Great! 😄 Here's **Chapter 8 of Part 3 – "The Cost of Decisions"** in its full, literary form: ---

 

## **Chapter 8: The Cost of Decisions**

The night in Skalin was silent and tense, but Lena Sobczak knew the silence was only apparent. Every step through the city, every glance into the darkness, carried consequences. The dual threat of the antagonists forced her to make decisions that could cost her life or the lives of her companions.

"Lena…" Marta said as they walked through narrow, fog-filled streets. "Do we really have to go alone? Should we involve them in these rituals?"

Lena felt the weight of responsibility. The survivors of Part 2 were no longer mere witnesses—they were becoming participants in a game whose rules were unknown. Each of them possessed abilities that could save or destroy the entire group, but every mistake was a risk that could not be reversed.

“If they don’t work with me, we won’t be able to predict the antagonists’ moves,” Lena replied, trying to remain calm. “But if I drag them too deep, we risk their lives.”

The first moral test came sooner than they expected. In an abandoned hospital where the Alchemist was conducting one of his rituals, they found a group of residents trapped in a chemical trap, the effects of which were beginning to affect their minds.

“We have to save them,” Marta said, grabbing Lena’s hand. “We can’t leave them alone!”

Lena knew that saving the residents would mean walking into the Alchemist’s trap. If they made a wrong move, the entire group could be captured. Every choice required immediate analysis—which actions minimized risk and which could ruin their efforts.

“The decision is simple, yet brutal,” Lena whispered, observing the survivors. “We save the residents, endangering ourselves, or we leave them to conserve our strength to fight the antagonists.”

At that moment, the Marionette seized the moment of hesitation. Piotr felt his body and mind react automatically to her manipulations. Fear spread through the group, and every movement became slow and uncertain.

“Focus!” Lena shouted, grabbing Piotr by the shoulders. “Your fears are her weapons. Don’t let her win!”

Working together, they managed to dispel the Marionette’s influence, and Marta used her visions to identify a safe passage for the inhabitants. Lena led them out of the trap, sensing that every decision left a mark—on the survivors’ psyches, on her own, on the city itself.

“Every choice has a price,” Lena said, looking at the weary faces of her companions. “These are not ordinary decisions. These are decisions that define us as people… and as heroes of this city.”

The fog of Skalin was now thicker than ever. Lena knew that every decision she made could cost them all – life, limb, and sometimes even something beyond words.

"But if I don't make these decisions," Lena thought, looking at the survivors, "the city will be plunged into shadow. And I… I can't let that happen."

--

I can now prepare **Chapter 9 – "Playing in Reality and Dreams"**, in which Lena and the survivors will have to operate simultaneously in the real world and the world of dreams, and the tension will reach new heights.

Do you want me to do it now?