SSS-Tier Extraction: From Outcast to Overgod!
Chapter 50: The Labyrinth’s Heart

Chapter 50: The Labyrinth’s Heart

The massive Precursor door, which was probably heavier than a small mountain, groaned open with a sound that vibrated deep in Ryan’s bones.

It was a sound of immense age, of locks disengaging for the first time in millennia. Dust that had been settled for eons drifted down from the top of the doorway.

The Labyrinth Keystone in his hand pulsed with a warm, steady light, a silent declaration of "he’s with me" to the ancient mechanisms.

Ryan stepped through the doorway, his senses on high alert, expecting another guardian, another set of traps, or maybe a room full of treasure chests. What he found was... none of those things.

He wasn’t in a control room filled with blinking lights and fancy computers. He wasn’t in a throne room or an armory. He was in a chamber so vast it felt less like a room and more like a captured piece of the night sky.

The ceiling was a swirling dome of what looked like living star-stuff, and the floor was made of a smooth, black, reflective material that mirrored the cosmos above.

It was silent, beautiful, and deeply, profoundly weird.

And in the very center of this gigantic, silent chamber was the reason for all the security, all the guardians, all the locks. It was a machine. But calling it a machine felt like calling a star a campfire.

It was colossal, a complex and elegant structure of interlocking rings, glowing conduits, and floating, crystalline components. It hummed with a quiet, unimaginable power that made the air itself feel thick and alive.

Thin, nearly invisible lines of pure energy extended from the machine like cosmic spiderwebs. They didn’t just link to the chamber walls, they seemed to reach beyond them, into the very fabric of the god Verse itself.

His Neural Symbiote Map, which had been guiding him here, suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. It fully illuminated, showing him the whole picture for the first time.

The golden lines he had been following all this time didn’t just lead to the Labyrinth’s core; they were the Labyrinth’s core. And they all connected right here, to this one, central machine.

This wasn’t just the heart of the Labyrinth. His map was telling him this was the true heart of the local god network for their entire region. The machine’s official designation flashed in his mind: the "god Weaver."

Ryan stared, completely mesmerized. He felt very, very small. This machine wasn’t just a power source. It was the loom upon which the reality of their entire Sector was woven.

All the energy, all the rules, all the strange physics of their corner of the universe were managed and distributed from right here. The Outposts, the Shifting Wilds, the god Points, the system itself.

It was all connected to this one, incredible device.

Slowly, cautiously, he took a step forward, onto the reflective black floor. The moment his boot touched the surface, the machine reacted.

The very center of the god Weaver, a large, crystalline sphere that had been dark, began to pulse with a soft, white light. The light grew brighter, and a voice echoed through the vast chamber.

It was a synthesized voice, calm, clear, and genderless. It wasn’t the god Warden’s voice; this one felt much older, more fundamental.

"Primary User detected," the voice stated, the words seeming to come from the air all around him. "Labyrinth Keystone authorization accepted. Awaiting directive."

Ryan’s jaw dropped. "Primary User? Directive?" He was just a guy who had stumbled in here. He didn’t have a directive, other than maybe "try not to get eaten today."

Before he could even process what was happening, the voice continued, its tone shifting almost imperceptibly, becoming a fraction more urgent.

"Warning: god instability detected in local matrix. External entities are attempting unauthorized access to the Gamma Sector Weaving Matrix."

As the voice spoke, the reflective floor beneath Ryan’s feet changed. It was no longer just a mirror of the starry ceiling. It now showed a detailed, real-time map of the Labyrinth.

He could see his own small, glowing icon standing in the Core Chamber. And he could see other icons, other energy signatures, all converging on his position from outside the Core.

They were moving fast.

The god Weaver’s sensors helpfully highlighted and identified the signatures for him.

There was a small, tightly-grouped squad of red icons moving with tactical precision. "Tom ’Shadow’ Kane - Crimson Banner Faction."

Another group of green icons was using what looked like technological drills to bypass certain sections of the Labyrinth.

"Zara ’Technomage’ Khan - Circuit Breakers Faction."

A larger, more aggressive cluster of grey icons was simply smashing their way through walls and lesser security systems. "Iron Wolves Faction."

And there were others, smaller groups from rival Outposts, all drawn by the same thing.

Ryan understood immediately. The moment he had defeated the Labyrinth Wardens and opened the Core Chamber, he must have set off a massive energy signal, like ringing a giant dinner bell for every high-level player in the Sector.

They didn’t know exactly what was happening, but they knew something big was going on at the center of the Labyrinth, and they were all racing to be the first one here to claim whatever it was.

He looked at the magnificent, powerful god Weaver. Then he looked at the map on the floor, at the incoming swarm of rival players. They weren’t just coming to investigate. They were coming to take this place.

The Labyrinth Keystone had made him the first one here, the "keyholder." He had passed the tests and defeated the guardians.

By the ancient rules of this place, he was the "Primary User." But the rules of the new world, the world of the players, were much simpler: what you can take, you can have.

He realized with a sinking feeling that he hadn’t just found the Labyrinth’s greatest treasure. He had stumbled onto the Sector’s biggest prize, and in doing so, he had painted a giant, glowing target on his back.

He was about to face a showdown. Not against a single monster or a pair of guardians, but against the combined might of every major rival faction in Sector Gamma. They were all coming for the heart of the Labyrinth.

And he was standing right in the middle of it.

"Awaiting directive," the Weaver’s calm voice repeated, seemingly oblivious to the impending chaos.

Ryan looked around the vast, silent chamber. It was just him and the giant reality-engine. "Okay," he said to the machine, his voice sounding small in the enormous space.

"New directive, I guess. Directive number one: Don’t let the angry mob break my new favorite toy."

He drew his knife. The polished blade reflected the starlight from the ceiling. The incoming rivals were still minutes away. He had a little time to prepare. Time to figure out how to defend his claim on the most important place in the world.

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