-- Bay --

I was afloat in a river of power. Drifting through the torrent let it pull me where it will. With all my channels open the rest of the world was gone. I had opened myself up in a place I shouldn't have as it swept me away. Though my curiosity was strong enough that I didn't want to fight it. I wanted to know. For every second I let myself stay open, I could feel the aching pulse of my channels. It was not pleasant but not something I couldn't handle.

I was letting it pull me somewhere. I had decided to just go ahead and follow the flow while Rowan and Aster were talking, not wanting to waste any time. What else was I supposed to do we didn't even have a starting point so I felt that this would be the beginning of one. At the very least maybe I could study it and learn something about gathering energy. I was just hoping that when we all reached it wouldn't just suck me in, or dry. Though I don't even know if something like that would be possible.

My entire focus was on just following the flow, so when I felt an extremely strong pull, I closed my channels in a panic only to find myself standing alone in front of a stone tower. I looked around confused. Where were Rowan and Aster? Did they not follow me?

That's when I remembered I didn't even tell them I was going to open myself up. Whoops.

The current had brought me to the tower and the last pull had been strong and up. At least I know where to look. I pulled out my phone, thinking to give the two a call and let them know where I was, only to find it dead.

"I really need to remember to charge this thing."

I could only shrug as I put it away. This wasn't the first time I got obsessed with something and found myself in a weird place. I turned my attention back toward the tower. I smiled, "While I'm here..."

Even without my channels open, I could feel the power flowing all around me. This had to be the source and I really wanted to know what it was. The current was so strong it felt like I could just open myself back up and it would physically pull me to the top. I knew that was just the metaphysical but it was a temptation to try.

I shook my head looking for the more mundane way in, quickly finding a door on the side of the building, with a sign saying employees only. I wonder if it's locked? I put my hand on it, and with a click confirmed it was locked. Aww, that would have been too easy.

"Hmm..."I thought wondering how I could get in. I started walking around the building looking for a way in. Only to let out a chuckle when I reached the front of the tower to find a public front door to the tower. Of course, they have a front door, it's even automatic glass doors. Looking inside I could see a very broad receptionist sitting behind a desk just staring at a computer.

I started walking into the build, reopening my channels as the world went away, and there was only the current of power. Everything outside myself has muted again as I found myself walking up a pair of stairs. At one point I think I heard someone yelling at me, but I just ignored it. I was so close. I could feel it starting to tug on the energy in my body, no longer just pulling the atmospheric power.

I stopped moving and forcibly closed my channels before I found myself unconscious in the strange place. For the first time, I finally took a look at my surroundings and was beyond confused.

I was somewhere. That much I knew but everything around me was nothing but pure static. I could feel the source and feel the stone under my feet but everything else was just static.

"Where am I?" I wondered allowed.

I started to feel around thinking, am I still in the tower? How did I get in here? Did they really just let me walk into whatever this place is? A thought that made my heart speed up to hit me. Is this an instance like that strange place from graduation?

I took a minute to breathe and calm myself back down. There was no reason to think that. This was just a weird place. I can feel the stone. So this is something else, but what?

Without any other idea, I began to wander around the strange space.

"Ow!" I felt something hard, and metallic bang against my shin. That was the sixth time I've kicked something.

"What the rot is this room?" I screamed in frustration.

I was fumbling around blind. I wondered if I had gone blind, and this was what it was like. I might have convinced myself of this if it wasn't for the fact I could see my extremities fine.

I had to stop this was getting me nowhere, and I was just getting beat up. I took a breath, "Ok. What do I know?"

I closed my eyes, and thought back to the building I entered, "I'm in a tower that is draining power from the atmosphere." I opened my channels slightly finding the power no longer felt like a gas, but like a liquid river. It literately took my breath away. I closed myself and took a breath, "Yet, there is still a ton of power."

I opened my eyes again to see the same emptiness, "And with this static, I can't see shit."

I kept walking around the room banging into things, letting out a curse here and there, sure I've destroyed my shins. Why was everything at shin level?

The only thing I figured out was this might have been an office? Or maybe those are consoles. I had no idea. I was guessing and starting to get annoyed.

"What the fuck is drawing all this power?" I screamed into the void.

"Well, that would be the orb in the center." The void answered back, in a deep male voice, that sounded amused.

"Is that what I felt?" I asked oblivious to the other person.

"We think so. This is the big filter no one can actually see in here...except maybe a keeper but no one has seen a keeper in centuries." The voice sounded sad.

I would also be sad if I had such a mystery and no way to confirm, "Rot, so this is the filter. Is that why is pulling in all the power?" I asked the void curiously. Is it an AI I woke up?

"Well actually" The voice started getting more animated, "We think the filter is a byproduct. They took advantage of all the power they were siphoning."

"Why?" I turned in the direction of the voice, "Where is all the power coming from?"

"We think shejenu fjndrhd." The voice became part of the background just more static, similar to when Aster blanked. That was another mystery just what did Aster do or joined that he couldn't talk about it. To the point, he was filtered.

I brought my mind back to the present, "You blanked there."

"Yeah, that's the filter." The man said with a long-suffering sigh. Must be tiring having to deal with the thing.

I let out a chuckle. "Is there any way I can study it?" You never know if you don't ask.

The voice laughed, "Your not the first mage to wander here. If you want more information try to get out."

"Who are you?" I finally asked the void only to receive silence as a reply.

I thought about what he said. Find a way out...did he just lock me in?