Xylos Prime Recycled

The hum is almost imperceptible at first. A low thrumming that vibrates in your teeth more than assaults your ears. You ignore it, of course. You're knee-deep in the viscous, luminescent bog of Xylos Prime, chasing a Skitterwing butterfly whose wings shimmer with the promise of unimaginable riches. Skitterwing scales are a hot commodity back in Sector Gamma, enough to make you a wealthy individual… or at least, wealthy enough to finally pay off that grav-scooter you impulse-bought last Solstice. The hum intensifies. You glance up, momentarily distracted from the butterfly's erratic flight. The sky, normally a vibrant tapestry of swirling purple and emerald nebulae, is now a flat, featureless grey. The bioluminescent flora around you dims, their ethereal glow fading like dying embers. Something is wrong. Terribly wrong. Then the ground trembles. Your balance fails you and you fall face-first into the lukewarm, pungent mud. Disgusting. But the disgust is quickly replaced by terror. The tremors escalate, becoming violent jolts that throw you around like a ragdoll. Through the vibrating muck, you see the ancient, gnarled trees of the bog beginning to convulse. Their roots, thick as starships, writhe like agitated serpents. And then, it speaks. Not with sound, exactly. More like a thought forced into your mind, a telepathic intrusion that slams into your consciousness with the force of a collapsing singularity. "You trespass." The voice is ancient, impossibly vast. It feels like the land itself, the very fabric of Xylos Prime, is addressing you. The Skitterwing, forgotten, flutters away into the oppressive grey sky. "This is not your domain. You are an anomaly, a disruption. You must… be corrected." The ground splits open before you, revealing a chasm of infinite blackness. A chilling, silent wind rushes from the depths, carrying with it the scent of decay and the weight of forgotten eons. Welcome to Xylos Prime. You are unwanted. You are a threat. And you are about to be recycled. Your choices will determine whether you become a footnote in the history of this alien world, or whether you can somehow, impossibly, find a way to survive the wrath of a sentient planet. Good luck. You'll need it.