Only they—those he loved, whose existence had been deeply anchored by his guardian seals—still remembered him.
Remembered his smile, his embrace. Remembered everything about him—always so improper, yet always creating miracles.
At first, they held onto hope, thinking this must be another one of his pranks. In a few days, he would suddenly appear like nothing had happened, laughing and saying, "So? Did you miss me?"
But one day passed. One month passed. One year. Ten years... He never returned.
The manor that had once been filled with laughter and joy gradually grew quiet.
They discovered for the first time how empty, how boring, how meaningless the world was without that man who had always sheltered them from the wind and rain.
They sank into endless sorrow and longing.
...
More years passed—perhaps a hundred, perhaps a thousand.
On this day, a little girl with twin tails, looking about seven or eight years old, came bouncing into the long-silent Infinite Manor.
In her hand was a strawberry ice cream cone that was about to melt.
She was a new life "created" together by Kula and Wanda using their powers—a "child" carrying all their longing for Cloud.
The little girl ran to the main gate where Harley waited every day. Curiously, she looked up at the sky, then pointed upward and called out to her "mothers" in a clear, childish voice—those women whose faces hadn't shown smiles in so long:
"Mommy! Look!"
"...It's raining light from the sky!"
Everyone instinctively looked up.
They saw that on that clear blue sky without a single cloud, at some point, a fine, warm rain of light had begun to fall.
That light rain was so familiar, so warm. It gently fell on their faces, their bodies, their hearts.
And then they heard a voice that had echoed in their dreams countless times—lazy, full of impropriety, yet carrying infinite affection.
That voice seemed to traverse endless space-time, crossing the boundary between life and death, whispering softly in their ears.
"Hey there, my lovely ladies."
"...I'm home."
"...Is there any dinner left?"
...
Harley Quinn was the first to awaken from that long, statue-like wait!
The "Devotion Hammer" in her hand crackled with electricity more brilliant than Mjolnir, responding to her overwhelming emotions!
She stared at the gentle rain of light falling from the sky. First she froze for three seconds. Then those azure eyes—which had lost their former spark long ago—instantly blazed with a light more manic, more fervent than ever before!
"WAAAAAHHH—! You heartless, irresponsible, wife-and-child-abandoning JERK!"
She let out a scream filled with grievance, fury, longing, and boundless joy!
Like a cannonball suppressed for a thousand years, she rocketed from the ground, hurtling toward the source of that rain!
Then Mai Shiranui dropped the fan she had polished countless times. Diana dropped the scepter symbolizing her divine authority. Natasha shut off the Council communicator she always kept on her person. Wanda dispersed the melancholy scarlet cloud she had created.
All of them—every single woman—rushed forward in that moment like wives who had finally waited for their husbands to return from a long campaign. Laughing, crying, cursing, they ran toward that warm rain of light, toward the bastard they had missed for a thousand years.
A family meeting destined to last a very, very long time—filled with "love" and "fists"—was about to convene once more.
And this time, no one was going to let him off easy.
...
The camera slowly pulled back.
Past Infinite Manor's bustling courtyard, once again filled with laughter and joy.
Past the KOF world's noisy cities, still hosting one passionate fighting tournament after another.
Past the Marvel Universe's prosperous New York, running more orderly than ever under the Multiversal Guardian Council's management.
Past the DC Universe's eternal Gotham and Metropolis, where legends of heroes and villains continued to unfold in the interplay of light and darkness.
The camera pulled farther and farther back.
These three once completely different universes now appeared like three closely connected, brilliantly glowing star clusters, slowly revolving against an even vaster backdrop.
And around these three clusters were many, many more points of light.
Each point was an independent dimensional universe, possessing its own unique laws and stories.
Densely packed, infinite in number, they formed an existence that could neither be calculated nor comprehended—the myriad heavens of all realms.
Within this infinite sea of existence composed of countless points of light, a gentle, calm voice with a familiar lazy smile began to narrate.
It was Cloud's consciousness.
No—perhaps it should be called the voice of the existence that had become one with infinite possibility itself.
"Some say all stories must have endings."
"Heroes grow old, legends fade, and even gods will eventually meet their Ragnarök."
"But for me..."
The voice paused, as if looking at his garden full of laughter and joy, showing a doting yet helpless smile.
"When one story ends, that only means countless new, more interesting stories are about to begin."
...
As his words faded, the camera passed through countless bizarre dimensional universes, finally focusing on one—a dimension filled with chaos and the energy of new birth, one that had never been explored by any existence.
On an ordinary planet in this universe, an ordinary baby was born in an ordinary hospital, surrounded by ordinary gazes full of joy and anticipation.
"Waaah—"
A clear, powerful cry announced that a brand new story was officially beginning.
The baby's parents held him gently and gave him a very ordinary name.
Then they were surprised to discover that this newborn wasn't crying at all. He simply opened his eyes quietly.
What kind of eyes were those?
Clear as the first spring at the dawn of creation, yet in their depths reflected that infinite sea of existence, where countless worlds eternally cycled through birth and death...
An endless sea of stars.
A brand new mythology was about to unfold.
And this time, the story wouldn't begin with...
"Ding! Dimensional Plunder System, binding successful!"
But rather...
"Burp~"
A satisfied, milk-scented burp.
(End of Book!)