PHANTASIA by R. Atlas Page A

movement.  
    “Did you see that?!” Butz asked.  
    “Yah… it just looked like… a moving stream of liquid or something? Was it just the foam?”
    “No, definitely not,” Butz replied firmly. “It was a different color.”  
    “Well, Linx still seems relaxed,” Red said. The Aeyz Cat was grooming itself in the foam and seemed disinterested in their surroundings.  
    “You’re right, I guess it was nothing,” Butz said uneasily. “Either that or Linx has been plotting my death for years and doesn’t want to jeopardize this opportunity,” he added.    
    “Think we can we drink this?” Red asked as he scooped up some of the water from the lake with his left hand.  
    “I don’t see why not,” Butz replied. “I’m sorry, by the way” he added sympathetically after a moment while gesturing at Red’s other hand.  
    “Yeah, it’s fine, I’m okay. Sorry for dragging you into this.”  
    “It’s okay, I always imagined a heroic death for myself. When you jumped into the whirlpool, I figured it was a good way to go out. Couldn’t let you guys have all the glory, right?”  
    “Hah!” Red laughed. “How’d you get Linx to follow you?”  
    “Follow me?! I dragged that sucker in, held him as tightly as I could. I already spent too much coin feeding and raising this fat cat. If I’m going down, I’m taking him with me.”  
    Red laughed again, and then followed Butz as he led the way towards Magnus and S. Linx dragged on behind them. The Aeyz Cat seemed to be in love with the foam and its texture, constantly rolling around in it or submerging himself fully underneath it. Red wondered if it was safe to do so, but then decided it was unwise to try and remove the cat from its glee. He probably knows better than me anyways.  
    They climbed over a wall and then through a narrow chute into a larger chamber like the one Red had first landed in. There were several lakes here, all of them bigger than the first one they saw. At the far end of one of the sides was an enormous umbrielfall, hundreds of times larger than any of the ones he had seen so far. The umbriel flowed so powerfully from this one that it crashed into the ground below with the sound of a planet being torn apart. The oversized cataract seemed perfectly structured, like it was carved into place by the hands of a titan. Red couldn’t help but wonder if all of this was truly natural, or if someone had built it from the ground up.  
    It took them nearly an entire day to walk halfway across the chamber, but when they got there, Red could make out two tiny figures walking towards them from the other end. He felt inclined to run, but his legs could barely move. The exhaustion from two sleepless nights was adding up. Adrenaline could only carry him so far. They were closer to the giant umbrielfall now, and the deafening white noise made him all the more sleepier. I have to keep going he thought to himself while glancing at his microAI to see if Raven had shown any movement. Her location marker remained exactly in place since the last time he checked.
    When he was finally close enough to recognize Magnus and S, he saw that they were laughing as they walked along. The image lifted his spirits, and Butz seemed to walk with a lighter step as well. Linx ran ahead of them to greet S; the cat seemed much more loving than usual. After getting closer, Red saw that despite their enthusiasm, both of them seemed just as exhausted as him and Butz. Their eyes looked too heavy for their sockets and drooped unhealthily below their brows.
    “Well you guys seem to be in a soaring mood,” Butz said cheerfully when they finally met.  
    “Yup, it’s the flazb,” S replied.  
    “The what? Is that this foam thing?” Red asked.  
    “Yeah, Karth is filled with it in its subterranean environments. Makes me feel like I’m back at home. I’ve never heard of it growing in Avalonia though,” S answered.  
    “Oh right, I forgot you’re from Karth,”