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What did the ending of Solo Leveling actually change, and what did it cost?Fiction

In-universe lore. Claims are judged against the fiction's own canon, not the real world.

Solo Leveling does not finish on its last fight. It finishes on a bargain: with the Monarchs beaten, Jinwoo asks the Rulers for one more use of the artefact that rewinds time, and buys back the people the war killed by unmaking the decade in which anyone knew who he was.

7 established, 3 disputed, 2 debunked, 2 unresolved. We do not pick an answer; the evidence places each claim. How we decide

45 citations from 4 independent sources - 41 echo the same voices and count once. Graded C1-D1.

Added 6 Aug 2026 - canon current as of 6 Aug 2026

What the four states mean
  • Establishedsupported, uncontested
  • Disputedcredible sources disagree
  • Debunkedrefuted by the evidence
  • Unresolvedno settled answer

Established 7supported, uncontested

  • The second war against the Monarchs ran on a different clock from the world it was fought for. Jinwoo won his fight against the Monarchs again after 27 years in the Dimensional Crack, and that stretch amounted to just 2 years in the outside world.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
  • The shadow army was split by what its members had been in life. Shadow soldiers derived from monsters were completely unaffected and continued to exist in the revised timeline with all of their memories of the original timeline completely intact, while shadow soldiers derived from humans were reborn into their human forms without any of those memories and lived their lives in accordance with the events of the revised timeline, which meant they could not fight alongside him anymore.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • Shadow soldiers that were derived from monsters (such as Beru and Igris) are completely unaffected and continue to exist in the revised timeline with all of their memories of the original timeline completely intact. However, shadow soldiers that were derived from humans (such as Iron and Greed) are reborn into their human forms without any of their memories of the original timeline and are able to live their lives in accordance with the events of the revised timeline.Shadows - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • Jinwoo shut himself up in the dimension gap with the remaining shadows who would still exist in the past, which meant newer Shadow Soldiers like Iron and Greed could not fight alongside him anymore.CBR - The Controversial Solo Leveling Ending, Explained analysis
  • The marriages happen in the revised timeline. Jinwoo and Hae-In were married several years later and had a son, Sung Suho, and Jinwoo's sister Jin-ah is married in the revised timeline epilogue by the man who had a crush on her.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
  • The memory loss the reset caused turns out to be reversible, and one man chose to hand his back. Jinwoo can grant other humans their memories of the original timeline by making physical contact with them. One character regained his memories of the original timeline and then had the Rulers erase them from his mind again so that he could have a normal life with his family, while another had his restored and was able to use them to control the gate opening in the revised timeline.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
    • Memory Manipulation: Jinwoo can manipulate the memories of other humans to a certain extent by making physical contact with them. So far, he has been shown to be able to erase certain memories from their minds, grant them their memories of the original timeline, and allow them to see into his own memories, as he did with Woo Jinchul to inform him of the existence of the Rulers and the Monarchs.Sung Jinwoo - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • Il-Hwan would later regain his memories of the original timeline several years before Jinwoo waged war against the Monarchs and successfully killed them all, but instead of holding onto them, he had the Rulers erase them from his mind so that he could have a normal life with his family.Sung Il-Hwan - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • In Ragnarok, thanks to his memories being restored unwittingly by Jin-woo, he is able to control the gate opening in the revised timeline.Wikipedia - Solo Leveling summary
  • The reset happened at Jinwoo's own request and at a price he was told in advance. After he defeated Antares, Jinwoo asked the Rulers to use the Cup of Reincarnation one last time so that he could bring back all the people he lost in the war with the Monarchs, and he remained adamant after being warned that no one would remember him if he did this and that they were doomed if he failed. The Rulers then used the cup one last time, exhausting its power and sending them all ten years back into the past.▰▰▱▱▱ likely4 points
    Supports
  • What the reset undid was the Gates. Time rewound to ten years before the appearance of the Gates on Earth, into a timeline where humanity never learned of the existence of magic beasts, and as a result people never became hunters: one continued working as a firefighter to support his family, and another eventually found his calling as a wrestling champion.▰▰▱▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
    • As the light engulfed the world, time rewound ten years prior before the appearance of the Gates on Earth.Cha Hae-In - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • After the Rulers used the Cup of Reincarnation one last time at Jinwoo's request, this created a new timeline where humanity never learned of the existence of magic beasts. As a result, in this timeline, Il-Hwan never became a hunter and continued working as a firefighter to support his family.Sung Il-Hwan - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • After the Rulers used the Cup of Reincarnation one last time per Jinwoo's request, this created a new timeline where humanity never learned of the existence of magic beasts. As a result, in this timeline, Thomas never became a hunter and eventually found his calling as a wrestling champion.Thomas Andre - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
  • The reset left ordinary people without their memories. One lost all her memories as a Hunter, one had his memories erased and was left with only a vague sense of having forgotten something while working as a detective, and one lost all her memories of the original timeline and was converted into an ordinary fortune-teller.▰▰▱▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports

Disputed 3credible sources disagree

  • How the ending lands is read both ways. One account calls it a happy ending, with Jinwoo ending up the strongest and starting his own family, and the same account also says the entire events of the series were essentially without consequence. On reception, one account says many found the manhwa's epic final battle to be a satisfactory ending while other fans finished the series feeling conflicted, another says most fans are really happy with how the ending turned out while some are still wondering where the rest of the story is, and a third records a more negative review calling out plot holes and inconsistencies.▰▰▰▱▱ likely5 points
    Supports
  • How large the shadow army is after the reset is given more than one way. One account of the epilogue says it is revealed that Jinwoo has ten thousand shadows in his army. Another says that after using the Cup of Reincarnation and ending the war with the Monarchs he has over 10,000,000 shadows in his army, and a third says he amasses an army of more than 10 million.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
  • How Antares was killed is read two ways. One account calls the Rulers showing up at just the last moment and killing Antares with one final attack a deus ex machina that rendered Jinwoo's efforts pointless. Another has Antares understanding that Jinwoo had been aiming for this from the very beginning, because their battle had distorted space to such an extent that it allowed the Rulers to enter the human world in their raw forms.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
    • Although the fight panels between Jinwoo and Antares had some of the best artwork in the webtoon, the glory was diminished with the Rulers showing up at just the last moment in true deus ex machina fashion and killing Antares with one final attack. The moment rendered Jinwoo's efforts pointless, which was one major criticism of the Solo Leveling ending.CBR - The Controversial Solo Leveling Ending, Explained analysis
    • Surprised that the Shadow Monarch had actually been able to hurt him, Antares suddenly noticed the Rulers' armies in the skies and finally understood that Jinwoo had been aiming for this from the very beginning, as their battle had distorted space to such an extent that it allowed the Rulers to enter the human world in their raw forms.Antares - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • Jinwoo vs Antares = interrupted by the arrival of the Rulers, who delivered the final blow to Antares.Final Battle Arc - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis

Debunked 2refuted by the evidence

  • One published account of the ending says the Cup of Reincarnation erased Jinwoo from everyone's memories and that nobody would ever remember the sacrifices he made to save the world. Other accounts contradict that. The cup does not affect the Monarchs and the Rulers, who are able to retain their powers and memories of the original timeline after it is used, the strongest Monarch was revived with his memories of the original timeline intact, and shadow soldiers derived from monsters continue to exist in the revised timeline with all of their memories of the original timeline completely intact.Refuted byIt also does not affect the Monarchs and the Rulers, as they are able to retain their powers and memories of the original timeline after the cup is used.refuted3 against4 points
    The claim rested on
    Refuted by
    • It also does not affect the Monarchs and the Rulers, as they are able to retain their powers and memories of the original timeline after the cup is used.Cup of Reincarnation - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • After the Rulers used the Cup of Reincarnation one last time at Jinwoo's request, Antares was revived with his memories of the original timeline intact. As he was the strongest Monarch, Jinwoo decided to save him for last and went after the other Monarchs first, massacring them all with little trouble.Antares - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • Shadow soldiers that were derived from monsters (such as Beru and Igris) are completely unaffected and continue to exist in the revised timeline with all of their memories of the original timeline completely intact.Shadows - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
  • One published account of the ending has Jinwoo going back in time to save everyone and prevent the opening of the Gates from ever happening in the first place. Other accounts contradict that outcome: gates began to spawn in the human world roughly two decades after he erased the original timeline with the Cup of Reincarnation, and the gates are described as being opened once again by the time of the sequel.Refuted byAlthough Jinwoo was able to successfully slay the Monarchs on his own and bring back all the people he lost, including his father, in the revised timeline, all of his efforts ultimately amounted to nothing when gates began to spawn in the human world roughly two decades after he erased the original timeline with the Cup of Reincarnation.refuted2 against3 points
    The claim rested on
    Refuted by
    • Although Jinwoo was able to successfully slay the Monarchs on his own and bring back all the people he lost, including his father, in the revised timeline, all of his efforts ultimately amounted to nothing when gates began to spawn in the human world roughly two decades after he erased the original timeline with the Cup of Reincarnation.Cup of Reincarnation - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis
    • After Jinwoo and Cha Hae-In's disappearance, along with the gates being opened once again, Jinchul, with the knowledge of the original timeline, knowing these incidents were signs of the world being endangered once more, suspected that the missing Jinwoo was currently fighting the enemy outside of Earth.Woo Jinchul - Solo Leveling Wiki analysis

Unresolved 2no settled answer

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