Mystery of Onyx

Interruptions

Felix and Echo were left alone in the mysterious figure's house, a sense of silence and tension hanging in the air. Felix still had his suspicions about the figure's intentions, while Echo remained unfazed and completely trusting. She couldn't help but wonder what this strange creature's name was, and what exactly was it doing to help them.

Echo started looking around the room to see if there were any clues that might help them better understand the figure's motives. Maybe there might be something hidden in the house that would shed more light on the whole situation. Echo approached a small table, noticing its strange decoration of plants and a paper-like material. 

She picked it up, intending to find out if it had something written on the other side. However, as soon as the object was flipped, the door forcefully opened. She got scared and let the paper down. "That was so close! They were near us... I couldn't... get to the ship in time, I'm sorry!" The figure said, almost out of breath. Echo was relieved to know the figure was back, despite what they had said, while Felix did not really care or pay attention. 

Echo smiled. "It's alright. We can fix it later, at a time when it's safe. We don't have a strict time plan either, do we, Felix? We're just explorers." Felix sighed. "No, we don't have to hurry or anything, but we can't stay here forever." The figure carefully listened to them and after a moment it answered. "Good! Well... It's not safe to go now so, tell me about your planet!" Echo's eyes lightened up. Felix let her speak. 

"We're from Earth! Its star is the Sun, which is approximately 26.000 light years away from the center of the Galaxy. Our solar system is 4.5 billion years old and the Sun orbits the Galaxy every 230 million years. However the average human lives for around 80 years, so we're sadly not able to orbit it while on Earth. The star that's closest to us is named Proxima Centauri and it's only 4.3 light years away from the Sun!-" The creature interrupted Echo.

"Woah, wait. I asked you about your planet. Not your entire solar system and its surroundings. But keep talking." Echo smiled again and continued speaking. "Our galaxy is named Milky Way! Andromeda, the closest galaxy to ours, is 2,5 million light years away from us. Someday, Milky Way and Andromeda will 'crash'... But that's in the future! We still have 3-5 billion light years until that! Our planet is full of life, such as us humans, animals, plants, and more."

The figure listened carefully, occasionally interrupting her with questions before Echo continued. "And, the planet is constantly changing, we have different seasons with different temperatures. We have oceans and a variety of landscapes." The figure stayed silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought. Then, it spoke. "I guess you can say that our planet has similar features. We don't have different seasons, but we do have certain areas... with different climates." Echo nodded. "Hey, do you have any water here? I'm kind of thirsty. Humans need water to survi-" 

The creature softly touched Echo's shoulder as a message to stop. Felix facepalmed. "Hey, calm down. I know what water is. We need water to survive too. Take some." It handed her a circle-shaped bottle with water in it. She looked at Felix and he returned an approving nod. She took a sip and the water seemed perfectly fine. "Thank you," she smiled. Silence took over for a while when Felix broke it. "We should start searching for materials. I suppose they left, right?" The creature took a moment to think about it.

"Ah, yes, let's start searching for whatever materials your ship needs." Felix nodded. "Alright then... Are you going to go back to the ship now?" The figure nodded, waving goodbye and leaving the house. Felix, Echo, and Aeryn remained in the house for a while, feeling a bit lost by all that had happened.

They were in the house for what felt like hours. The figure never came back, and the two of them started to grow concerned. Echo tried to stay positive about the situation, but Felix was starting to get annoyed. After a while, Echo couldn't take it anymore. She spoke up. "Hey, do you think the figure is coming back?" Felix turned to her and shrugged. "I don't know, Echo, this thing is weird..."

The door opened, and the figure walked in. "I have bad news..." Echo and Felix immediately stood up, curious to hear what the figure needed to say. "The materials your ship requires can only be found in extremely dangerous areas..." Echo and Felix shared a look of concern. "It's not something I can help you with..." The figure continued. Echo and Felix looked at each other in worry. What should they do now?

They almost felt hopeless, but they had to get out of there soon enough. "However!" the figure continued, "These devices I gave you... They can help us communicate! I can only assist by giving you instructions while you complete each 'challenge'. I can't do more than that though. How does that sound?"

Echo and Felix smiled in relief. "That'll do! At least we know that we aren't alone! Thank you, Uh..." Felix paused. He didn't know what to call this... figure? Creature? Monster? Likely not a monster... It was friendly after all. The creature quickly noticed that and finished Felix's sentence, "Erebos. Call me Erebos." Echo quietly gasped and Felix looked up at Erebos, excited for his name reveal.