Kenan nearly lost his breath as he stared at his hands, now encased in a gleaming layer of silver steel. It wasn’t cold or rigid like he expected—no, it felt alive. Like skin. Like his skin.


    “What… what is this?” His voice trembled, breaking the heavy silence. He ran his fingers over the metallic surface, the texture impossibly smooth yet warm. His pulse thundered in his ears. “This can’t be happening. This isn’t real.”


    He staggered back, every movement amplified by the strange weight coursing through his body. His chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow breaths. A spike of panic gripped him. “How do I stop it? How do I make it stop?” His fingers clawed at the metal, desperate to peel it away, but it clung to him. It was, in fact, his skin. “What if… what if I’m stuck like this? What if I hurt someone?”


    The fear coiled tighter in his chest, suffocating, until his mother’s voice whispered through the chaos: “Your father is still alive.”


    The words pierced the storm in his mind. He froze, her voice like a lifeline, steadying the chaos inside him. He closed his eyes, drawing a ragged breath. Focus. Breathe. Slowly, something shifted. The steel began to ripple, retreating into his skin, until the silver was gone.


    Kenan released a sharp breath, his legs nearly giving out beneath him. Relief washed over him, but it was fleeting. As his bare hands trembled before him, another thought struck—one that sent a different kind of shiver down his spine.


    This power wasn’t just a curse. It wasn’t just something to fear.


    It was a weapon.


    His fingers curled into fists, the remnants of the energy humming beneath his skin. His heart still pounded, but it wasn’t just panic this time—it was something else. A spark. A purpose.


    “I can use this,” he murmured, his voice steadier now. His gaze hardened, his mind racing. “I can do something with this.”


    The memory of his father’s face, half-formed in his mind, pushed through the doubt. A faint smile tugged at his lips, tinged with resolve. “Maybe I can find him. Maybe… this is the key.”


    He glanced at his hands again, no longer trembling but steady, the fear now tempered by a rising determination. The power within him pulsed, quiet but insistent, as if it, too, understood.


    “This is just the beginning.” he thought to himself.


    “Well I''m glad you didn''t burst into flames or something. I was honestly expecting that.” Aria says.


    Kenan looks up and gives a half smile. “I was too. Is it normal to have a panic attack?”. He was still trying to calm his heart down.


    “Of course not only are you gaining power but the cells in your body are transforming. It can be painful for some. Plus your awakening as a Sentient so you''re definitely experiencing a lot on top of that as well.”


    “Oh right.” Kenan started to feel the lightness in his body and the quality of the air around him. He felt something lingering in the air that only felt alive.


    Aria grabs a pen off the coffee table and throws it perfectly aiming for Kenan''s eye. Before he could reach him he snatched it out of the air.


    “Wow you really are a Sentient. I threw that pretty hard.”Aria says. Leaning back on the sofa.


    “Since when were you so strong! No way would I have been able to catch that if I wasn''t awakened.” Kenan complained.


    “Your Auntie is way stronger than you think. I may be a scientist but I am still a heavy hitter in the Shepherds. She said flexing her tiny muscles.


    Kenan wouldn''t have believed her a moment ago but a normal person definitely wouldn''t have been able to throw a pen like that unless they were like an assassin or something.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Kenan broke out into a laugh at his aunts display.


    That night, Kenan and Aria talked all night. Mainly Aria, she was already a member of the Shepherds. She was in the scientific technology sector, so she talked Kenan''s ear off about how great of a drug his elixir truly was.


    The Shepherds are an organization designed to protect the masses from all threats in the country. All its members either had superior abilities or were Sentient beings. Only the most powerful of people can join the organization.


    "It has always been my dream to join the Shepherds and protect people like my parents, and now I''ll finally have the opportunity. That old man may be a deadbeat, but he knows how to give gifts." Kenan says in a low voice


    "He does! The elixir wasn''t the only thing he and your mother left you. There is also a training regimen for you to follow before the entrance exam." Aria spoke.


    "I''m already on a training regimen. I have been my whole life. You know that old man is a martial arts fanatic." Kenan says, rolling his eyes.


    Kenan’s father, Malachi, was a simple man who valued respect, the protection of the weak, and the test of strength. He had Kenan in boxing before he could properly write his name. There were many videos of Malachi demonstrating fighting techniques and breath control, you name it. Kenan always felt like his father wasn’t truly dead because he had so many videos of him he could look back on.


    “Well, I’m not sure if it''s a training regiment like the ones your father left you in those videos, but I know I was supposed to give it to you if you absorbed the Elixir. I was told this training material was key to your development and equally as important as the elixir.” Aria said, nodding while pushing up her glasses from her nose.


    “Ok, so where is it now, then?” Kenan questioned.


    “We have to pick it up tomorrow from your safety deposit box at the bank. That’s when we also will have to sign some papers so you can get your inheritance money.” Aria said.


    “Sounds good to me. I’m going to head to sleep now if I don’t. I’ll be up all night anxious about tomorrow.” Kenan then headed to his room and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


    Aria continued to look in the direction Kenan had walked and sighed. “Malachi, you stupid man, why would you leave your wife and child? Most men would kill to have what you have here. I hope that boy does give you a good whoopin'' when he sees you again. She murmured. She continues to remind herself of Ashanti’s warning.


    “Aria, I don’t have much longer I have to live, but you must promise me to help finish raising Kenan,” Ashanti said, speaking in a weak voice


    “But he’s practically a young man at this point. How much more can I do? He''s 16.” Aria said.


    “He only looks like a young man. He is still a boy. Who is still moddable to the outside world. I’m afraid that my death will turn his heart cold towards his father, and he will be hell-bent on revenge. Which can easily turn him into a monster.” She took Aria’s hand into hers. Her grip was weak but strong enough to let Aria know she needed further attention. “Malachi is a light-hearted man who is very hard to anger. So, his being overwhelmingly powerful wasn’t a threat to the continent. But Kenan is different; sadly, he took after me. Do you know what I did as soon as I awakened and found the men who kidnapped me? Aria nods her head and swallows hard.


    “That is what you have to prevent my son from turning into. So, I’m asking you never to reveal the cause of my death and the reason why I overused my abilities. He will have enough enemies as it is.”


    “I promise I won’t tell him anything,” Aria said as her eyes began to water.


    Ashanti lies back on the bed and looks up at the ceiling as if she can see through it and into the sky. “This wasn’t the plan; we should have raised Kenan together like we said we would, and then we all could have left together. Now, we will both leave a boy with all the talent and potential in the world on a half-forged path. God, please forgive us and not let my son’s heart harden.


    Aria wipes tears from her eyes. “I will not let you down, Ashanti; your son will grow up to be exactly the man you want him to be.”


    ***


    Kenan looked at the solid black ring in confusion. He held it up for The Banker and Aria to see. “Do they want me to give this to my future wife or something? Why was this left in the lockbox? Kenan Questioned.


    The banker in the suit shrugged his shoulders. “They didn’t say anything specifically about that in the Will.


    Kenan turned to his aunt. “That could be what your parents were talking about with the training regiment. Everything else is completely ordinary.


    Kenan looked down at everything in the storage box and had to admit that she was right. He had his grandfather watch from his father. He had at least a small stack of Cybercoins, his family tree archive journal, and his mother''s antique music box. All of the rest of the items were completely normal.


    “Well , put it on. Maybe something interesting will happen,” Aria said.


    Kenan didn’t hesitate and did just that. As soon as he did, a Purple holographic screen appeared before his head. [Welcome Kenan Ogun]. Kenan flinched a little as the screen popped up. He could see out of the corner of his eye that the Banker had no reaction to the screen popping up. “So only I can see this thing?”


    [After reading your brainwaves and your DNA, the system has determined you are the heir to the Ogun family.]


    [You will now have access to all of the features and information within the device.]


    [Error]


    [Device access has been restricted due to the Ruah Level not being high enough]


    [Error]


    [Device has been further restricted due to user Sentient Mediation Realm]


    [Error]


    [Further Restrictions are put in place that will not be disclosed to the user at this time]


    [Welcome Kenan Ogun to the Family Archive system]


    The Banker and Aria look at Kenan while he looks off into space, his eyes moving up and down ever so slightly.


    “I guess that I was wrong then? Nothing happened?” Aria said.


    “Eh”


    Before Kenan could reply, Aria spoke again as if she hadn’t heard him. “All right, just take what you want, and let''s go. I''m hungry.” She was already walking towards the door.


    Kenan took his grandfather''s watch and left the rest. He was afraid he would lose or destroy the rest. Once they were outside of the bank. Kenan whispered. “What was that about? You know, don’t you?


    She ignored him and started talking in a high, above-average tone. “Well, now that you''re loaded with that inheritance money, why not treat your aunt to a good meal?


    Kenan awardly chuckled. “Ahh, ok, well, you''re driving, so take us somewhere to fill our bellies to our heart''s content.


    They both got into Aria''s luxurious magnetic car and blasted away. Once they were far enough from the bank, Kenan looked at his aunt until she explained herself.


    “That ring your father gave you is top-of-the-line psionic technology. I wasn’t sure at first, but you started acting weird, like you were seeing things, and then I knew my hunch was right. Your Parents were powerful and known throughout the Shepherd''s organization. But they have stepped on influential families'' toes. We must be careful not to disclose any unnecessary information about you.


    "Are we going to go eat at a fancy dinner?" Kenan said.


    Aria turned to him quickly with a serious expression. "Of course, we are because you''re loaded."


    "That''s true. But why were we living in such common housing if my parents had so much money? He questioned.


    Aria laughed. "Both of your parents were simple people; they didn''t need any of the flashiness and attention money would bring. The neighborhood you grew up in is the neighborhood myself and your mother talked about living in when we were at the orphanage. The exact one . . ."


    Kenan turned and looked at his Aunt. There were no blood ties between them, but she and his mother grew up together, and he didn''t know of anyone else his mother regarded as family. His father''s family was an entirely different story he didn''t want to think about.


    "Thank you for taking me in, auntie. We may not be blood, but our bond is thicker than that."


    Kenan instantly regretted his decision because she started crying again and trying to hug him while driving.