Ash and Azure

Five minutes earlier. Artes woke up. His cheek was red. All he remembered was the "Gaida" ritual.

Present time.

Agatha and Shi appeared in front of the house. Artes, hearing the noise, opened the door. Before him stood a girl of about twelve, and a young man leaned against her, supporting himself.

— Who are you? — Artes asked in bewilderment.

— It's me, it's me! — the girl exclaimed.

— What do you mean "me"? Is that a name or something? — Artes didn't understand.

— Oh, damn, you idiot! — the girl threw her clothes on the ground, and her true form appeared before Artes. — It's me! — her voice became rougher.

— Wow, that's magic! — Artes exclaimed in admiration.

— I must help her, — Shi said in a hoarse and weak voice.

— Who is this? — Artes looked at him with suspicion.

— This is Shi, Shi Foxtrot... Oh, damn... It's not the time to think about this, help me drag him into the house! — Agatha said.

She took the k-pop style clothes and entered the house. Artes approached Shi, took him by the shoulders, and carried him into the house.

Agatha threw Shi on the sofa by the fireplace and began frantically rummaging through the closet.

— What happened? — Artes asked.

— Th-the girl... she's left alone, we need to help her! — Shi exclaimed.

— We'll help, we'll help, but you need to get better, — Agatha said.

She found what she was looking for: a book in which lay a vial with a disgusting smell.

Agatha took the vial out of the book, opened it, and pinched her nose. Shi felt the horrifying smell and the aura emanating from the vial.

— For mom, for dad! Drink it, and you'll feel better immediately! — Agatha said with a smirk, tilting the vial over Shi's head.

— No... no... noooo! — Shi's scream echoed through the house and could be heard almost throughout the entire dungeon.

All the slaves living nearby came running to Shi's scream. They crowded around the house. A drop from the vial fell on Shi's lips and began to burn them. Agatha poured the entire contents of the vial into Shi's mouth.

Shi's mouth began to burn, flared up, and went out. After a couple of seconds, he abruptly rose from the sofa. His eyes looked at Agatha and Artes with cunning.

— It worked, hooray! — Agatha shouted with joy.

"You don't belong here," Shisi's voice echoed in Shi's head.

— I know, — Shi replied.

— Hey, hey, what do you know? — Artes asked, not understanding anything.

Shi looked at Shisi, who was lying by the fireplace, with cunning and thought: "Did I fall here? What happened?"

"You didn't fall, you were in a rage, in a fit of anger!" — Shisi's voice replied.

"What? Who's saying that?"

"I'm a wild animal, my name is Shisi. I can tell you what happened."

"Tell me, tell me."

"Recently, if my memory serves me right, you were in the sky, soaring there. Then you jumped, fiery flames soared into the sky, and the fire became even bigger..."

"Sky, fire? I was in an airship."

Agatha walked around the house, closing the shutters on the windows and locking the doors.

— Fool, why did you have to scream like that? — she grumbled.

"You need to hurry, help that girl who saved you!" — Shisi's voice said.

"Girl?"

"Yes, she stayed there, she brought you here."

— Uh... hey, are you going to sit there and think for a long time? — Artes was indignant.

— What? — Shi asked back.

— Help, help that cool girl, she's cool. You have to help, — Artes said.

A slight gravitational pull appeared. Agatha fell to her knees, Artes barely stayed on his feet.

"It seems to have begun. Hurry up, otherwise, trouble is inevitable. I'll cover them," — Shisi's voice said.

— Then I'll go, — Shi said and got up from the sofa.

"Listen, this will be the last chance, there won't be another," — Shisi's voice said.

"What chance are you talking about? Huh?"

"This is the moment of the planet's complete destruction. If you don't succeed, it's the end of everything!"

"Whaaat?"

"I'll teleport you to her, to where she's fighting others now."

"No, no. Better teleport me to the girls, where the war is going on. I already know from my own experience," — Shi thought.

"Are you sure? There are as many as six beautiful ladies fighting among themselves. And they are all of different races!"

— R...a...c...e...s...? Well, lucky me! — Shi exclaimed.

— What are you lucky about? Huh? You need to hurry to her! — Agatha shouted.

Shisi jumped into the fire. Agatha, seeing this, screamed: "Nooo, nooo! S-H-I-S-I!"

Artes, seeing the cat's body burning in the fire, became sad and fainted.

"Hey, help me," — Shisi's voice echoed.

— Oh, are you still here? — Shi was surprised.

"Yes, come to the fireplace."

Shi approached the fireplace and sat down. The fire was hot and scorching.

"Reach out your hand and get my body," — Shisi's voice said.

"Body? But I can't."

"You can, you're fiery too. Get it and put it in the center of the house. Do it."

"Okay."

Shi took the charred remains of the cat out of the fire and walked to the center of the house.

— What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Huh? Tell me! — Agatha shouted and started hitting Shi. Her strength was uncontrollable, and her blows were like the blows of a fly.

Artes woke up and, lying on the floor, watched what was happening.

— No, don't, don't touch her! — he shouted.

Agatha continued to scream. Her screams echoed throughout the house. The slaves gathered near the house began to bang on the walls with their hands, stones, and anything they could find.

"Do it faster," — Shisi's voice urged Shi.

Shi pushed Agatha away and placed the cat's remains in the center of the house.

Artes, not wanting Shisi's remains to be used in this way, reached out his hand towards them.

As soon as he did, a strange flame flared up around the remains.

Artes's hand passed through the flame and became mechanical. It touched the remains and began to merge with them.

Artes screamed in pain. Agatha watched in horror at the flames and what was happening next.

Artes's hand began to be drawn into the flames. He screamed in pain.

Almost his entire shoulder was already pulled into the flames. Artes, not wanting such an outcome, took out his revolver and shot himself in the shoulder.

His shoulder was torn apart, and the severed part was completely drawn into the flames.

The cat's remains began to shimmer with metal.

The flames raged. Agatha, without looking away, watched them. She felt sorry for Shisi.

— I... I won't let you go just like that, you nasty cat! — she shouted and jumped into the fire.

At the same moment, all the blood and entrails erupted from her body and were drawn into the flames.

— Nooooooooo! — Artes screamed.

— Oh, screw it... — Shi turned away.

"Now," — Shisi's voice echoed.

The flames completely engulfed the cat's remains, expanded, and became even larger.

"Finally," — the voice said.

The fire disappeared. A mechanical cat stood in the center of the house. It was half black, half white. The Yin-Yang symbol shone in its eyes.

— The Yin-Yang Goddess has been reborn, — Artes whispered, choking on blood.

— What? Goddess? — Shi was surprised.

— That's right, I am the Yin-Yang Goddess, — the cat said.

— That's not all, — she added.

— But I thought goddesses looked like humans, — Artes said.

— I am the great Yin-Yang Goddess, I am also called Jizi. I have come to decide the fate of all mankind, — the goddess said.

With these words, she became more furious, a fiery circle formed around her, which began to burn everything around.

The goddess slowly rose into the air.

Hot air currents swirled around her.

Whoosh.

She disappeared.