Mark stood in front of the cave entrance. The dark passage seemed like a huge mouth that swallowed everything, which made people shudder. He looked back at the woman. Her eyes were still empty, like a bottomless pool of water without any ripples. "Wait for me here, I'll go in and take a look." Mark's voice echoed in the empty room with a subtle tremor.
The woman nodded, without saying anything, just standing there quietly, like a lifeless statue.
Mark took a deep breath, bent down and crawled into the cave entrance. Inside the cave entrance was a narrow passage extending downward. The walls were wet, and water dripped from time to time, making a ticking sound. Mark walked slowly down the passage carefully, taking every step very cautiously, for fear of triggering some unknown mechanism.
The passage was very quiet, with only Mark's footsteps echoing, accompanied by his increasingly rapid breathing. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the passage suddenly opened up, and a spacious basement appeared in front of Mark. Several night-shining pearls emitting faint light were inlaid on the walls of the basement, providing some light for this claustrophobic space.
There was an altar in the center of the basement, on which was placed a gem emitting faint blue light. The light of the gem was particularly dazzling in the dim basement, as if it had life and was beating with a mysterious rhythm. Mark was attracted by the light of the gem and walked over involuntarily. He walked to the altar and reached out to touch the gem.
Suddenly, the stone door of the basement slowly fell, sealing the exit. With a loud "boom", the stone door was completely closed, isolating Mark from the outside world. Mark was startled and turned around to open the stone door, but found that the stone door was so heavy that it could not be shaken at all.
"What's going on?" Mark said in his heart, he realized that he might have fallen into some kind of trap. At this time, he noticed that the woman had followed in and was standing quietly behind him, with empty eyes and expressionless face.
"You..." Mark was about to ask, but the woman suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.
Mark felt a chilling energy flowing into his body through the woman's hand, as if countless tiny ice needles were shuttling through his blood vessels, causing waves of intense pain. He struggled desperately, trying to get rid of the woman's control, but her slender arms seemed to be cast in steel, firmly holding him and making him unable to move. "Let me go!" Mark roared, his voice hoarse, but revealing his unyielding will. He twisted his body, trying to break free from the woman's restraints, but everything was in vain. The woman's cold fingers clasped tightly on his arm, her nails pierced deeply into his flesh, oozing out a little bit of red blood, which was particularly dazzling in the dim light.
The woman ignored Mark's struggle, she laughed wildly, her laughter was sharp and piercing, like the cry of a night owl, echoing in the empty basement, making people creepy. "After decades... I finally waited for this day!" Her voice was hoarse and sharp, with a kind of crazy joy, completely different from the crying and wailing heard in the square before. Her body became more and more illusory, like mist, gradually merging with Mark's body. The blue light circulated around her illusory body, reflecting her pale face, making her look even more weird and terrifying. The gems on the altar flickered, as if responding to the woman's laughter, providing energy for this strange ceremony.
Mark felt his consciousness begin to blur, and his body gradually became out of control. The cold energy raged in his body, corroding his nerves and paralyzing his will. The world in front of him began to become distorted, the walls of the basement seemed to be spinning, and the gems on the altar became flickering, flickering like ghost lights. He wanted to speak, but found that he could no longer make any sound, and could only make vague whimpers. His body began to tremble violently, and strange lines appeared on the surface of his skin. The blue light flowed in his body, like a swimming venomous snake, making him feel bursts of heart-piercing pain. "Ah..." Mark let out a painful roar, and finally lost consciousness and fainted on the ground.
The basement returned to calm, only the gem on the altar still emitted a faint blue light, illuminating Mark's unconscious body. The woman's figure had completely disappeared, merging with Mark's body. The air around the altar seemed to solidify, filled with a strange atmosphere.