I was once again holding the beverage that Idris had made for me, as I hadn't finished drinking all of it. The one he said would help me confront the sun as a normal person.

My head hurt from hitting the desk while fainting. Idris had caught me, but I had still bumped my head. It seemed he didn't know that fainting made you into a limp doll. He thought I would have the instincts to stop myself from getting injured.

It seemed Idris knew many things—technology, fashion, and magic—but lacked any kind of common sense or practical knowledge about human beings.

After I had awakened, I was greeted with Idris' panicked face. His nose was scrunched up, and his beautiful green eyes were full of tears. It was an expression I had never seen on my brother's face. Still, it made me feel warm inside to be greeted by him wearing such an expression.

After I had comforted him and explained some things about humans, he urged me to finish my drink. I was holding it in my hands, but I didn't want to drink it. Now that I had seen Idris' magic, I doubted this was regular wine.

After Idris gentle nudging for a few minutes, I decided to put on my big girl pants and drink it all in one shot.

As soon as I passed the empty glass to Idris, a green sheen resembling Idris' eyes appeared on my skin. I didn't have the time to be terrified or weirded out, as it simply looked otherworldly enough to take my breath away. In a flash, it disappeared.

"You can get dressed now; it has been activated." Idris said as he took the cup back to the kitchen.

I put on the brand new clothes Idris made for me while admiring how beautiful they were. Was this what love felt like? Was this how other people felt when they were happy?

This dual sense of both calmness and furious excitement like a still sea that could turn into a raging one on a whim.

Idris came back just as I was putting on my skirt; he looked me up and down. "How about your hair? Do you want me to style it?"

"No, I'm fine with just having a ponytail. By the way, what was in that drink you made?" If this experiment worked, I hoped I could get the recipe so I could make it for myself.

"Snake wine, my blood, and smashed beetroot." Idris answered me in such a calm tone. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to put my fingers in my mouth and throw up what I had just drunk.

Idris must have noticed my face turning pale as he said, "Don't worry, my blood isn't like normal human blood. It won't cause you any harm. My blood is my will, and my will is to shield you from any harm."

While that was very sweet of Idris to say, I wasn't afraid of the blood harming me. I was so disgusted that I just consumed snakes and blood.

Still, he had been worried a few moments ago because of my fainting, so I quickly made a decision about the situation. I decided to just bear with it. If this potion could help shield me from the sun, I could get over my disgust.

I picked up my bag and my keys, then headed out with Idris. The more we approached the building's entrance, the more I slowed my pace down, until I stopped dead in my tracks.

Idris went out into the sunny street and held his hand out to me. Due to my previous bad experiences, I was still afraid, like a vampire only used to the darkness.

Idris' confidence in his abilities made me want to give it a try. Slowly, I extended my left arm into the sun while my body was still safe inside the building. I could lose use of my left arm for a bit. It would be painful and troublesome, but it was a small price to pay for a bet on my brother's abilities.

Fortunately, nothing happened, and little by little, I got all my limbs out of the building and took my brother's hand.

The sun was warm but not overly hot on my skin. I was still a bit afraid that I would burst into flames at any moment, but my brother's proud smile was doing wonders for me.

We got into the car and drove off. A comfortable silence filled the car as I headed for the shopping district.

I wanted to walk around the streets and shop with Idris. Maybe I could buy him some clothes, as it didn't seem he had anything else but the clothes on his back. 

We arrived there faster than usual, and it seemed luck was on my side today as the road was empty. We also found a parking space that was unusually fast. 

The gods were smiling down on us. Or so I thought until Idris opened his mouth. "How does it feel to be the sister of someone with such great powers?"

"Oh, the sunscreen and the clothes? Yes, they are great. Thank you so much." I answered excitedly. Idris had just introduced me to a world I had been longing to join for a while, so I was very grateful.

"First of all, don't thank me; there is no need for such things between siblings. Second of all, I didn't mean those things; they're old news. Didn't you notice that the road was empty and that you found a parking spot easily?" Idris flashed me a cocky grin.

"You did those things? But how?" I was surprised that this was thanks to Idris' powers and not my incredible good luck.

I thought after the incident with Alex that the gods were trying to make it up to me with some good luck for my first outing with Idris.

"Did you think some God did that for you? Of course, it was me because I strive to be the best brother in the world. As soon as we said we would go out, I started compelling a portion of the population to not go out. Of course, I didn't compel anyone who had anything urgent going on. I ought to show good ethics to my little sister as her role model." Idris was positively beaming as he explained this to me.

"But don't you need to be in direct contact with someone to compel them? That's how it is in the movies  anyway." I was shocked at myself that I had accepted Idris' magic so fast. I was even nitpicking technical details!

"Hmm, well, I guess your movies aren't entirely wrong. Humans and lower-level magic users need to be in direct contact with a person to compel them, but that's not the case for me. I can compel most people pretty easily. At my full power, I could probably compel the entire continent without moving from this car." Idris answered in a boastful tone.

"What do you mean by most people? How about me? Can you compel me?" I asked, curious.

"Well, compelling someone requires to either know their desires or their fears. That information is used to pressure or tempt them. As soon as their emotions react in a significant way, you can infiltrate their mind and have them obey you. Some people are more difficult to break than others. You are such a person. Since you didn't feel emotions as viscerally as others, it made your mental barriers stronger. Moreover, since we've formed a Soul Bond, you won't be influenced by anyone weaker than me." Idris patted my head at the end of his explanation.

A Soul Bond.

I had performed this ritual in a dream with Idris when I was 13. At the time, he had explained that it would bond our souls and our bodies as if we were a singular entity that was merely separated in two by a cruel god. We would always meet in all the different lives, in all the different worlds, and in all the different bodies.

At that time, when I had woken up from my dream, I had cried till my eyes were so swollen I couldn't open them up. I had been so sad that it wasn't real.

I gave Idris a big smile as we got out of the car and headed down the street. I was drowning in joy.

Our Soul Bond was real.

This was just the beginning of our time together.

We would be family for eternity.

How blissful.