System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)-Chapter 357: The Matrix

The entrance to the cave was quickly swallowed by a suffocating darkness. For any normal human, the descent would have been a death sentence; the path was a jagged, vertical maze of razor-sharp rocks and slippery slopes that seemed to lead into the very bowels of the planet.

Ethan didn’t reach for a flashlight. He didn’t need one.

With his amethyst eyes glowing in the gloom, the "fire serpent" became his only guide. He watched as the golden-purple trail pulsed rhythmically against the cave walls, showing him exactly where to place his feet and which narrow tunnels to squeeze through.

[Energy levels are fluctuating, Master. We are descending past the two-kilometer mark. The atmospheric pressure is rising, but the air remains strangely breathable. This indicates an active life-support or ventilation system tied to the matrix,] Crul said.

Ethan continued his descent for several hours. The deeper he went, the more the natural limestone gave way to something else—smooth, obsidian-like surfaces that felt unnaturally cold to the touch.

Finally, the narrow tunnels opened up. Ethan stepped out onto a ledge and looked down into a cavern so vast it felt like a subterranean cathedral. The ceiling was lost in the shadows, but the floor was a perfectly flat expanse of dark metal, etched with intricate geometric patterns.

He looked for his guide, the fire serpent that had appeared so majestic and powerful at the surface. Here, at its source, the sight was jarring.

The once-mighty serpent of light had dwindled into a faint, flickering thread. It slithered across the metallic floor with a desperate, jerky motion, eventually sinking into a central pedestal that sat in the middle of the hall. On the surface, the light looked like a god; here, in the heart of the matrix, it looked like a dying candle struggling against an eternal gale.

"It’s starving," said Ethan, his voice echoing through the massive chamber.

[Correct, Master. What we saw at the surface was merely the ’venting’ of the last remnants of its power—a desperate flare for help. The core is in a state of near-total depletion. If the energy levels drop another 0.04 percent, the matrix will collapse entirely, taking this entire mountain range with it,] Crul said.

Ethan walked toward the center of the metallic floor, his boots echoing with a lonely, hollow sound.

"Crul, analyze the interface. Find out what we’re looking at," said Ethan.

[Place your hand on the central console, Master. I need a direct haptic link to bypass the local interference,] Crul said.

Ethan extended his hand, pressing his palm against the cold, dark surface of the pedestal. Immediately, the air shimmered. Lines of ancient runes began to flicker across the obsidian floor, blinking on and off like a failing computer circuit. They didn’t pulse with life; they stuttered, desperate and broken.

[Analysis complete. Master, this matrix is fundamentally compromised. It hasn’t just decayed over time—it looks like it was intentionally sabotaged. The core activation pillars and the primary power source have been stripped away,] Crul said.

"Sabotaged? By who?" said Ethan.

[Data is insufficient. But look,] Crul said.

Suddenly, Ethan’s amethyst vision was overlaid with a digital reconstruction. The dark, empty cavern began to glow with ghostly blue light. Crul projected twenty-four massive pillars arranged in a perfect circle around the hall. In the center, where the lonely pedestal stood, a grand altar appeared, topped by a blindingly bright, floating sphere.

"What am I looking at?" said Ethan.

The pillars are energy diffusers. Teleportation at this scale generates a massive spatial shockwave; without these diffusers to absorb and redistribute the energy, the "output" would essentially be a bomb that would vaporize anyone at the destination. The pillars act as regulators, converting raw energy into a stable stream that the array can store in the central core, Crul said.

Ethan walked toward the ghost of the central altar, staring at the translucent sphere Crul was simulating.

"And that sphere? Is that the power source?" said Ethan.

[Yes. These matrices utilize high-capacity energy storage cores. They are similar in nature to the spirit stones shown to you by the Blackwood Matriarch, but far more concentrated and pure. They are designed to be recharged and reused for centuries,] Crul said.

"Are they natural? Can we mine them?" said Ethan.

[No. They are artificial. Massive blocks of raw spirit stone are processed through complex refining methods to create these cores. But Master, do not dwell on the core for now,] Crul said.

"Why not? If we can find or make one, we can rebuild this gate and use it for ourselves," said Ethan.

[Even with a core, it would be useless without the pillars and the main altar. And fabricating those is currently impossible for any human, including us. The materials required do not exist on Earth’s periodic table. What looks like simple carved stone is actually a rare celestial mineral. Furthermore, the runes aren’t just ’etched’; they are inscribed using the blood of high-level beasts to create spiritual bonds that allow the energy to flow without shattering the mineral,] Crul said.

Ethan pulled his hand back from the pedestal, the ghostly projection flickering out and leaving him in the oppressive darkness once again. He looked at the empty spaces where the pillars should have been.

"So, someone took the batteries, the wiring, and the safety valves. They didn’t just turn it off; they gutted it," said Ethan.

[Essentially, yes. However, based on my scans, the base mineral of this structure is still intact. We could potentially dismantle the remaining stone and repurpose it. But even then, without a way to re-inscribe the runes, it would be nothing more than expensive rubble. Without the blood of spiritual beasts, re-recording the codes is impossible,] Crul said.

Ethan frowned, the term unfamiliar and jarring in the cold darkness of the cave.

"Spiritual beasts? What exactly are they? Some kind of myth?" said Ethan.

[Not a myth, Master. Simply a biological reality of high-energy environments. They are creatures that, much like yourself, have evolved to absorb and store spiritual energy within their cells to strengthen themselves. Over time, this energy becomes concentrated in their marrow and their blood. This ’Spirit Blood’ acts as a conduit; it is the only substance capable of binding raw energy to the celestial minerals of the pillars without causing a catastrophic fracture,] Crul said.

Ethan looked at his own hands, his amethyst eyes glowing with a faint, internal light.

"So, they are the animal equivalent of a cultivator or a superhuman. And their blood is the ink for the world’s most dangerous machines," said Ethan.

[Exactly. In the ancient world, hunting such beasts was a necessity for the expansion of the matrix network. On modern Earth, however, such creatures are believed to be extinct—or hidden in the deepest, most energy-rich corners of the world-matrix where humans can no longer tread,] Crul said.

Ethan turned toward the dark tunnel he had used to descend, a new, sharp ambition flickering in his gaze.

"They aren’t extinct, Crul. If the Outsiders are coming through these gates, then the beasts are out there too. We just need to find the right hunting ground. If I can’t find a working gate, I’ll just have to kill enough monsters to build my own," said Ethan.