Great!We begin **CHAPTER 13**—the complete, dark, and comprehensive continuation of the adventures of Commissioner Jakub and his dog Argo.--

# **CHAPTER 13—“HEART OF THE UNDERGROUND”**

*(full, long, novel version)*

The tunnel through which Jakub and Argo descended grew narrower. The walls pulsated with dampness and cold, and each step echoed, gnawing at the darkness. The Light Absorber remained behind them, but its presence was palpable—a chill hung in the air, and the flashlight beam trembled as if it existed against the creature's will.

Argo stopped suddenly, ears pricked, holding his breath.

“What's wrong, man?” Jakub whispered, placing his hand on the dog's fur.

The dog growled softly, pointing its nose into the darkness ahead.

And then Jacob saw the first signs…

Not from the Devourer, but from something even older.

Ritual symbols appeared on the tunnel walls. Carved deep into the brick, they glowed with a faint, bluish light, as if the material they had penetrated possessed a consciousness of its own. These weren't ordinary symbols—they looked like a written language known only to the underworld. The lines formed patterns resembling:

* swirling vortexes

* twisting silhouettes

* large eyes that looked in every direction at once

Jakub felt the signs **give off energy**, a kind of warning. Argo hissed and took a step back.

"This doesn't look good..." Jacob muttered. "But we have no choice."

With each step, the air grew heavier. Suddenly, somewhere in the distance, came a **sound of metallic friction**, as if something were tumbling over stones. The flashlight indicated movement in the tunnel—a thin silhouette emerged from the semidarkness.

It wasn't the creature they'd seen before.

It was a human.

Or something that had once been human.

The figure was slim, dressed in tattered clothing. Its face was hidden in shadow, and its eyes—bright, almost transparent—gleamed with a cold light. In its hands it held an old, rusty key.

"Who are you?" Jacob asked, his hand resting on its holster.

The figure didn't respond. Instead, it pointed to the tunnel ahead.

Then it uttered an inhuman whisper:

"The heart... The heart of the underworld... the answer lies there..."

Jakub cleared his throat.

"Are you telling us that... we have to move on?"

The figure nodded and vanished into the shadows.

Argo growled, but didn't move from his spot.

Jakub took a deep breath and moved on, knowing the dog would follow him no matter what.

The tunnel suddenly widened.

The space was vast—a dome so high overhead that they couldn't see its end. **stone slabs** lay beneath their feet, and in the center—what looked like a **well of light**. It didn't glow, but pulsed with a rhythm that seemed to match the commissar's breathing.

"This must be... the heart of the underground," whispered Jakub.

From the underground depths emerged the enormous figure of the Light Absorber. This time, he was closer than ever. His shape was more compact, less blurred, and his eyes pulsed with a red light, as if he knew they had reached the center of his world.

Argo growled louder than ever.

"Okay, mate... stay close," Jakub said, pulling the dog closer.

The Absorber reared up on its hind legs, emitting an inhuman sound that resonated through every bone in the commissar's body.

Then Jacob noticed **something else**.

Small lights—hundreds, maybe thousands—floating in the air around the well. Each one pulsated like tiny hearts. And among them… the **souls of the lost inhabitants**, previously thought lost.

“Argo… we must free them,” Jacob whispered. “But first… we must face it.”

The Devourer moved toward them, and Jacob knew that every move would be decisive. It wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was about **freeing these souls**.

And so began the true battle in the heart of the underworld, where darkness had a life of its own, and the light the Commissioner and Argo brought could change the fate of all trapped in its dark depths.

---

If you want, I can write **CHAPTER 14** right away, in which Jacob and Argo **face the Light Eater in the finale of this underground adventure**—it will be even more dramatic, dark, and full of action, emotion, and tension.

Want me to keep writing?