An Eternity in One Second, Time's Choice!

The instant Harley fell, Link's mind finally rebooted from its blank stupor.

He did one thing on instinct.

He activated the [Time Stone].

Humm—

The entire world froze in an instant.

Harley's figure hung frozen in midair, mere meters from the cliff's edge. The radiant smile on her face, tinged with madness and love, was clear to see. Her windblown hair was like golden threads sealed in amber. Below her lay a silent, pitch-black abyss that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

Link's hand was still reaching forward to grasp her, his fingertips less than a centimeter from the hem of her clothes.

Under the crushing suppression of Vormir's laws, the Time Stone could not manipulate time on a large scale. But stretching this single second into something approaching eternity was still within the limits of its power.

Within this one second of eternity, Link's thoughts raced at an unprecedented speed.

Two utterly different voices waged a bitter war between his divinity and his humanity.

The voice of [Divinity] was cold and rational: Let go. This is the only way. The system's message was clear: [A soul for a soul]. She has fulfilled her purpose, paving the final stretch of your road to the pinnacle of the universe. Obtain the Soul Stone, and you will have five primordial Stones. Then the entire universe will tremble beneath your will. Thanos? Darkseid? Both will fall before you. Once you gather the Six Stones, you could even try using that power of creation to "create" her anew. This is the rational choice, the one that maximizes your gains.

Fuck maximizing gains!

The voice of [Humanity] roared with unprecedented fury: *That's Harley! The crazy woman who's been with you since Arkham! The idiot who named your flagship "Puddin's Joke"! The only person who can make