Growth

Yu Sheng's sudden push through the door startled Luo. Thankfully, after so many similar experiences, she had built up some resistance and didn't fall out of her chair this time—but Momo, who had been accompanying her, let out a "myaow!" and darted under a nearby desk, leaving only her tail trembling outside.

Luo reached under the desk and dragged Momo out. Then she looked up and glared at Yu Sheng and the others as they entered through the door. In the final instant before the illusory doorway vanished, she could still see the desolate alien landscape on the other side.

"Boss, you..." Luo began, then swallowed the rest of her words. "Never mind. What's the situation over there? That planet..."

"It really is a Holy Land, but it's the Holy Land of some year in the 11xx year of the Holy Calendar. I suspect Eden Gate has disrupted that planet's temporal structure," Yu Sheng said rapidly. "And I tried several more times just now. No matter how I opened the door, I still couldn't reach that planet at the correct time..."

Luo's eyes widened before he had even finished. She waved both hands vigorously. "Wait, wait, wait. Slow down. What do you mean, you couldn't reach that planet at the correct time...? What did you say Eden Gate disrupted?!"

"Time." Huli's voice came from the side. She had already returned to human form, and as she spoke, she used her tail to brush the dust off Yu Sheng's clothes. "It should be a temporal anomaly caused by Eden Gate. The power of the 'Boundary Bridge' is preventing us from approaching that gate. This might be some kind of automatic defense mechanism..."

Then she and Yu Sheng told the blonde elf everything that had happened on that strange "dead star," with