529 – Cradle of Echoes]

• Floor Type: Personal Echo Construct

• Reality State: Fragile

• Primary Hazard: Memory Manifestation

• Objective: Reach the Exit without being consumed

Warning: All Entities Manifested Will Be Based on Personal Memory Echoes

Note: Floor Tailored to – Leon Aetheren

Roman looked around and muttered under his breath. "Where the hell are we?"

Leon didn't answer at first.

Because he recognized the voice calling out to him.

"Leon?"

It was his brother's voice.

Phase 1 – The Familiar Begins to Bleed

Leon turned slowly. Across the ruined street stood a young boy—black hair, same eyes, a little younger than he remembered.

It was Elias.

His younger brother. Dead long before he ever entered the Tower.

Except he was here, smiling softly, hand raised in a half-wave.

Behind him… more figures emerged.

A friend from training. A rival he lost during a dungeon collapse. His mother—just as she looked the last time he saw her.

"Come home," Elias said. "You've climbed enough."

"This Tower was never for you."

Leon gripped his blade tighter.

"I've come too far."

The world around them glitched—not digitally, but like memory becoming unstable.

The sky shifted between day and night.

Buildings flickered into flame, then back to stone.

Kael reached out. "Leon—what is this?"

Leon took a breath.

"It's my past."

Phase 2 – The Mirror Fight

A sound broke the stillness—a faint metallic scrape.

Then another Leon stepped from a side alley.

Clad in the same armor.

Wielding the same blade.

Only his eyes were hollow.

The Mirror Leon smiled—and charged.

The real Leon met him head-on.

Their clash wasn't elegant.

It was personal. Brutal. Like watching someone fight their reflection, knowing every move before it came.

But Mirror Leon didn't hold back.

He mocked every step.

"You abandoned everyone to climb."

"You let Roselia suffer on Floor 411 while you chased glory."

"You knew Kael would die in the future—and you let him come anyway."

Leon bled.

But he didn't break.

He fought not to deny it—but to accept it.

He drove his blade through the Mirror's chest.

And whispered, "I'll carry all of it."

The Mirror faded into ash.

Phase 3 – The Hall of Names

They reached the final segment of the floor: a long, winding corridor filled with doors on both sides.

Each door had a name.

Elias.

Roselia.

Roman.

Naval.

Milim.

Kael.

Even Leon's own name.

And the rules were simple:

"One door must be left behind forever. You cannot choose your own."

No one moved.

Leon looked at them all.

And stepped forward.

He touched the door marked Elias.

Roselia gasped. "Leon—"

"It's a memory," Leon said, softly. "One that already hurts every time I breathe."

He smiled, just a little.

"But I can't carry everything. Not and keep going."

The door slowly turned to stone.

And then crumbled.

Leon didn't look back.

[Floor 529 – Cleared – Cradle of Echoes]

• Trait Gained: Burdenbearer – Able to resist emotion-based illusions and mental attacks by +60%.

• Passive Triggered: Unshaken Will – If mentally broken, auto-regains control within 3 seconds.

• Memory Slot Sealed: [Elias Aetheren – Final Memory]

• Chain Protocol Node 8/12 Acquired

Leon stood at the gate to the next floor, silent.

Roselia stepped beside him.

"You didn't really forget him, did you?"

Leon shook his head.

"No."

"But I let go of the weight. Not the love."

He turned his gaze upward.

"Four floors left in this chain."

The gate to Floor 530 opened into a cavernous expanse.

The air was stale—no wind, no scent, no warmth. Only the feeling of a kingdom long dead.

The floor was a cracked marble path leading through a throne hall torn in half. Jagged stone jutted from the walls like broken fangs, and shattered banners hung from fractured pillars. Gold dust littered the ground like sand, glinting faintly in the pale, unnatural light from above.

[Welcome to Floor 530 – The Broken Sovereignty]

• Floor Type: Sovereign Trial (Abandoned)

• State: Collapsed Domain

• Hazard: Residual Madness

Objective: Face the Fallen Sovereign and end the Trial

Warning: This Sovereign is no longer bound by Tower law.

Leon led the team forward in silence. They passed enormous murals along the shattered corridor—images once meant to glorify a ruler. But each one had been vandalized. Faces gouged out. Symbols of unity crossed out. Crowns shattered and bleeding gold.

"This was someone's kingdom," Roselia murmured, her voice hushed despite herself. "Once."

"And now it's dust," Roman muttered.

Leon walked ahead of them all, eyes narrowing.

Something was watching them.

Statues lined the approach to the inner sanctum—dozens of stone kings, queens, lords and warriors, all frozen in a kneeling position, facing inward toward a central dais.

The final throne sat empty.

A massive greatsword was embedded in the seat, cracked down the middle.

And just behind it, hunched over, was a man.

His cloak was torn. His armor—gold once—was faded, rusted, and covered in ash. His crown had long since broken, fragments dangling around his neck like punishment.

His voice was like wind scraping through bones.

"Another king come to take my place?"

Leon didn't answer.

The figure rose. His face was hidden beneath a shattered helm, but his eyes glowed dimly beneath—like embers still waiting for fuel.

[Sovereign Detected – Riven, The Hollow Monarch]

Classification: Former True Sovereign

State: Unchained

Trial Intent: No Trial. Only a duel.

Riven stepped forward.

And the statues shook.

Without a word, Riven charged.

His blade—longer than most greatswords—dragged sparks along the marble before swinging up in a terrifying, fluid arc. Leon barely blocked it, his Shell Reverb flaring as the impact rang like thunder.

Riven's strikes weren't just powerful—they carried authority.

Each clash weighed on Leon's body like a sentence being passed.

"I ruled before the Tower bound itself in law," Riven growled. "Before chains of mercy. Before crowns of hope."