Mystery of Onyx

First Encounter

There was no other choice than to step outside. Felix went first, Echo following him. They had landed on an unfamiliar, dark, alien planet. Surprisingly, the sky was bright purple. They knew this wouldn't be like any of their other adventures. They felt hostility around them, giving off a completely different vibe than those other planets. The whole place was silent, almost eerily still. Then suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching, the sound growing louder and louder with every passing second.

Fear crept over Felix and Echo as they hid behind a rock, their hearts racing. Hiding wouldn't help, though. A tall, muscular, and mysterious creature walked toward them, its identity being hidden because of the darkness. Echo and Felix stayed still, unable to move from the fear. Could those be their last moments? Aeryn suddenly shut down too, "Unknown error spotted. Performing system reload." This terrified Felix and Echo even more but they could do nothing about it now.

Suddenly, the figure stopped in front of Felix and Echo, its back to them at first. Then, it turned around, revealing a face that made the pair immediately drop to their knees in fear. In a raspy voice, the figure says, "I know you are frightened by what you see, but I am not here to hurt you." Felix and Echo looked up, a bit relieved yet also still very scared of the figure. "What are you here for, then?" Echo asked nervously, her voice trembling. The figure stays silent for a while.

"You... are not safe here. You must get away from Onyx before they find you. If they do, it's over. I am willing to help you repair your ship, though!" Echo and Felix exchanged a quick look at each other. Echo answered: "Maybe we do need your help... But who broke our spaceship and why? Oh! And who's Onyx?" the figure smiled. It was not human-like and it was definitely creepy, but anyone could tell it was a smile. 

"Well, I can't tell you much but this is our planet, Onyx. It's very dangerous and many entities will stare at you in disgusting ways... But worry not! I can be your bodyguard. I will make sure you leave this planet without being harmed at all. Sounds weird and too good to be true, but I know how you feel. I hope to prove that I am worthy and helpful., at least to myself. Place your trust in me. You have no one else. I broke your ship because if you went further, they'd get you. After we fix it, you have to take another direction. None of them is friendly. They're too powerful and they'll either end you or end you, making it slow, painful, and eternal."

Felix and Echo took a moment to think about the creature's words. It was obvious that they were hesitant. Echo stood up. Felix did the same thing, drowning in his thoughts. "Who are you?" they had almost forgotten to ask one of the most basic questions. They didn't even know who that weird figure was before accepting its offer. "This is not important right now. You will find out eventually."

Felix did not like the fact that the question was avoided. "No. It is important. How do you expect me to trust you without knowing anything about you? You could be lying about all this." The figure stood still, smiling once again. "That's right. I could be lying. I could tell you I'm the leader of the planet and you'd believe it. I could lie about everything. That's an option. But I do not want that. I prefer keeping my identity hidden for now rather than lying." 

Felix and Echo looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. It seemed like the figure's words had convinced them, although they still had many unanswered questions. Felix turned to the figure and asked: "Very well then. We'll trust you, but only because we have no other choice." The figure excitedly nodded and started leading them away from the site of their crashed ship.

As they walked, the figure suddenly stopped and turned to face Felix and Echo. "I want you to listen carefully now," they said in a serious and calm tone. "I need you to take this," they said, handing each of them a strange device. "I don't know what it does, but I think you will find out soon." Felix and Echo looked at each other in surprise, unsure of what to do with the devices they had been given by the mysterious figure.

Felix leaned towards Echo, speaking quietly as he watched the mysterious figure walk ahead of them. "Be careful," he whispered, "Pretty sure he knows what these things do." Echo nodded in agreement. They didn't have much choice but to trust the mysterious figure, and the gadgets were a critical part of that trust. What exactly would happen? They had no idea, and all they could do was hope for the best.

"Here we are!" the figure stopped walking, standing in front of a big weirdly built house. "This," he explained, "Is my house. This is the only place you'll remain safe. You can stay here as I analyze your ship and what materials it needs." Echo looked excited, while Felix felt like something was off. 

Echo and Felix followed the figure to its house. Felix kept a close eye on the figure as they entered the house, unsure of what they were getting themselves into. Echo, however, was excited at the possibility of staying in the mysterious figure's house, seemingly oblivious to the possible dangers. The figure opened the door to the house, allowing Felix and Echo to enter...