The forest seemed different when they entered it together.
It wasn't just the light—filtered through the tall treetops, creating golden streaks that cut through the green twilight—nor the vivid silence, filled with insects, leaves, and the distant song of some creature Frieren recognized but couldn't name. It was the feeling.
Something pulsed there.
Not aggressive. Not yet. But alert.
Strax walked ahead, his senses alert, his posture too relaxed for someone who knew something demonic lurked among those trees. Frieren followed closely behind, her steps light, almost floating above the leaf-covered ground.
She was… distant.
Not physically—she kept pace with him precisely—but inwardly. Her gaze sometimes wandered among the trunks, as if she were seeing something beyond the immediate present. Or perhaps something very ancient.
Strax noticed.
He always noticed.
He slowed his pace until he was beside her.
"You're far away," he commented, without accusation.
