The light brushed over their bodies.
The next instant—
A curled-up gray rabbit began to give off a gentle glow. Its body gradually lengthened within the light, its four paws becoming hands and feet, its fur becoming clothing, until finally—
A young girl stood there, dazed.
She lowered her head and looked at her own hands, at familiar skin instead of furry paws. Her lips trembled slightly, and tears spilled from her eyes.
"I... I'm back?"
Not far away, a panic-stricken deer also regained human form within the light.
It was a middle-aged man. He staggered two steps, braced himself against the ruins beside him, and gasped for breath.
A bird, a squirrel, a fox, a... one after another, one by one.
Those people who had been stripped of their human identity and had spent who knew how many days and nights in fear and confusion all returned to their original forms beneath the moonlight.
They stood dazed among the ruins, looking at one another, completely unaware of what had happened. Some wept with joy, some collapsed to their knees, and some clung tightly to the loved ones beside them—though they did not even know whether the person they were holding was truly their family.
And all of this happened in nothing more than an instant.
Then—
That light continued to spread, continued to extend, and finally struck the steel divine body on the verge of exploding with perfect precision, striking Dottore inside it.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still.
Dottore's frenzied movements stopped.
His twisted face slowly relaxed.
His bloodshot eyes gradually regained their clarity.
Under the glow of that moonlight, he actually felt a peace and tranquility he had never known before.
It was a sensation he had never experienced.
From the day he stepped into