Once they had reached near the end of the underground's tunnels they could see the blood red sky's light shining up ahead. Echoing a loud whinny the horse and chariot began to dissipate right under them. Tyson reached out his hand in order to help Chi steady himself as they stood to their feet and prepared for the fall. Feet landing against the ground hard as they all had to run slightly in order to remain steady on their feet.
Not stopping to catch their own breath they continued to run for the exit. Earth rumbling from all around them they could hear what sounded like a mad dragon roaring in the distance. The sound was so loud that it felt as if they would all go deaf from the sound. Chi's heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he felt like it might give out from the mere shock alone. If it was not for the warmth of Tyson's hand on his own as they ran he was certain he would collapse to his knees from it.
"What is that?" Fae shouted his question over the loud roar.
"That's why you never want to piss off Loe." Tyson responded as he knew how shocking it probably was for someone to see Loe when he had to take action seriously. Though he knew that Loe was still holding back for their sake in hopes that they would out run him.
When they made it outside the exit they could see the sky going dark above the village's boundary line. A massive black cloud taking form over the Village of Lost Souls. It looked like a large black dragon made entirely of black smoke with a pair of dead white eyes that glowed. Gazing down at them as the once small ushers in the village began to shift their bodies into the size of large horses. The ushers all growled and darted straight for them.
The exit of the underground was hidden close to the boundary line of the village. Running as fast as possible they were able to make it out safely. Hearing one last final roar from the black smoked dragon, Loe, Chi felt as if he could hear the hidden pain behind it. Ushers were not bound to the Village, however they did not seem to follow past the boundary. Loe did not normally send them past it and considering it was Tyson they were after he did not have the heart to make them do it.
Back in the Village when they were out of the clear the smoke faded. Loe's physical form taking shape on the street. All the lost souls that had lived throughout the years with him in the village stood back from him at a distance. Even many of those who refused to take shape began to as each and every one of them gazed into the distance where Tyson had ran with his group. A few who had the courage to walked over to Loe and placed their transparent hands gently on his back.
"Don't disappoint me." Loe said as he accepted the fact that he did not tell Tyson everything before he had left. He held back the truth so that Tyson would not move forward with more things weighing him down. If he had known the truth it would have only damaged the man further and Loe did not want that. The villagers all already knew what was coming as in death they did not need to speak out loud to communicate with each other. From the moment he summoned his chariot to ensure that Tyson got away from him he had already tossed the fate of everything he had away.
None of the souls held a complaint over Loe's decision because they held him in high regard. They all felt willing to stake their existence on the hope that Tyson could find a way to bring and end to the cycle so that none would befall a fate similar to their own.
"Disappoint? You disappoint me, Loe. Letting them go without so much as a real fight. You could have killed them easily. How boring.." Numen's cold callous voice spoke to him from behind.
Loe grit his teeth and turned around to face Numen. The god's long white hair dragging across the ground as he stepped in Loe's direction. Loe did not hold a bit of regret for what he'd done by letting the three of them go even in the face of the bored god. Growls from the ushers could be heard as they walked over and stood behind Loe. Sensing that their master was in danger they were willing and ready to jump at Numen if given the order.
"Perhaps.. I've given you a bit too much freedom over the years. I think it's time for a bit of adjustment." Numen's gold pupil-less eyes turned in the direction of the ushers.
"Dont-!" Loe called out instinctively, knowing the god was about to do something rash, but it was too late.
The group of ushers yelped in pain as the ground opened up under their feet and began to drag them underground. Roots from the earth wrapping around their bodies to forcefully drag them down one by one. Loe's body shook at the sight of the creatures he had raised from mere pups being buried alive before him. Without thinking clearly his body exploded into a black smoke to lunge at Numen but even in his clouded form Numen simply reached out and grasped Loe by his throat. Forcing him back into physical form while dangling in the air.
"I think your time in the village is done here." Numen declared as he held Loe there.
From all around the sounds of rumbling could be heard as Numen began to slowly float up into the air. Holding Loe firm by the throat as they both drifted up into the sky. Above the crater they hovered and watched as the crater that had once held the village began to fill with new dirt. Everything that Loe had built from the ground up was washed away and buried in a matter of seconds before his own eyes. Numen left the lost souls to wander about with no place left to go.
I'm sorry.. Loe thought to himself. He did not blame himself for what the god chose to do but he knew it was partially his own fault for refusing to abide by Numen's rules.
"What are you going to do to me?" Loe simply asked because he knew Numen would not allow him to simply go back to the villagers he'd watched over for centuries.
"Oh, I have something I think will be perfect for you. I wouldn't want to waste such a strong soul as yours." Numen said with a glint in his eyes as if the god was excited about his own idea. Using souls to power the very dimension from top to bottom he would not want to destroy someone who had such a strong soul as Loe had. The man was even able to use a physical form. It was a rare thing to find and that was why he had allowed Loe for centuries to remain in the village as long as he had followed the rules set for him by Numen.
If he was no longer willing to follow those rules in the village he would place him somewhere else even if it was to simply force his soul to power the dimension like a battery as he did thousands of others. Being used as a battery for Numen's Dimension was a fate worse then death. Depending on the soul they could last days or even years in that state, feeling their own existence being taken from them until they became nothing. Loe could only hope that whatever Numen had in store for him that Tyson would pull through for him. He'd staked his very existence on the hope of those three.