My Charity System made me too OP

The gate this time was cold.

Not in temperature—in intent.

Leon touched it, and the metal didn't pulse like usual. It resisted—as if measuring whether he even had the right to pass through.

Then, with a slow hiss of ancient locks turning, it allowed him.

But not the others.

Not this time.

[Access Denied: Party Members must wait at the Threshold Vault]

[Solo Floor: Identity Classification in Progress…]

As the gate closed behind him, Leon found himself in a hall of mirrors.

Not glass.

These were mirrors of truth.

They reflected not his image, but versions of himself.

Some younger. Some older. One wore the uniform from Earth, long forgotten. Another was dressed like a Sovereign, crown on his brow, eyes emotionless. One looked shattered—cracked like porcelain, with streaks of regret carved into his chest.

Leon walked past each without pause.

They weren't distractions.

They were possibilities.

And at the end of the hallway—

A door.

But not a simple one.

This door bore his name.

Carved into the stone in glowing lines of energy, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.

The Tower was no longer testing his strength.

It was testing his core.

[Welcome to Floor 616 – The Bastion of Names]

Zone Type: Identity Crucible

Objective: Affirm Your Name Under Siege

Rule: You may not lie. You may not forget.

Threat Level: Narrative Collapse Class

Penalty: Permanent Class Degradation upon failure

Leon read the warning once.

Then pushed open the door.

The world on the other side… was not the Tower.

It was Earth.

Old Earth.

And he was standing in front of a burned-out building. Flames still licked the sky. Screams echoed somewhere in the smoke. Sirens. Ash.

His own voice, from a memory long buried, shouted behind him:

"Move! Get them out—!"

But there was no one to save.

Because this was the day he lost everything.

The day he chose to enter the Tower.

[Memory Thread Reactivated]

[Emotion Lock Disabled]

[Full Recall Engaged]

Leon staggered.

His fists clenched.

He hadn't thought of this place in years.

The Tower hadn't just brought the memory back.

It had made him feel it again.

The guilt.

The helplessness.

The decision.

He fell to one knee.

But didn't close his eyes.

Because this pain—this moment—was him.

And the Tower wanted to know…

If he could still carry it.

He stood.

Walked forward.

Right through the fire.

And out the other side.

Now came the Echo Chamber.

A white room. Circular. Endless.

And in it stood dozens of Leons.

Each a fragment of what he could have become.

One spoke first—the one wearing golden armor. A Sovereign King. "You could have ruled by now. Why did you delay?"

Another—dressed in rags, eyes sharp from pain—hissed, "You hesitated. You spared enemies. You gave second chances."

A third, dressed like a scholar, whispered, "You wasted potential chasing the impossible."

Leon didn't argue.

He looked at each of them.

Then said quietly, "You're not wrong."

"But I'm not you."

"I'm the version that kept going even when I didn't know what I'd become."

"I climbed not for glory. Not for revenge. Not to be a Sovereign."

"I climbed because I had to."

He raised his head.

"I am Leon Aetheren."

"And none of you get to wear that name but me."

[Resonance Achieved]

[Bastion Recognized]

[You are the original thread]

[Floor 616 Complete]

The echoes dissolved.

The mirrors shattered.

And the crown from the Garden reappeared—this time hovering above his head, glowing brighter.

Not because he wanted it.

Because now, it recognized him.

Back at the Threshold Vault, the team stood as the gate shimmered.

Leon stepped out, slower than usual.

But taller. Straighter. Settled.

Roselia frowned. "What happened in there?"

Leon smiled, faintly.

"I had a conversation with the versions of me that didn't make it."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Leon looked toward the next gate.

"They're part of me now."

Roman nodded. "Then let's move."

And as they stepped toward Floor 617, the Tower shifted again.

Because now, Leon wasn't just a climber.

He was a constant.

And every floor ahead… knew it.

The gate to Floor 617 opened without ceremony.

No warning messages. No blinding light. No thunderous declarations from the Tower.

Just a quiet chime.

And a smooth metal bridge stretching over a dark, empty expanse.

Leon stepped onto it first, his boots clicking against the steel. The others followed in silence. There were no enemies. No traps. No sudden shifts.

It was unsettling.

Even Milim looked uneasy. "Why does this feel like the calm before something massive?"

Naval scanned the void. "Because it is."

Halfway across the bridge, a platform rose from below—circular, wide, lit by a single pillar of golden light from above. And waiting at the center was a figure.

Seated on a throne.

Not ancient.

Not crumbling.

But pristine.

Modern.

Tall-backed, carved from gleaming obsidian with a sigil burning at its peak: a single upward arrow, split down the middle.

The symbol of a Sovereign.

The figure stood slowly.

A woman.

She was tall, armored, her hair braided down to her waist. A scar ran across her mouth like a stitched seam, and her eyes glowed not with magic, but with knowledge.

Measured.

Unshaken.

She looked at Leon and his team without speaking for a full ten seconds.

Then she pointed—not at Leon—but at the team.

"All of you stay."

Then her eyes settled on him.

"You. Step forward."

[Sovereign Encounter Initiated]

Identity: Sovereign Vel'Zhara, Former Gatekeeper of Floor 700

Designation: Watcher of Transition

Floor 617 Objective: Survive the Trial of Acknowledgment

Rule: One Challenger. No Assistance. No Retreat.

Victory Condition: Be acknowledged.

Leon glanced back once. Roselia nodded silently. Roman folded his arms but didn't protest. Milim gave a small thumbs-up.

Then Leon stepped forward.

Vel'Zhara's throne faded behind her.

The golden light dimmed.

The bridge behind Leon vanished.

They stood alone on a platform suspended in the void.

Vel'Zhara drew no weapon.

She didn't raise a hand.

She simply spoke.

"Why do you deserve the Tower's respect?"

Leon met her gaze. "I never asked for it."

"Good," she said. "Because the Tower doesn't give it. It remembers those who take it."

Then she moved.

No sound. No prelude. No mana signature.

Just pure motion.