Good.You get **all three full, powerful, and dark CHAPTERS 10**—each continues its own storyline and forms a dramatic storyline of its own.Each chapter is extensive, intense, and packed with powerful twists.--

# **CHAPTER 10A—“The Clash with the Light Hunters”**

*(Continuation of Path A: Jacob has the gift of the entity, and the Hunters have come to destroy him)*

The light around the Hunters grew brighter.

It didn't resemble human light—it was like a fragment of the sun bound in humanoid form.

Argo growled, but his growl was lost in the growing pulse of energy.

The ally shouted,

“They're blinding us! Don't let yourself be drawn into their rhythm!”

Jakub raised his hand.

The energies of the entity in the clearing ignited within him.

The Hunter was the first to reach out—and the forest shook like an earthquake.

A wall of light rushed toward Jacob, crushing everything in its path.

Jakub slammed his fist into the ground.

The forest's light responded.

The earth around him shot up in the form of roots, creating a natural barrier.

A wave of Hunters struck it and shattered like glass.

The second Hunter raised his eyebrows.

"You've strengthened yourself."

"I won't let myself be taken."

"That's why you must be erased."

All three Hunters jumped at once.

They moved so fast it looked like they were teleporting between the trees.

Jakub tried to keep up—time slowed for him, but not fast enough.

The first attack hit him in the chest.

He fell.

The second kicked him in the arm, breaking it.

The third swung, aiming for his head.

But in that single second—Argo leaped in front of Jacob.

The Hunter was pushed back.

Argo bounced, tumbling onto his side.

“ARGO!” Jacob shouted.

Something inside him snapped.

The light in his body ceased to be gentle.

It became fire.

It exploded with such force that the forest burned with a green glow.

The Hunters retreated.

The first said,

“He opened the third level.”

“Impossible,” the second replied. “It’s inhuman energy.”

“That’s why we want him.”

The third Hunter lunged forward.

Jakub looked at Argo.

“Stay.”

Then he raised his hand—from which a spiral of green light shot out.

The impact was like an explosion.

The third Hunter flew through three trees until his body extinguished like a burnt-out candle.

The other two looked at Jacob with something that was clear even to them:

Fear.

The ally stood, staggering.

"They won't give in," he said.

"I know," Jacob replied. "But neither will I."

The forest shook.

The second phase of the battle was approaching.

--

# **CHAPTER 10B - "The Cave's Border"**

*(Continued from Path B: Jacob Flees the Wrath of the Being)*

They ran through the forest, the ground behind them rippling like water struck by a stone.

The Faceless Ones held their ground. They ran unnaturally fast—even though they looked like lifeless bodies.

Argo was close, almost shoulder to shoulder with Jacob.

The ally kept pace, though his breathing was labored.

The trees began to part.

Jakub realized:

They weren't the ones choosing the direction. **It was the cave that was pushing them.**

Even though they were running from it…

…it was leading them where it wanted them to run.

The ally stopped abruptly.

“It’s changing the terrain!” he shouted. “It’s reprogramming the forest!”

“Not the forest,” Jacob replied. “Me.”

The faceless emerged from the ground, from the air, from between the trees. As if they existed everywhere at once.

Argo growled and lunged at one, knocking it down.

The creature fell—and disintegrated into black mist.

But the mist gathered again, and another creature arose.

The ally clenched his fist.

“It’s killing the forest.”

“No,” Jacob said. “It’s killing the path. Every path we could have escaped.”

And then they felt it.

A whisper.

Not in the air.

Not in their ears.

**In my thoughts.**

“You are my light…”

“My sense…”

“My core…”

Jakub fell to his knees as if someone had driven a spike into his skull.

Argo barked desperately.

The ally ran over.

“Fight it!”

“She… she is drawing me…”

“Fight!”

The ground before them collapsed, revealing a ravine full of black, moving forms.

Looking down, Jacob realized:

These were **all the previous victims** the creature had once taken.

“I won’t let you take me,” Jacob whispered.

The whisper replied:

“I already have you.”

Suddenly, the faceless stopped running.

They stopped.

As if waiting.

The forest fell silent.

The ally paled.

“She…”

“Yes.” "...coming."

The shadows between the trees began to thicken.

From the shadows she began to emerge.

The essence of the cave.

In material form.

In anger.

--

# **CHAPTER 10C — "Who are you without your shadow?"**

*(Continuation of Path C: Duel with the Doppelganger)*

When the fog cleared and the clearing filled with light, Jacob stood—sweating, bloodied, trembling with exertion.

The ally lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

Argo slowly approached his master.

And before Jacob...

...lay the Doppelganger.

He was still alive.

He breathed heavily, as if every breath were pain.

His body was cracked like parched earth.

Flashes of black energy could be seen through them.

The doppelganger looked at Jakub.

— *Why…

Are you still… alive…?*

Jakub knelt beside him.

— Because I'm not alone.

— *Loneliness… makes me stronger…*

— No.

— *…makes me purer.*

— And yet you lie there.

The doppelganger tried to stand up but couldn't.

— *Let me… finish…*

— I can't.

— *I have to be you…*

— You don't have to be anyone.

The doppelganger froze.

As if the words were foreign to him.

Jakub said gently:

— Who are you without me?

— *Nobody…*

— And who could you be… if you hadn't tried to kill me?

The blackness in the doppelganger's eyes began to fade.

As if his existence were losing meaning.

— *I just… wanted… to be…*

— I understand.

The doppelganger raised a hand.

Argo growled, but Jacob stopped him.

"Let him speak."

The doppelganger whispered:

"*If I disappear…there will be room…*"

"What room?"

"*For something worse."

And then his body began to crack.

The ally stood up abruptly.

"Step aside!"

The doppelganger exploded into black dust, which began to swirl around the clearing.

Jacob watched in horror.

"What's happening?!

"He didn't disintegrate," the ally said. "He's **releasing**."

"What does that mean?!

"He's preparing room…for whatever wants to come."

The air thickened.

The shadow in the clearing began to form, larger…taller…more inhuman.

Argo began barking in panic.

The ally paled.

"He wasn't your greatest enemy…"

"I know," Jacob whispered.

A great shadow loomed over them.

"This is only the beginning."

---

### If you want, I'll prepare it now:

## ✔ **CHAPTER 11A - The Second Stage of the Battle with the Hunters: "Eschaton of Light"**

## ✔ **CHAPTER 11B - Confrontation with the Cave Entity in Its True Form**

## ✔ **CHAPTER 11C - The Arrival of the "Proper Shadow," More Powerful Than the Doppelganger**

Or all three at once—as we've done so far.

**Which one do we continue? All of them?**