There’s generally one or two slots connected directly to the CPU running in x16 or x8 if there’s two and both are connected, 4 lanes linking the CPU to the chipset, and the rest of the slots connect to the chipset and share that same x4 link. If your cpu has 24 lanes (Ryzen do/did a few years ago, Intel might but didn’t a few years ago), the remaining 4 lanes usually go to an NVMe slot
That which is dead can never die