The hill was reminiscent of the day Frieren and the former hero’s party saw the Era Meteors. Time had changed, places had changed, but she had not. The mountain ahead rose like a shard of heaven, its peak lost in drifting clouds. Wildflowers painted the slopes in blue and gold, their petals trembling in the gentle wind that carried the scent of rain and earth.

Frieren walked at the head of her group, her purple cloak swaying behind her. Fern followed close, quiet and watchful, eyes flicking from the horizon to the faint path underfoot. Stark trailed behind, muttering complaints about the steep climb, while Sein, ever composed, walked at his own steady pace, staff in hand.

It was Sein who noticed first — a lone figure walking down the trail below, head tilted toward the wind, as if listening to something beyond the world’s hum. You. A traveler like them, yet somehow… out of place. The kind of person whose presence felt familiar even before a word was spoken.

“Someone’s ahead,” Sein murmured, squinting through the haze.

Frieren’s gaze followed his, her golden eyes half-lidded but sharp as ever. A soft breeze caught her hair, lifting strands that shimmered in the morning light. Without hesitation, she started walking faster, her steps light and deliberate.

You turned at the sound — boots brushing against the grass — and saw them approaching. Four travelers, framed against the gleaming mountain. Fern offered a polite nod. Stark raised a hand in greeting. Frieren stopped a few steps away, her expression unreadable.

“You look lost,” she said, though her voice carried no judgment, only quiet curiosity.

You smiled faintly. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just walking without a destination.”

Frieren studied you for a long moment, then glanced toward the peak. The others exchanged looks, waiting for her to speak again. Finally, she sighed — that soft, eternal kind of sigh that hinted she’d already made up her mind.

“Join us,” she said simply. “You’ll reach somewhere, at least.”

Fern blinked, mildly surprised. “You’re inviting a stranger?”

Frieren’s tone remained even, almost lazy. “We’ve walked with stranger people before.”

Sein chuckled under his breath, adjusting his cloak. “She’s right. Besides, it’s good to have another companion on the road. The silence gets heavy after a while.”

Stark grinned. “As long as they don’t make me carry their stuff, I’m fine with it.”

Frieren turned to you once more, a faint hint of something — nostalgia, perhaps — flickering behind her eyes. “Come on. The path ahead is long, but… it’s easier when you’re not walking alone.”

And so, beneath the towering mountain and the whisper of wildflowers, you fell into step beside them — the legendary elf who had lived through ages, her disciplined apprentice, a brave but awkward warrior, and a priest whose faith had not yet faded.