The curious question came from one of the figures sitting on the far side of the chair, a four seats to Nn''s right hand.


    He was a mature, light-brown-skinned young man, seemingly in his early twties, with polished dark hair and sere dark eyes.


    His mode and manner of speaking were calm and well-constructed, and with his spectacles on, he seemed like a refined schr of Earth—one with seemingly great knowledge.


    The others in their seats had neutral expressions on their faces,  of them moving to refute the young man, and all their atttion was on Sir Astaroth instead.


    It seemed like it was a question they all wanted to hear the answer to, based on how serious thier atttion was on the man.


    "You make a good point, Oliver," Sir Astaroth said, and Nn took note of the name.


    "Perhaps it would do us all a favor if I were to mtion how and why the Celestial Code was created for Antis, and why we have chos to abandon the Anteans for good..." Sir Astaroth continued, and everyone remained silt, waiting for his exnation.


    Ev though everyone of them already know what it is or would be, maybe except for Nn. It would be nice to hear from a differt and higher perspective.


    Nn, too, had his ears piqued to the max, as he had close to no idea what kind of people the Anteans were or what the Celestial Code mtioned by Oliver was.


    He didn''t like the idea of going on a mission where he knew nothing, so he nned to sit still and glean as much information as possible.


    "The Realm of Antis is a thriving world, blessed by the god Poseidon due to his good rtionship with an Antean," Sir Astaroth began.


    "A prosperous realm infused with the divine essce of Poseidon, turning it into a world of unparalleled beauty, advanced civilization, and powerful magic that ev attracted the vy of some Celestial Heirs," he said with a wild grin on his face, as if remembering something from the past.


    "However, as time passed, the Anteans grew arrogant."


    "They began to see themselves as equals to the gods, challging the divine order and seeking to transcd their mortal limitations."


    "They experimted with forbidd magics, delving into the mysteries of the cosmos, and ev attempted to harness Poseidon''s essce for themselves."


    "The result?" Sir Astaroth paused, and a person from the group responded.


    "Absolute decimation of their tire realm, due to an explosion of the ergy core they tried to use to harness the essce of a true god," Oliver replied, and Sir Astaroth nodded.


    "The once-great civilization was brought to its knees, its cities reduced to ruins, and its people scattered."


    "Th the mighty Celestial Ones decreed a Celestial Code that forbade most Celestial Heirs from ever setting foot in Antis, condemning the realm to istion and abandonmt."


    "This code was forced to prevt any further tampering with the divine order and to sure that the Anteans'' ambitions would never threat the bnce again," he finished, and Nn could finally understand the gravity of the situation from his words.


    "But now, the bnce of the cosmos is swaying once more, and we have traced its sources."


    "One of the major footholds of this sway is  other than Antis itself," Sir Astaroth said, and Nn noted how the gazes of the Godly T sharped.


    They were more aware than him of the consequces of the world bnce daring to sway and the idea of its source being from Antis—that mad realm—was ough to make any Celestial Heir sit up properly.


    "ording to the information we have, we believe that the eruption of the Atnta machine that destroyed Antis created a rift in space, allowing Nightmare creatures to ter."


    "And if we know the Anteans well, it is that they are very smart, and making deals with the Nightmare creatures for them to regain their former glory and power back isn''t something impossible.


    "If the Anteans gain the power of the Nightmare creatures and return to their past glory, the destruction they would bring to the order would be nothing short of catastrophic."


    "Therefore, the academy intds to close up the rift as quickly as possible before it fully ops.


    "That is why you all are sitting before me. The elev of you are being giv a single mission by the academy!" Sir Astaroth dered, his voice filled with seriousness and unparalleled focus.


    "You elev are to vture into the realms of Antis, close up the rift that was oped by the Anta machine, and destroy any Nightmare creatures or rtions formed by the Anteans with the Nightmare creatures!"


    "Do this, and you will have sessfully helped maintain the bnce of the cosmos."


    "And any good, ev if as small as a grain of sand, shall be rewarded handsomely by the Celestial Ones."


    "What if we fail?" The question immediately rang out from Nn''s side, this time from another young man in his twties.


    He had gold hair that fell to the side of his face, with snowy  skin and dull blue eyes.


    His face and eyes were as sharp as a de, and staring at him gave one the illusion that they were looking at a sheathed sword.


    As for what would be unleashed if the sword was to be unsheathed, it was probably better for  to know.


    The young man''s question was simple and direct.


    They might hail themselves as the Godly T, but there always exists a chance of failure just as there exists a chance of sess for anyone.


    So what if they failed? Would there be some sort of backup n or...


    "If you fail this mission giv to you by the Institute, Farris..." Sir Astaroth said as he scanned through the studts, calling out to the gold-haired man by name.


    "Only a single fate awaits you all!" Sir Astaroth dered anf everyone''s eyes narrowed.


    "DEATH!" The voice boomed through the hall, causing Nn''s heart to shot up a beat.