Mark put the metal sphere back into his backpack and patted the Ice Abyss Beast on the head, signaling it to leave. The Ice Abyss Beast turned around obediently and walked towards the cave entrance. Mark followed closely behind, his leather boots stepping on the slightly wet cave floor, making a slight "tap tap" sound that echoed in the silent cave. When he reached the cave entrance, Mark's footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned back for some reason and took a look at the symbol projected by the metal sphere on the stone wall. A strong sense of uneasiness surged into his heart, making him palpitate.
The wind and snow were howling outside the cave, but it was unusually quiet inside the cave. Only water drops dripped from the stalactites and hit the ground, making a crisp "ding dong" sound.
He reached out his hand again and touched the warm symbol on the stone wall. The warmth on his fingertips remained, like the heartbeat of some kind of life, pulsating regularly. At the same time, the wind and snow outside the cave suddenly stopped. The world seemed to have been mute-buttoned in an instant, and fell into a dead silence. Even the sound of the whistling wind and snow stopped abruptly. This sudden silence made people feel more uneasy. Mark felt an inexplicable force gushing out from the symbol he touched and quickly spread to the entire cave. This force was invisible and intangible, but it made him feel a tightness in his chest, as if an invisible hand was strangling his throat. The symbol on the stone wall emitted a faint red light, flickering like breathing, exactly the same as the scene he saw in the depths of the cave before. The air around became sticky and flowed slowly, and it seemed that even breathing became difficult.
"Awoo--" The Ice Abyss Beast let out a terrified roar, turned around suddenly, and blocked Mark in front of him. All the hair on its body stood up, like a giant cat with its hair blown, and a low warning sound came from its throat. Its green eyes stared at the symbol on the stone wall, and its eyes were full of fear and vigilance. The air in the cave seemed to solidify, and the atmosphere was so tense that it was suffocating. The sound of water dripping on the ground also disappeared, and the whole world seemed to be left with only the rapid breathing of Mark and the Ice Abyss Beast.
Mark felt dizzy, and everything in front of him began to blur and distort, and finally fell into darkness. He lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Before he fainted, he vaguely heard the anxious roar of the Ice Abyss Beast and the sound of wind and snow outside the cave, but the sound was distant and vague, as if it came from another world.
Seeing this, the Ice Abyss Beast anxiously nudged Mark's body with its nose. Mark did not respond at all, lying quietly on the ground, his face pale and his breathing weak. The Ice Abyss Beast let out a long and sad howl, and the howl echoed in the cave for a long time. It sniffed Mark with its nose, and then carefully picked up Mark, with gentle movements, as if afraid of hurting him. It looked at the symbol on the stone wall that emitted a strange red light again, and a trace of fear and determination flashed in its green eyes. It took heavy steps and rushed out of the cave.
Outside the cave, the wind and snow were raging, and the snowflakes scraped on the face of the Ice Abyss Beast like blades, making it almost unable to open its eyes. But it did not stop. It ran down the mountain along the rugged mountain road, as if something terrible was chasing it. In the wind and snow, the figures of the man and the beast gradually disappeared, leaving only deep and shallow footprints, which were soon covered by new snow, as if they had never existed.
The Ice Abyss Beast held Mark in its mouth and moved forward with difficulty in the wind and snow. The howling wind rolled up the snow on the ground, forming a piece of white mist that blocked the vision. The Ice Abyss Beast squinted its eyes and ran down the steep mountain road with its familiarity with the terrain. It uttered a low whimpering sound, as if calling Mark's name. Mark's body was up and down as it ran, but there was still no sign of awakening.
The mountain road was rugged and uneven, and the Ice Abyss Beast took every step carefully. Its limbs were deeply sunk into the snow, and every step took a huge effort. A thick layer of snow had covered its thick fur, but it had no intention of stopping. It knew that it had to take Mark to a safe place as soon as possible.
In the wind and snow, the huge body of the Ice Abyss Beast was like a moving hill. It kept adjusting its direction and looking for a place to shelter from the wind. Snowflakes hit its thick fur and soon melted into water droplets, and then were frozen into ice crystals by the cold wind. Its breath condensed into white mist in the cold air and was soon blown away by the wind. Its green eyes were full of anxiety. It looked down at Mark who was unconscious in its mouth from time to time, and uttered a low whimper.
Finally, it found a snow cave that was sheltered from the wind. The entrance of the cave was not big and was covered with thick snow, making it almost unnoticeable. The Ice Abyss Beast used its nose to push away the snow and carefully got in.
The inside of the snow cave was warmer than the outside, but it was only "some". The walls of the cave were covered with frost, exuding a biting cold. The ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, which made a "crunching" sound when stepped on. The Ice Abyss Beast gently placed Mark on a relatively dry ground deep in the cave, and then used its body to block the cave entrance to shield Mark from the wind and snow. The cave entrance was blocked by the huge body of the Ice Abyss Beast, leaving only a few gaps, and the wind and snow poured in from the gaps, making a sharp whistling sound.
After placing Mark, the Ice Abyss Beast leaned over and licked Mark's cold cheek with its warm tongue, trying to wake him up. Mark's face was pale, his lips were chapped, and there was no trace of blood. He closed his eyes tightly, and his long eyelashes were covered with frost, looking like an exquisite ice sculpture.
"Woo..." The Ice Abyss Beast let out a low whimper, and it paced back and forth in the cave anxiously, its heavy breathing echoing in the small space, and it sniffed Mark from time to time with its nose to check his condition. It could feel Mark's weak breathing and heartbeat, which made him feel a little relieved, at least Mark was still alive. It was dark deep in the cave, and only the weak light coming in from the cave entrance barely illuminated Mark's pale face.
The Ice Abyss Beast dug out some hay from the depths of the cave and spread it under Mark, hoping to make him more comfortable. The hay was dry and soft, exuding a faint scent of grass and wood, which formed a sharp contrast with the damp and cold air in the cave. It covered Mark with its thick fur to keep him warm. After doing all this, it sniffed Mark again with its nose, and after confirming that he was temporarily safe, it turned and left the cave.
Before leaving the cave, the Ice Abyss Beast looked back at Mark, who was lying on the haystack and covered with fur, with his eyes full of worry. It knew that it had to find food and help as soon as possible to keep Mark alive.
Outside the cave, the wind and snow were still raging. The Ice Abyss Beast faced the wind and snow and looked for edible plants and prey nearby. It trudged through the snow with difficulty, and the thick snow covered its knees, and every step was extremely difficult. The wind and snow blurred its vision, and it could only rely on its keen sense of smell and hearing to find food.
"Awoo--" The Ice Abyss beast let out a low roar, and it found the trace of a snow rabbit. The snow rabbit is a creature that lives in the snowy mountain area. Its fur is snow-white and blends in with the surrounding environment, making it difficult to be found. But the Ice Abyss beast has an extremely sensitive sense of smell, and it can easily distinguish the smell of the snow rabbit.
The Ice Abyss beast approached the snow rabbit carefully, and its footsteps were light and silent, as if a ghost was floating in the snow. The snow rabbit seemed to sense the danger, it pricked up its ears and vigilantly observed the surrounding environment.
Suddenly, the Ice Abyss beast pounced on it. It was extremely fast, like a black lightning, and it caught the snow rabbit in an instant. The snow rabbit struggled for a few times and stopped breathing.
The Ice Abyss beast returned to the cave with the snow rabbit in its mouth. It put the snow rabbit under Mark's nose, hoping that the bloody smell of the snow rabbit would stimulate Mark to wake up. It tore the snow rabbit into pieces, put small pieces in Mark's mouth, and kept licking Mark's face, trying to make him swallow it.
"Woo..." The Ice Abyss Beast whimpered softly, rubbing Mark's cheek with its head, its eyes full of anxiety and worry.
The Ice Abyss Beast kept blowing warm breath on Mark's face, hoping that he would have some reaction. It pushed the torn pieces of snow rabbit meat to Mark's lips, and gently pulled the corners of Mark's mouth with its claws, trying to make him open his mouth.
The wind was howling outside the cave, and the snowflakes hit the rocks at the entrance of the cave, making a rustling sound.
In the cave, Mark lay quietly, his face pale and his breathing weak.
The Ice Abyss Beast paced back and forth anxiously, and from time to time he lowered his head to sniff Mark to confirm that he was still alive. It blocked the entrance of the cave with its huge body, shielding Mark from the wind, snow and cold. The cave was dark and warm, with only the heavy breathing of the Ice Abyss Beast and the whistling of the wind and snow intertwined.
The Ice Abyss Beast walked around Mark a few times, then walked deep into the cave and began to dig. It used its strong front paws to dig away the snow and ice covering the rocks, revealing some dry moss and dead grass underneath.
It brought the moss and dead grass to Mark and spread them under him, hoping to make him lie more comfortably.
After doing this, the Ice Abyss Beast returned to Mark and covered him with its fur to keep him warm. It curled up beside Mark, warming him with its body temperature, and licking his cheeks and hands with its tongue from time to time, hoping to wake him up as soon as possible.