Ming gathered all of his subordinates.
"It's time to leave this place."
Everyone froze.
Gluttony was the first to speak. "M-my lord… it's only been half a year. And you said we would stay ten years…"
Ming looked at them, disappointed.
"Do you know what truly makes a human strong?"
Pride replied casually, "Martial arts. Everyone knows that."
Ming shook his head.
"No. It's their goal. A reason to become stronger—whether to fight, protect, or survive. Without a goal, strength fades."
His eyes locked sharply onto Gluttony and Envy.
"You two especially… ever since we came here, you've grown lazy. You forgot why you want strength."
Realizing the truth behind his words, Gluttony and Envy lowered their heads.
"We… apologize for our incompetence, my lord."
Pride didn't say anything. He simply crossed his arms and looked away, clearly irritated but unable to deny Ming's point.
Ming continued:
"For this reason, we're leaving this place. Prepare yourselves. We depart tomorrow morning."
Morning came, and Envy and Gluttony stood at the entrance of the cave, looking back one last time.
They didn't want to leave… this place had become comfortable. Safe.
But they knew—there were things they still had to do. Goals they couldn't run from.
Ming and his five subordinates walked toward the place where they had first arrived. As they moved through the forest, Ming suddenly asked:
"Did any of you find that white snake?"
All of them answered at once,
"My lord, we searched every corner of this barrier, but we found nothing."
Ming frowned.
Master said the white snake guards the exit… if we can't find it, then where is the gate? How are we supposed to leave this place now?
He hid his frustration and spoke calmly:
"We have no choice. We'll search every single corner of this barrier again until we find something. We're not staying here any longer."
They started searching again.
Day after day passed… but still nothing. No snake, no gate, no sign of an exit.
Eventually, they sat around the fire looking completely defeated.
Ming stared into the flames, thinking to himself:
At this rate… we really might take ten years just to leave. This barrier is too big. Finding the gate is like finding a needle in a haystack.
The others felt the same despair.
Everyone knew: no human had ever left this place once they fell inside.
Gluttony let out a weak sigh.
Wrath and Greed stayed silent, their faces stiff with frustration—they didn't want to hurt everyone's morale.
Then, Pride suddenly groaned loudly.
"How the hell did the First Emperor get out of this place?"
Everyone froze.
They had all wondered that before… but hearing it now hit differently.
Ming's eyes widened.
He shot to his feet and stared at Pride.
"Repeat what you just said."
Pride blinked, confused, but answered anyway:
"I said: how the hell did the First Emperor get out of this place?"
Ming's mind raced.
If the First Emperor escaped… he must have used the snake gate. And I… I killed that snake. That's why it's gone. It all makes sense.
But then another problem hit him.
Even if the snake is dead… how do we find the exit?
Ming clenched his jaw.
But the real question burned in Ming's mind:
How did the First Emperor even know about this exit?
Next Morning
Ming gathered everyone.
"From now on," he said firmly, "we're searching for a skeleton.
Not a normal one — a giant snake skeleton. That will be our clue."
Hearing that, all five Sins split up to search.
Gluttony was the first to return, shaking his head.
"My lord… nothing in my area."
Envy arrived next. Same answer.
Greed and Pride came back with empty hands as well.
Only Wrath was still out there.
She had walked closer to the barrier, carefully scanning the ground for any sign of bones. As she moved, she suddenly noticed something strange — the barrier looked… different in one specific spot. Almost distorted.
She reached her hand toward it.
And her hand passed through.
She froze.
"What…?"
She stepped forward —
And slipped right through the barrier, ending up on the other side.
Her heart jumped.
Did I… just leave Red Line?
She stepped back in.
Then out.
Then in again — testing it over and over, confirming it. It wasn't an illusion.
It was real.
She had found the exit.
Wrath's face lit up with pure joy.
A smile so bright Ming had never seen it before.
She sprinted toward him and the others.
"LORD! LORD!"
Ming blinked. I've never seen her this happy… what happened?
She shouted between breaths,
"I FOUND A WAY!"
The others stared at her like they misheard.
Ming asked, "Did you just say… you found a way out?"
She nodded quickly, smiling so wide it looked unreal.
"Yes! Yes! I found the exit!"
The moment those words hit their ears, Ming and the others bolted toward her direction.
Wrath tried to run with them but she was out of breath — so Greed simply grabbed her in his arms and sprinted like a beast.
Their faces were glowing with excitement they hadn't felt in months.
She pointed at a plain-looking section of the barrier.
"It's right there."
They all stared.
It looked… completely normal. No marks. No light. Nothing special.
But Wrath walked toward it —
and vanished.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Envy stepped forward — gone.
Greed, Pride, and Gluttony followed — each disappearing into the wall like it was mist.
Finally, Ming stepped forward and crossed the barrier.
He turned around once, looking back at the place where he had spent a year.
Where he became stronger.
Where he changed.
Then he stepped fully through.
The moment he crossed, everything froze.
Time itself stopped.
And Ming found himself in an empty, silent space.
Standing before him was a human-shaped figure… but not truly human.
He had horns, dark eyes, and a presence that made the air heavy.
The figure stared at Ming and said in a deep, echoing voice:
"So you are the chosen one."
Ming looked around, confused, cautious.
"…Who are you?"