A Minute Worth 10 Years - Part 2

A few minutes later...

"Aww, now that was simply perfect… who would have thought our fearless princess could show such an exaggerated expression of pure horror from just a simple, 'Peek A Boo'," Charles laughed as he swiped a tear away and began walking back home, not aware of the danger he put himself in. 

Simultaneously, as Venus continued to run away from her father who showed little to no concern for the fear he instilled in his daughter, the weather began to change as dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky.

Shrouding the Sun's radiance as clouds drenched the earth in tears creating sounds of pitter-patter as Venus's tiny feet left shallow footprints in the soil. Which were shortly washed away as it began to rain harder just as lightning occasionally flashed in the sky as if in disgust that someone dared to ruin their beautiful symphony. 

Yet, she paid no heed to this as she surveyed the area actively looking for a place to hide, luckily just as she was about to dash past a gigantic oak tree. She suddenly slowed down and gazed upon a cave hidden behind a patch of shrubs.

"Welp, beggars can't be choosers, so I guess you'll have to do for now," Venus sighed as she zoomed into the cave and placed up an illusion and protection array. Before invoking her Heavenly Gaze to collect information on our new guest and recover some energy during this brief moment of peace.

Resulting in the appearance of a black eye with a whitish-red pupil appearing above the forest. That squinted its eye and gazed curiously at the northwestern part of the continent between the Desert of Peril and the Volcanic Range of Iku. 

A couple of minutes later…

'Tsk, it seems the old man has found another candidate… could that be the person I sensed earlier?' Venus wondered as she shifted her gaze to somewhere else, "Oh, now this is interesting…" 

***

"Sigh, it seems someone has gotten impatient as of lately to even dare use their Heavenly Gaze to spy upon the old and decipher the secrets of Heaven," Alister muttered with a chuckle as he stopped momentarily upon sensing someone was staring at him.

Before continuing to walk down a dim-lit corridor with Pharoah slumped in his arms. Until he took a swift turn and entered a well-furnished room which was decorated with rose gold pearls and had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. 

That radiated a fluorescent baby blue light, which was not too bright nor too dim. On the contrary, it was quite soothing for the soul and helped speed up the recovery process of an individual. Regardless of the type sustained, from soul attacks to life-threatening injuries.

"Hmm…" Rin said as he moved his body slightly.

'Oh, so it is now you want to wake up, huh? Took you, long enough kid… let us just hope you will be able to survive the first level. So, that I can finally return to my master's side.' Alister thought with a smile as he waited for Rin to wake. 

***

"Sigh… hopefully, Venus made it home before it started raining?" Charles muttered upon sensing the abrupt change in weather, 'But just to be sure, let's do a quick search to make sure she didn't get lost in the woods.'

He thought as he jumped down from the treehouse and closed his eyes before knocking the earth three times. Causing a formless wave of energy to spread throughout the forest and map out its geography.

'Hmm, now if I was a kid just where would I hide?' Charles thought as he stood up and opened his eyes before walking briskly in the direction where he felt Venus might be located.

*** 

10 minutes later...

"Oh, so he isn't a complete idiot after all," Venus whispered as she opened her eyes, dispelling her Heavenly Gaze and glancing at the figure that was inching closer and closer to her hiding spot.

"Hmm, what was that?" asked Charles as his eyes, caught the glimpse of an illusionary eye disappear, however, before he could reassure himself of what he saw, Venus's voice suddenly broke his train of thought.

"Dad... Dad... DAD!" Venus shouted repeatedly as she tried to get her father's attention.

'Hmm... forget it; I have more important things to worry about,' Charles thought as he shook his head and walked towards the cave, where he heard Venus call out to him.

"So, what can I do for you, my little munchkin? Also, why are you not home; luckily, your father is the best scout in these lands or else you would have become some starving beast's meal." 

Charles claimed without shame as if it did not take him almost ten minutes to find a little girl.

"Best scout? Haha, all I see is an old man trying to brag about his pathetic skills in front of a child. Do you not have any integrity, Dada, or did you forget you are the weakest warrior in our tribe?" Blurted Venus without realizing she was supposed to play the part of a defenseless and scared child.

"Now Venus... is that any way you should be addressing your father?" asked Charles as he tried to keep his composure and function as if his daughter's words did not hurt him a bit.

"Take me home without a droplet of water, touching my clothes and I'll address you with the respect you deserve."

"Damn so now, even you are giving me the cold shoulder, Venus but I guess that is what I deserve for scaring you earlier. So, I am sorry Venus, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," said Charles as he crouched down and faced his daughter who was sitting on the cold ground.

With her lips pushed out and hands crossed with her eyes closed and head tilted towards the sky. Paying no mind to whatever this buffoon said as she waited patiently for him to bring her home.