The next thing Knuckles knew, he was sprawled out at the entrance to the altar, having been knocked out by whatever had happened. Regaining consciousness, the lone echidna's first thought was of the Chaos Emerald inside, running back to the altar. Looking about at the half-broken area, he could not find a single trace of the emerald, with not a clue as to where it could have gone. Emerging out of the sacred chamber in a daze, Knuckles was unsure of his next course of action, glancing out at the horizon. It was then that he saw it, a strange, almost egg-shaped object embedded into the landscape. Snapping back to reality, Knuckles wondered if this object was connected to an ancient legend that rushed to the forefront of his mind, the egg of the legendary dragon...
Over the next few days, Knuckles explored the rest of the isle assessing any damage as he went to the other six Chaos Emerald altars, finding each in the same state as the first. Refusing to give up, the guardian continued to investigate, knowing that the answer to what had just happened must be somewhere on his island.