Don’t overthink it!
There are a ton of different types of puzzles in Sonic Frontiers, and not all of them are going to be simple.
This one is, thankfully! But you just need to not overthink it and just go for it.
Locating the Sonic Frontiers M-043 puzzle
So the M-043 puzzle can be found on Ares Island, where Knuckles is located. It’s actually the second main hub you’ll visit in Sonic Frontiers.
To find it, you’ll want to head to the central part of the island, which can be easily accessed through the western ruins entrance. Make your way to the location with the orange beacon with the red arrow pointing at it in the map above.
Solving the Sonic Frontiers M-043 puzzle
To solve this puzzle, you’ll need to make use of the Cyloop ability. Again, you can trigger that with the Triangle/Y (on Xbox) buttons while running. Create a Cyloop beam around the blue fire pits in the order above. So Cyloop around column one first, then two, then three, then four, then five.
Once you’ve done that, the puzzle will pop, you’ll get a little more of the map, and you’ll get a reward (in our case, it was a Seed of Defense).