Solo Leveling could have introduced a far more unsettling mythology from the very beginning. Series creator Chugong has revealed that some of the franchise’s most disturbing concepts were already imagined while he was developing Sung Jinwoo’s original adventure, but he ultimately chose to keep them out of the light novel. His decision was largely motivated by the tone of the series and its accessibility to younger readers, as the deeper explanation behind the world’s supernatural structure risked making the story significantly more disturbing.

One of those discarded ideas concerned the Itarim and the nature of existence across the Solo Leveling multiverse. Chugong envisioned separate universes ruled by their own divine beings, while the souls of the deceased would ultimately converge within a single shared afterlife. The Itarim were not intended to function as traditional benevolent gods either. Their relationship with creation is far colder, with entire worlds existing under entities capable of creating or destroying universes for reasons disconnected from ordinary human morality.

Although this mythology helped shape the internal logic behind Sung Jinwoo’s powers and the Shadow Monarch, Chugong decided that explaining its darkest implications was unnecessary for the original story. Rather than reveal why certain supernatural phenomena existed, he preferred to show their consequences and leave their true origin unexplained. This allowed Solo Leveling to maintain its action-focused identity while preserving mysteries that could later be explored without overwhelming Jinwoo’s personal journey.

Those abandoned concepts eventually found a new purpose as the franchise expanded. Solo Leveling: Ragnarok places the Itarim and the wider multiverse much closer to the center of its storyline, particularly through Sung Suho’s adventure. Similar elements are also becoming relevant to Solo Leveling: Karma, a canonical video game project being developed with Chugong’s involvement. What was once considered too bleak for the original series has therefore become an important foundation for Solo Leveling’s growing universe.