The wind's a bit stronger than usual, but it's not anything special... I can hear the trees rustling a little bit. The sounds that the leaves make help me ignore my boredom. Nothing special happens here, or to me. I don't have a lot of memories when it comes to why I am where I am today... All I remember is that staying here, protecting it... is my sworn duty. You might even consider it my sole reason for living. I don't know why I do it... Why I have to do it... But for some reason, I don't really feel like I have to know the answer. It's how I've always lived. The only person living on this lonely island...

Knuckles the Echidna.

I live alone here, in this shrine. My daily life consist of looking over this gigantic gem, the Master Emerald. It's a very important relic. I don't know why it's so important, but I still feel like protecting it, no matter what. I get fruit from nearby trees, while avoiding wandering too far away from the Emerald. Conveniently for me, various fruit grow from the same trees pretty often.

...And that's basically it. That's how I spend my life here. It's somewhat boring, and yet, I don't feel like not doing it. Sometimes, animals and the like pass by this shrine. Some stare at me and leave, some pass by me in the blink of an eye. I wonder what life's like for them. If I were them... what would life be like to me? It's hard to come up with an answer, because this stuff just confuses me. So I snap out of it, and continue looking over the Master Emerald.

...I'm beginning to feel hungry. I'll go get some more fruit for me to eat. I get up, and walk toward the usual forest. I kept walking, but to my surprise, the trees weren't holding any fruit for me to grab.

K: "There should be fruit this deep into the forest..."

I hesitate to go deeper, but I can't do a good job on an empty stomach. I eventually decide to keep going, but... These trees aren't growing anything either. I decide to return to the shrine and wait a few minutes. On my way back, however, I was surprised to see something I've never seen happen in my life.

K: "...A leaf from a tree? What's it doing here on the ground?"

Two strange things happening, one right after another? Nothing bad happens on this island, yet... Deep down, I began to felt an unusual uneasiness. Before I knew it, I was sprinting back to the shrine. Eventually, I left the forest, only to be greeted with an agonizing sight.

I saw... what looked like a blue creature, taking away the Master Emerald, running away. I ran towards it, but it was faster than I was. I ran and ran, but eventually, exhaustion caught up to me. As strong as I was, I was horribly out of shape...

With the last of my draining energy, I shouted. I shouted, but nothing happened. Shortly afterwards... I felt the ground rumble. Everything was shaking... Everything was loud. I couldn't move... I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I couldn't resist... I ended up succumbing to my exhaustion, with only one thought on my mind...

K: "I... I failed..."

Everything went black... Everything went silent...