She sat on the floor of a forgotten warehouse, letting the cool night breeze blow over her naked form. Her dark brown hair fluttered in the moving air and her nipples were sticking out slightly but not from arousal, only from the cold. The sulfur she had used to cast her protective circle burned at her nose, but she ignored it. Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and steady. She focused on the insubstantial pool of magical power that she possessed, taking a small piece of it and drawing it to her, expanding it, increasing it and drawing more. Ultimate power would soon be hers and hers alone. She was the only one who trafficked with the Great Old Ones and kept her sanity. Tonight would be her greatest challenge, as she would seek out R'lyeh itself. She would find Him Himself.
She mentally searched for the barriers between worlds, finding it easily and slowly moving her mind around, seeking the soft spot in the fabric, easily pushing it aside and beginning her journey through the stars. She passed the planets, asteroids and comets, waving to the sentient gas clouds and solar dwarves as she passed. She sensed the next impediment approaching and began drawing more power.
A giant disc that swirled with colors stood before her, each color requiring a different spell to bypass. If she failed, she would be sent back to her body. She wasn't going to fail. She never did. She flung spell after spell at the wheel, watching as each color slowly faded until none remained, allowing her passage into the Great Unknown.
She stepped through the portal and felt the 'ground' give out from underneath her, the cosmic wind rushing through her hair as she fell. She slammed into the rough-hewn stone floor and felt the air rush from her lungs. Slowly she stood, feeling the incredible weight that came with the nearness of an Old One. She forced herself to look up against the pressure of its presence. When she finally looked up and up, her eyes focusing on the immense form in front of her, she saw she was looking at the Great Cthulhu Himself. She had come to R'lyeh.
She walked toward Him (the Great Old Ones had no gender but she couldn't help but think of Cthulhu as masculine) as upright as she could, her shoulders hunching against the absolute power flowing off of the Great One. Once in front of Him, she kneeled, her knees giving thanks to not be holding her upright. She lowered her head and fed the last remaining portion of her power to Him, hoping for even the tiniest fraction of His attention. If she was very very lucky, He might return a portion of His power with her and she would be the greatest, most powerful witch ever.
As she prostrated herself, hoping against hope for His notice, she felt the merest brush of His mind across hers and she screamed as the force of even the smallest portion of His notice threatened to crush her mind. She lowered herself prostrate on the ground, trying to move away from the power that he wielded, even though it was the tiniest sliver. She was so overwhelmed by the overwhelming presence that she never noticed the touch of one of His great tentacles touch the back of her head. More power flowed than her psyche could handle and her scream followed her into the ebon void of unconsciousness.
---
She awoke to find herself on her side, laying on the floor, her face pressing into the cold concrete. She pushed herself up to her elbow, her whole body shaking. Her skin was damp with perspiration, her hair clinging to her forehead. She absentmindedly brushed it away with trembling fingers. Her mouth was dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She forced herself to her feet and stumbled toward what passed as an office. She had left her robe and water in there.
