Java Exceptions preserve stacktrace even without throwing (even when we just return Exception from mehtod)

ExceptionShowcase.java

class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
        Exception exception = new Main().invokeTopLevel();
        exception.printStackTrace();
    }

    Exception invokeTopLevel() {
        return invokeSecondLevel();
    }

    private Exception invokeSecondLevel() {
        return invokeThirdLevel();
    }

    private Exception invokeThirdLevel() {
        return invokeFourthLevel();
    }

    private Exception invokeFourthLevel() {
        return invokeFifthLevel();
    }

    private Exception invokeFifthLevel() {
        return new IllegalStateException();
    }
}

// This might be useful for integration Kotlin 2.4 Rich Errors with exceptions.
// Then in Kotlin 2.4 we wrap that exception like that: return Error(causeException).
// Typedef: 
// error class ParsingError(val cause: Exception)

Rich Errors presentation: https://resources.jetbrains.com/storage/products/kotlinconf-2025/may-22/Rich%20Errors%20in%20Kotlin%20_%20Michail%20Zarec%CC%8Censkij.pdf