Editing Tartarus (section)

==History==
===Origin and leaking scandals===
While little is known about when exactly Tartarus began, it was initially a secret project known as 'Silent Akbar', an impossible level created by Riot and more. It was said to be in the works before [[Bloodbath]] and during the time that [[ICE Carbon Diablo X]] was the hardest level in-game. The level would soon die down, likely contributing to its impossible difficulty at the time and leading to it being forgotten for a long time.<ref name="History">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q3jdV_9jyM</ref> 

Soon after, leaks involving Aurorus, one of Silent Akbar's co-hosts, surfaced, giving the community its first glimpse of the level. One of the first players to upload a full preview was DollarC, who showed numerous unfinished parts.<ref name="History"/><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggMY3eJ1JJw</ref> Cypher, when asked to showcase the unfinished version that leaked, chose to instead rework it into a fully decorated version, with extra gameplay added by him to fill the empty slots.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/geometrydash/comments/5s0svr/silent_akbar_by_riot_and_more_fully_decorated_ver/</ref> His version can be found on Compendium's account as 'Tartarus'.

===Silent Akbar to Tartarus===
A few years later, Riot began revamping Silent Akbar through a creator contest hosted by Aurorus, as several parts of the gameplay and design had changed significantly. Numerous creators, including Hinds, [[EndLevel]], and Komp, had also joined in refurbishing the level.<ref name="History"/>

Now renamed 'Tartarus', Riot began uploading the first preview on 1 November 2017.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDHlFatgdhk&</ref> Riot uploaded the second preview on 1 December 2017.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrBfvBCO54g</ref> Out of thin air, on 27 January 2018, Riot released a video announcing that Tartarus was complete. The level was openly verified with hacks and uploaded for open verification. He stated that he wanted to 'challenge the community', explaining that whoever could verify this level would receive a shoutout and other numerous prizes from him.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezvUXnLW14</ref>

===Verification race===
After a long period with no one seriously attempting to verify the level, Canadian player Mullsy started practising Tartarus on 3 January 2019, when he uploaded his first progress video showing he had reached 32%. It was already close to surpassing the former world record of 39%, set by GD Lapis earlier. Three days later, Mullsy completed a 52-100% run, his first world record. On 9 January, Mullsy broke the world record from 0%. He achieved a 40% and a 22-57% run, which included some of the hardest parts.

On 16 January, Mullsy completed a 41-100% run. On 26 January, he set a new record of 45%, setting both world records. He would beat his records many times. He then achieved runs of 22-84%, 61%, 64%, 73%, and, on 29 March, a breathtaking 91%.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1IrMm2EAM&t=82s</ref> After this, progress videos slowed as Mullsy took a break from the level. When he returned, he completed a 35-100% run, and six days later, a 21-100% run. On 26 July, Mullsy failed at 97%, crashing at Salaxium's final wave, a death which, at the time, was arguably the worst fail in [[Geometry Dash]] history.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNoPN-CwjKg&t=86s</ref>

Mullsy's progression inspired multiple people to start a race for verification, most notably Dolphy and MetaManRB, who quickly made progress on the level. MetaManRB set records of 20-97% and 53%, while Dolphy quickly reached 55%, placing him second behind Mullsy, who already had 97%. Dolphy would take a break from the level before returning more than four months later, with a new best of 78%. After returning, he started making fast progress, dying at 91% five days later. He also completed a 23-100% run two days after this new record. On 30 December, Dolphy failed the penultimate ball timing at 98% before verifying the level a week later, on 6 January 2020, after 61,746 attempts.<ref name="Verification"/>

===Dolphy's verification drama===
After Dolphy's verification video, many were suspicious of Dolphy's legitimacy. Riot and EndLevel teamed up to question Dolphy himself. They said he could not answer their questions accurately, and on 10 February, EndLevel released a video exposing Dolphy. Many people lashed back, disproving most of EndLevel's evidence. Dolphy eventually had his name cleared after Pablohh (a player who uploaded a video refuting the points EndLevel raised).

Mullsy, on the other hand, became the second person to complete the level, beating it on 9 February after 211,267 attempts.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx2IHj6YpRw&t=96s</ref> On 10 February, Mullsy's version of Tartarus was rated and placed almost immediately at #1 on the Demonlist. However, after Dolphy's completion was deemed legitimate, Mullsy requested that his version be unrated and Dolphy's be rated instead. It happened on 18 February, and thus Dolphy's version replaced Mullsy's at the new #1 spot on the Demonlist.

===Legacy===
After the verification drama, Tartarus was placed at #1, dethroning Zodiac's 11-month reign, and held the spot until [[The Golden]] temporarily dethroned it on 31 May 2020. However, The Golden was moved down to #2 on 12 September 2020. Thus, Tartarus reigned as a Top 1 Demon for more than 17 months (527 days, 418 consecutively), surpassing both [[Bloodlust]] and Bloodbath's 1-year reign as a Top 1. Tartarus's reign officially ended on 4 November 2021, with [[Slaughterhouse]] and [[Firework]].

The level spawned a standalone successor, Acheron, inspired by Tartarus's 1.9-themed design, though with a dark grey and red theme. Initially, [[Wolvez]] was set to verify the level until he dropped it on 7 April 2022. An open-verification race began shortly after, with [[Zoink]] becoming the official verifier on 23 August 2022 after 72,808 attempts. It eventually placed as a Top 1 on 7 October 2022, dethroning Slaughterhouse after a drama surrounding its initial placement, and continued the legacy left by Tartarus. Another level in the trilogy, known as Aeternus, was also released on 18 March 2024 and is set to be the hardest level ever verified in the game.