After being chosen by Ashborn, the Shadow Monarch, as his heir in Solo Leveling, Sung Jinwoo has become the most powerful being in existence. To be precise, he achieves immortality with some of the greatest powers. One such ability he possesses is Shadow Extraction, which lets him expand his shadow army by pulling out the shadows of the defeated enemies.
Not only does he use the ability to draw out the Shadow of his potent enemies, but he also uses this extraordinary power to extract the Shadow of the healer Min Byung-Gyu. He then heals Cha Hae-In when the elixir of life couldn’t bring her back to life after she is pushed to the verge of death by the Ant King. So, now the question that many fans might have is, can Jinwoo use his Shadow Ability on himself?
Can Sung Jinwoo Use Shadow Powers on Himself?
When the Shadow Extraction ability was introduced in Solo Leveling, it was introduced with a limitation. Apparently, Jinwoo cannot extract the Shadow of an entity that was far stronger than him, even though Jinwoo defeated it in combat. That is why Jinwoo couldn’t extract the Shadow of Baruka. However, after becoming Shadow Monarch and getting the Black Heart, Jinwoo transcends to the highest level. He basically becomes a God who is not limited by time and space.
By the end of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo can exist in multiple realities, which means he can’t truly die. On top of that, he can exist in alternate dimensions while still retaining the memories of his original dimension. He can do it all, so yes, Jinwoo can surely extract his own Shadow and create a copy of himself. However, the answer to this question is not simple. Basically, Jinwoo has to die to extract his Shadow, and well, this has already happened in the manhwa. Yes, Jinwoo did arise himself.
In the manhwa, Jinwoo is killed by the Monarch of Fangs, and that’s when he meets Ashborn, the true Shadow Monarch. After having a conversation with Ashborn, Jinwoo’s Black Heart starts beating, and he says to himself — “Arise.” So, you could say that Sung Jinwoo already came back from the dead after using the Arise ability on himself.
Now, you may wonder why Jinwoo didn’t look like the other Shadows after the incident. Well, the answer is – he is the Shadow Monarch, the leader of all Shadows. So, Jinwoo retains his human body even after using the “Arise” ability on himself. But yes, it also means that Jinwoo can’t use this ability again. Why? Well, that’s because he can’t die now.
The Shadow Extraction or the Arise ability works when a person or monster has died. It’s not exactly an ability to create clones. Even if Jinwoo can use Shadow Extraction to create a copy of himself, he won’t need to go down this path. He is already the ultimate Shadow and can use Shadow Exchange to exist in multiple places at all times.
He can see what Shadow sees, and he can switch places with them. So, you could say that Jinwoo shares a hive mind with his shadows, and each of his shadows holds the essence of Jinwoo. So, to sum it all up, yes, Jinwoo did use the Arise ability on himself after he died.
And while an omnipotent being like him can create a Shadow Clone of himself, he won’t do that because, in a sense, every Shadow in Jinwoo’s army acts on his behalf and holds a bit of Jinwoo in them. God created us, and we believe that God resides in each of us. Similarly, Jinwoo created Shadows, and he exists in each of his Shadows.
Shashank Shakya
Shashank Shakya
