As a scientific researcher, why should I save the world?

Mark retracted his fingers, clenched the ice sword, and watched the slowly opening stone door vigilantly. The light danced on his face, reflecting his tight jaw and sharp eyes. The runes on the stone door flashed with strange light and emitted a low humming sound, as if chanting an ancient spell. As the gap in the stone door opened wider and wider, the cold breath became stronger and stronger, mixed with a hint of disgusting corruption. The Ice Abyss Beast let out an anxious roar outside the temple, as if it felt the strange breath coming from the temple. The wind and snow howled, rolling up the snow on the ground, forming a piece of rotating white vortex around the temple.

The stone door made a tooth-grinding friction sound and rotated heavily inward. Mark slowly walked into the open stone door, and the firelight around him flickered, illuminating the scene inside the stone room. This is a wide stone room with a huge altar in the center, and a gem emitting a faint blue light on the altar. The light of the gem flickered, like breathing, illuminating the entire stone chamber into a dark blue. There was a strange fragrance in the air, mixed with a suffocating sense of oppression. Mark felt a stuffiness in his chest and it became a little difficult to breathe.

He subconsciously touched his chest and frowned slightly. He had felt this feeling in ancient ruins before, which was an ancient and powerful power fluctuation.

"Could it be that this is the third energy fragment? Why is it different from the previous two energy fragments?" Mark whispered to himself, staring at the gem on the altar. The light of the gem seemed to be stronger, illuminating the ground around the altar. Mark then discovered that the ground around the altar was engraved with strange runes, which emitted a faint red light, which complemented the blue light of the gem, making it particularly mysterious.

He approached the altar step by step, taking every step very carefully. He felt the oppression in the air getting stronger and stronger, as if an invisible big hand was strangling his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe. He subconsciously tightened the ice sword in his hand, and the cold touch made him feel a little more at ease.

"Be careful." Mark reminded himself, his eyes never leaving the gem on the altar. He walked to the altar and carefully observed the gem and the runes around it. The runes were complex and mysterious, and he couldn't understand any of them, but he could feel that these runes contained powerful power.

He stretched out his hand and wanted to touch the gem. Just as his fingers were about to touch the gem, a powerful force suddenly burst out from the gem and bounced him away.

"Ah!" Mark exclaimed, his body flew backwards uncontrollably and fell heavily to the ground. He felt as if all the bones in his body were falling apart, and the pain was unbearable.

The gem on the altar shone brightly, and the dark blue light instantly filled the entire stone chamber, making Mark unable to open his eyes. At the same time, countless twisted shadows appeared on the walls of the stone chamber, with their fangs and claws bared, making sharp roars, like evil spirits from hell.

"What is this?" Mark was horrified. He struggled to stand up, but found that his body could not move. He felt a powerful force imprisoning him from soul to body, making him unable to move at all.

The shadows on the wall became clearer and clearer, and the roars became more and more piercing, as if to tear Mark's soul apart. Mark felt a sense of despair. He closed his eyes and waited for death to come.

At this moment, a deafening roar came from the entrance of the stone chamber. Then, there was a loud noise that shook the earth, and the stone door was knocked open by a huge force.

The Ice Abyss Beast sensed Mark's danger, knocked open the temple door, and rushed into the stone chamber. It saw Mark lying on the ground, surrounded by twisted shadows, and immediately let out an angry roar and pounced on the shadows.

"Ice Abyss Beast!" Mark saw the Ice Abyss Beast, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.

The huge body of the Ice Abyss Beast rushed through the stone chamber, trying to smash those twisted shadows to pieces.

"Puff..." Its sharp claws swung, trying to tear the shadow's body, but it passed through the shadow's body, making a harsh sound in the air. The shadow was unharmed! "What's going on? What is this? Don't they have a physical body?" Mark said in horror. The Ice Abyss Beast once again swung its claws in the air, realizing that these shadows were not physical, so it stopped the meaningless attack and used its huge body to block Mark's encirclement of Mark. Mark endured the pain, sat cross-legged on the ground, and tried to mobilize the little spiritual power left in his body to impact the confinement. On the altar, the light of the gem became more and more intense, and the shadow became more and more manic, making a harsh scream, constantly attacking the defense of the Ice Abyss Beast. In the dim stone room, the blue light flickered, reflecting the resolute figure of the Ice Abyss Beast, and also reflecting Mark's tightly furrowed brows and sweat on his forehead. There was a burning breath in the air, as if even the air was solidified. The Ice Abyss Beast felt the powerful energy emanating from the gemstone on the altar, and it dug the ground uneasily, making a low warning sound. "Woo..." Its huge claws left deep scratches on the ground, and the gravel splashed and hit the stone wall with a crisp sound. On the walls of the stone room, the twisted shadows seemed to be stimulated, surging more frantically, making sharp and piercing cries, like the wailing of evil spirits.

The light of the gemstone became more and more intense, almost dyeing the entire stone room into a dark blue. Mark felt that the power that imprisoned him was getting stronger and stronger, as if it was going to crush him. He clenched his teeth, veins on his forehead bulged, and beads of sweat kept sliding down his cheeks. He mobilized the last bit of energy in his body to attack the imprisonment.

"Break it for me!" Mark roared, and the energy in his body was like a rushing river, attacking the invisible force that imprisoned him.

Feeling the crisis of his friend, the Ice Abyss Beast looked up to the sky and howled, "Awoo--" A visible ice force burst out from it, instantly freezing the approaching shadow into an ice sculpture. The temperature in the stone chamber dropped sharply, and the air was filled with a cold breath. Those originally twisted and manic shadows were frozen into lifelike ice sculptures in various shapes and hideous shapes the moment they came into contact with the power of ice.

Realizing that the power of ice was effective on shadows, a hint of joy flashed in the eyes of the Ice Abyss Beast. "Woo!" It continued to release cold air, freezing more and more shadows. The temperature in the stone chamber was getting lower and lower. The ground and walls were full of frozen shadows, like an exhibition hall of ice and snow, showing all kinds of terrifying postures. The blue light shone on the ice sculptures, reflecting the cold light, making the entire stone chamber look more gloomy and terrifying.

Mark felt that the power that imprisoned him had weakened a little, and he seized the opportunity to mobilize energy to impact the imprisonment again.

"Ka-" With a slight sound, the power that imprisoned him was finally broken. Mark let out a long sigh, slowly stood up, and moved his stiff body.

"Well done, old friend!" Mark looked at the Ice Abyss Beast with gratitude in his eyes. He walked to the Ice Abyss Beast and patted its thick back. The Ice Abyss Beast lowered its head and rubbed Mark's shoulder with its huge head, making a low whimper, as if responding to his praise. The gem on the altar was still shining brightly, but the shadow had been frozen and no longer posed a threat.

"Now, it's your turn." Mark turned his head to look at the gem on the altar, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He clenched the ice sword and walked towards the altar step by step.

The Ice Abyss Beast followed closely behind Mark. One man and one beast walked towards the altar. The surrounding ice sculptures flashed coldly under the blue light, like loyal guards, guarding their way forward. Mark walked to the altar and reached out to touch the gem, "I want to see what you are."

Mark's fingers just touched the gem, and a powerful energy instantly rushed into his body, causing him to tremble all over. He instinctively wanted to withdraw his hand, but found that his hand seemed to be sucked in and could not move. The light of the gem became more dazzling, and a strong suction force came from the gem, slowly pulling Mark's body towards the altar.

Seeing this, the Ice Abyss Beast immediately stretched out its front claws, trying to pull Mark back.

"Roar!" It roared, and its claws tightly grasped Mark's arm, trying to prevent him from being sucked into the gem. However, the suction force of the gem was too strong, and even the strong Ice Abyss Beast could not resist it.

Mark felt that his body was being pulled towards the altar little by little, and he struggled desperately, but to no avail. "Old man, let go!" He gritted his teeth and shouted at the Ice Abyss Beast, "You can't hold me back!"

The Ice Abyss Beast turned his head to look at Mark, his eyes full of worry and reluctance. It uttered a low whimper, but its claws grasped tighter, refusing to let go.

Mark looked at the Ice Abyss Beast, and a warm current surged in his heart. He knew that the Ice Abyss Beast was worried about him, but he couldn't let it take risks with him. "Be obedient, let go!" Mark shouted again, with a hint of determination in his tone. He struggled hard, and the Ice Abyss Beast's claws finally loosened.

Mark's body was pulled toward the altar by the suction force, and he felt his consciousness gradually blurred. In the last moment of losing consciousness, he saw the Ice Abyss Beast anxiously wandering around him, making a sound of grief.

The light of the gem gradually dimmed, the altar returned to calm, and Mark's figure disappeared. The Ice Abyss Beast paced anxiously around the altar, its huge nostrils kept twitching, sniffing the ground, as if to smell Mark's remaining breath from the cold stone slabs. From time to time, it made a low whimper, as if calling Mark's name, and as if mourning for its lost companion. The stone chamber was silent, with only the whimper of the Ice Abyss Beast and the sound of its claws scratching the ground echoing, making it seem even more empty and lonely. The dark blue light had disappeared, and the stone chamber returned to its original dimness. Those frozen shadows stood like ghosts in the dimness, silently watching the actions of the Ice Abyss Beast.