#skynx

1. Styx isn't "Styx"

You learn this if you jump up to the place Styx always retreats to in act 3. There, we find a great number of masks, including the one worn by "Styx." Play the Needolin and we see a memory of a headless "Styx" thinking the following: "Who To be? Who is me? The one who serves? The one who breeds? The one to fear? My strength or theirs?"

Note that this recollection doesn't use Styx's voice. Clearly the real Styx is long dead, and the thing "serving" us is something using his voice and face.

2. Skynx isn't "Skynx"

"Skynx? Who's Skynx?" You ask. Well, it's who you find if you visit Styx on Steel Soul mode. Here, Styx's nest has been destroyed, and his notably headless body lies dead. Yet destroy a hidden wall and you'll find "Skynx," a creature wearing Styx's mask upside down:

Even creepier, before we see "Skynx" we get this exchange between them and Hornet:

Hornet: "I can sense you there, hidden in the darkness. Show yourself."

???: "I can sense you. Hidden."

The creature is repeating Hornet's words back to her. Then, when it equips its mask and shows itself, it begins using Styx's voice, but with the words jumbled to create new meaning: "The morselsssss. Give them. Take." This happens every time you visit. The creature will first mimic whatever Hornet says, then appears with Styx's face and starts using Styx's words. Frighten it, and it mimics the roar of another enemy to try and scare you asay. Play music for it, and it sings using a mix of other creature's sounds. So it's a mimic with an upside-down face and two black mantis-like arms. Clearly a Nosk, right? Just one uninfected by the Radiance.

3. Skynx is Styx

Yes we see Not-Styx's headless body before meeting Skynx, but remember: Nosks don't just steal faces, they also hide in and pilot stolen bodies. Why would Team Cherry reveal Styx as a face-stealer to then replace that face-stealer with a second-face stealer that stole the first face-stealer's already-stolen face? That's just needlessly convoluted. What makes more sense is that in Steel Soul, Styx's nest was attacked and destroyed before Hornet could show up to save it. So "Styx" was forced to abandoned the body it was piloting and flee into the secret room we find.

With its nest and hoard of silk-eaters destroyed, Styx/Skynx offers to pay hornet to find fresh silk-eaters, so that it can weave a new nest from their silk.

So Who Was The Original Styx?

Probably Huntress's mate. Besides sharing the same body and mask shape, Styx's (stolen) dialogue is focused entirely around finding food for a "mistress." Presumably it was Styx's job to find food for Huntress (and the hatchlings) while she guarded the eggs, and since Styx never returned from his hunt, Huntress is forced to ask Hornet for help when they meet.

The first reason is that Skynx lacks most of the details that makes a nosk, well, a nosk! They never created their own mask, they took it, and they lack the roars and (seem to lack) the burrowing abilities of nosk as well. Along with that, Skynx never seems to use Styx's face to lure anyone in, and likely took it just because its there. Another thing to point out is that Skynx's hands seems to resemble Styx's, yet his corpse is still entirely intact ignoring the lack of a head. Skynx is also much to small for a theoretical nosk of that size, and lacks a proper nosk-lair, something adult nosks seem to prefer.

Now this part is entirely speculative, but I believe that since Skynx has a name similar to Styx, along with an assumably similar body, Skynx is not Styx's killer or a new species, but rather a younger specimen in the species I would like to refer to as the Harvestbugs(due to their harvesting nature)

The Harvestbug species seems to be a species that normally lacks a mask upon birth, judging by how Skynx steal Styx's mask, and Styx has an abundance of masks at presumably the final and mating stage of a Harvestbug's life.

The Harvestbug will start their life searching for a mask to take, and begin using that mask to learn language from bugs passing by and to begin establishing small relations with intelligent bugs, whether it be collecting Silk Eaters, or other farmable items for rosaries or any item the specimen has come upon during their early life(seen by how Skynx and Styx both share an obsession with Silk Eaters).

Then, once they've gathered enough items and a decent social understanding, they move on to the final stage of their life. They will establish a proper nest-farm where they will wait for a potential mate and protector to come upon them, and once said mate has arrived, they will establish their servitude to this person and begin providing their skills and commodities in return for protection and hopefully, a relationship.

By this stage, if they fail or die too soon, then they will end up leaving a mask behind for the next Harvestbug to collect and wear. But if they get a proper mate, they will be able to continue their species and possibly allow their offspring to prosper.

Hello delisssciousss citizen of the Eter~~nal City

Thisss annousssement isss that any bug that enter thisss here ven~~trica will ressseive the honor of being the most im~~portant bug for our grand feassst

•thank you for ~our time•

Glory to Sssinner'sss road, and the sssilkeatersss, ever-resssplenishing our feast

Skynxtaur </3

Something's hiding in the shadows...

Closeup Below