On the Moon, back in the real world, a shimmering, starry portal appeared, and four toy cosmonauts walked out of it.
"Are we back on the Moon?" Pavel asked excitedly, supporting his broken arm with his other hand. Since he was on the Moon, he used the radio communication built into his spacesuit to speak.
Mikhail glanced at the ominous energy pillar standing beside them and instinctively moved away from it.
"We should be back," he confirmed. "This is the pillar of light we encountered just before we were transported to that other world. We should be back at the exact position we were at before we crossed over."
Everyone was overjoyed, but their excitement was quickly tempered when someone noticed a significant problem.
"Why are our bodies still like this? Why haven't we changed back into ourselves?"
"How am I supposed to go back to my family looking like this? They'll treat me like a monster!"
Mikhail also noticed that his body was still the doll-like form from that other world. He hadn't realized it immediately, likely because he had grown accustomed to it over the past month.
He quickly stopped his teammates' rising panic and said, "The one who saved us should have a way to help us return to normal. We will wait for him to appear and then ask for his help."
Pavel asked eagerly, "Then where is he? Why hasn't he appeared yet?"
Hearing this, Mikhail's face stiffened, and he reprimanded his subordinate sternly, "Pavel, have you forgotten all of your training? Learn to be patient. Do not panic!"
Pavel looked down, a little ashamed. "Yes, sir!" Among the four of them, Mikhail held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Pavel was a Captain, and the other two were Lieutenants. Mikhail was both their superior officer and their mission captain.
"When I came out, I saw that individual preparing for something," Mikhail explained. "I suspect something was preventing us from leaving that world, and he was buying us time. We will wait here for half an hour. If he still doesn't appear by then, we will look for our lunar lander and try to establish contact with Earth."
They quickly found that in their doll-like bodies, their spacesuits still functioned perfectly, protecting their lives and ensuring they didn't have to worry about oxygen consumption.
"Are you looking for me?"
A voice with a distinct hint of playfulness sounded from behind them. The four cosmonauts spun around to see a Star Gate appear, and the Amon avatar walked out of it. Although there was no atmosphere on the Moon's surface, his voice clearly reached their ears.
Mikhail, as the captain, walked over and expressed his gratitude to the Amon avatar. "Thank you for saving us from that terrible world." He believed that his words could be heard. He paused, looking at the Amon avatar, who was directly exposed to the vacuum of space without any protective gear, and asked, "Sir, why haven't our bodies returned to normal? Why are we still in this doll form?"
The Amon avatar adjusted his monocle and said with a slight smile, "That's because your bodies were assimilated by the rules of that small dimension after you entered it. The rules of the real world are very inclusive, capable of accommodating the rules that are currently imposed on your bodies. Therefore, your physical forms were not assimilated back to their original state by the real world."
"Then how can we recover?" Mikhail pressed, his voice laced with urgency.
"It's simple," the avatar replied. "Make a wish to me. You all possess faith. Just as you would normally pray to your gods, make a wish to me."
"Make a wish?" The men exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and desperation. However, considering they had already experienced being turned into toys, the possibility of wishes coming true seemed plausible.
"Then, what should we call you?" Mikhail asked, realizing the crucial nature of the question.
The Amon avatar pinched his chin thoughtfully and said, "Then you must remember my name well. My honorific name is—" He paused for dramatic effect, then said in a grand and layered voice that seemed to echo in their minds, "The Sovereign of Time and Space, the Thief of Destiny, the Embodiment of Mystery and Change."
The men were stunned into silence for a moment by this voice, which carried its own powerful, otherworldly special effects. Mikhail was the first to react, turning to his teammates and saying, "I'll try first."
With that, Mikhail placed his hands together in front of his chest in a prayer-like posture and whispered, "The Sovereign of Time and Space, the Thief of Destiny, the Embodiment of Mystery and Change, I pray to you to restore my body to normal!"
Snap!
The Amon avatar snapped his fingers and said with a smile, "Your wish has been granted!"
Mikhail's body began to shimmer and change, returning to the appearance of a normal human. His spacesuit no longer felt like hard plastic but like the familiar, functional gear he was used to.
"It really recovered!" The remaining three cosmonauts were instantly excited when they saw Mikhail's transformation, eager to make their own wishes to restore themselves.
"Hey, you two with the missing arms and legs," the Amon avatar called out, offering a kind reminder. "Remember to wish for your limbs to be restored when you make your wishes. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Hearing the avatar's reminder, the two injured cosmonauts were first stunned, then looked at him with eyes full of immense gratitude. If he hadn't reminded them, in their excitement, they might not have thought to specifically wish for the restoration of their severed limbs. "Thank you!" the two of them said, bowing deeply to Amon.
Next, the remaining three also made their wishes separately. With another snap of the Amon avatar's fingers, they too quickly recovered their normal appearances, and their severed limbs were fully restored.
In truth, it was not the Amon avatar who was granting their wishes; he was merely acting as an intermediary. The one who truly helped them realize their wishes was his main body, far away on Earth. After leaving the pocket dimension, the Amon avatar's connection with his main body was no longer obstructed, allowing for the easy transmission of power. Moreover, the men had chanted Amon's honorific name, establishing a direct connection with him.
The Fool Pathway Sequence 2, Miracle Invoker. A Miracle Invoker can create miracles and grant wishes. By granting small wishes to others over time and accumulating these small acts, they can use the accumulated power of those wishes to create even greater miracles and grant their own wishes when needed.
Clap, clap, clap!
The sound of applause echoed around them. Although there was no medium for sound to travel, they could clearly hear the Amon avatar's applause. However, after witnessing his various strange and powerful abilities, they were no longer surprised by this phenomenon.
"Gentlemen, you now have two choices. One: I leave now, and you find your own spaceship to return to Earth. Two: I take you back to Earth."
This was clearly only one viable option. If they had to find the spaceship themselves, who knew if the lunar lander would even be usable after all this time?
Mikhail immediately said, "We choose the second option!" The remaining three nodded in agreement, without any objection.
"Sir, do we need to keep your information confidential?" Mikhail asked again, showing his foresight.
"No need," the Amon avatar replied, adjusting his monocle. "A title is meant to be praised. Why would I want to hide it?"
"Alright, now I will send you back to Earth." With that, the Amon avatar clapped his hands. A soft starlight enveloped their bodies, and the four cosmonauts disappeared.
The Amon avatar did not return to Earth. He looked at the energy pillars still standing on the Moon's surface and, with a wave of his hand, collected all of them. Then, he looked out at the vast, silent expanse of the Moon and whispered to himself, "There are quite a few secrets hidden on this Moon." The Amon avatar then continued his exploration of the lunar surface.
Inside the Russian Federal Space Agency, the lights were still brightly lit as the staff continued to work tirelessly on the "Secret Lunar Orbit" project. Suddenly, a brilliant starlight began to converge in the center of the control room, drawing everyone's attention. Enveloped in the shimmering light, four cosmonauts in their spacesuits appeared.
"It's Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail!"
"Weren't they out of contact? How did they suddenly appear here?"
The control room instantly fell into chaos. The white-haired Commander quickly made his way through the crowd to stand before them. The Commander first adjusted the monocle on his right eye, then laughed heartily, his voice booming through the room. "Excellent! Our heroes have returned, welcome back!"