"I do," Homelander blurted out without the slightest hesitation.
Bruce turned his head to look at Harley.
"Harley Quinn, do you take Anthony Starr to be your husband? Whether in prosperity or adversity, in health or in sickness, will you love him, comfort him, respect him, and protect him, until death do you part?"
Harley was already sobbing uncontrollably, nodding her head vigorously.
"Yes! Yes! I do!"
Audience members all over the World were spontaneously cheering and clapping in front of their screens, sending their most sincere blessings to this couple uniting amidst the ruins of the apocalypse.
Bruce handed the rings to them.
"Now, please exchange rings."
Homelander's hands trembled slightly as he picked up the smaller women's diamond ring.
Taking Harley's left hand, he gently pushed the sparkling ring onto her ring finger.
Looking at the ring on her finger, Harley's suppressed emotions finally broke through.
Crystal-clear tears slid down her cheeks, splashing onto the backs of their hands.
It was the ultimate happiness, and also the ultimate sorrow.
"Prompt! Gained special popularity value +100,000! (From Harley Quinn)"
In his mind, the crisp and pleasant system prompt sounded as expected.
One hundred thousand points.
Another hundred thousand points!
Hearing this sound, Homelander knew that this scene could finally wrap up.
He no longer suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and the look of sorrow completely faded away.
Thus, a brilliant smile from the bottom of his heart bloomed on Homelander's face.
But in the eyes of others, this was interpreted in a different way.
To them, this smile was the relief of a hero who had settled his regrets in the final moments of his life.
"Now, would the bride please place the ring on the groom," Bruce said.
Harley picked up the men's ring from the box, her hands trembling even more than Homelander's.
At that moment, Homelander silently gave an instruction in his heart: "System, use the special mechanism, Fake Death Disengagement."
[Fake Death Disengagement activated. Hero's End special effect enabled.]
Just as the ring was placed on Homelander's ring finger.
Homelander's body began to slowly disintegrate from his toes, turning into countless tiny golden particles.
"Mr. Milk Candy?!"
Harley finally broke down at this moment; her facade of strength was shattered.
She crouched down, frantically trying to grab the dissipating points of light, wanting to gather them back together.
But her hands could only pass through those ethereal shadows.
"Anthony! You promised me! You're not allowed to leave!! Don't go..."
The heroes and citizens watching the ceremony all lowered their heads silently, unable to bear watching any longer.
Before his hands completely vanished, Homelander pulled Harley up and cupped her cheeks.
Endless longing flowed from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Little Pumpkin."
"I might... not be able to walk with you any further."
His thumb gently brushed away Harley's tears.
"Don't cry. Live well, for my sake too."
"Take care of this new World... for me."
He smiled, glanced at the surrounding heroes, and finally fixed his gaze on the faithfully working camera.
"Goodbye, Earth."
As the last syllable fell, Homelander completely transformed into specks of shimmering light.
A breeze blew across Metropolis Plaza; the figure of the man draped in the stars and stripes was gone, but an eternal legend remained.
*Clang—*
The wedding ring Harley had just placed on Homelander's finger, having lost its support, fell onto the wedding stage.
The ring spun on the ground, emitting a humming resonance.
One rotation, two, three...
Finally, with a clatter, the ring stopped and lay quietly at Harley's feet.
The World lost all sound at this moment.
Harley's knees buckled as she stared blankly at the empty space before her.
She didn't cry out loudly; she just knelt there quietly, tremblingly picking up the ring Homelander had left behind and clutching it tightly in her palm.
The Amazon warriors all knelt on one knee in unison, planting their longswords in front of them and bowing their heads in silent mourning.
Then, everyone else followed suit, kneeling on one knee toward the direction where Homelander had vanished, paying tribute to this selfless hero and great leader.
The popularity value exploded once again, flooding into Homelander's system and transforming into his power.
Meanwhile, Homelander's true body had already entered the gap between dimensions.
It was a marvelous sensory experience.
Everything had turned a translucent gray.
He floated above Metropolis Plaza, able to move with his thoughts.
His eyes could clearly see everything happening in the real World and hear every sob.
But when he reached out, his hand passed directly through the phantom image of a nearby building.
He could not affect reality, and reality could not perceive him.
"This grand show has finally wrapped up perfectly."
"System, check the return countdown."
[Earth-1 experience time remaining: 10 seconds.]
"9..."
"8..."
"7..."
In the final moments, Homelander fixed his gaze on Harley's trembling back.
This crazy woman had indeed given him quite a few surprises, providing the highest emotional value of the entire event.
"A pity I can't take you with me."
Homelander shrugged helplessly.
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."
In the very last second before the countdown ended.
He whispered a word to Harley.
"Goodbye, Harley."
[Forced teleportation initiated.]
A flash of white light.
The scenery within the dimensional gap instantly twisted and elongated.
When Homelander's vision returned.
Familiar sounds of car horns, shouting, and the faint sound of sirens in the distance reached his ears.
Before him was a bustling street filled with traffic, and various consumer product advertisements flashed on giant holographic billboards.
Not far away, the uniquely designed Vought Tower stood tall.
Homelander was back, back in the Marvel Universe.
Back to the same location in New York where he had first arrived when he transmigrated.
However, he glanced at his hands; they were still in a translucent, illusory state.
"System, what's going on?"
[Fake Death Disengagement (Hero's End) state remaining time: 23 hours and 50 minutes.]
[During this period, the host is within a dimensional rift, unselectable and unobservable. This state can be deactivated at any time.]
"I see, the cooldown hasn't finished yet."
Homelander raised an eyebrow.
As soon as the thought occurred to him, his body passed directly through a trash can at the mouth of an alley.
On the street, several drunken young people walked toward him.
Homelander didn't dodge, and the young people passed right through his body, continuing on their way without a clue, still discussing when Homelander would return from space.
"No one can see me, and no one can touch me..."
He stood on the busy streets of New York, looking at this still-prosperous World that hadn't been destroyed by aliens.
A meaningful smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"Twenty-four hours of absolute invisibility and intangibility?"
"This is much more fun than any superpower...