Short chapter about Sivert's past, I'm going to be honest. I couldn't think of much and didn't put as much effort into this Chapter but I made it work.

It's short but if you want you can skip the chapter, I'm going to be posting Chapter 22 in a few.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21, Memories

Temple of Light

It bugged him..

He couldn't stop thinking about it and the more he did the more it bugged him.

"Who was I.." The Hunter whispered as he stared up at his ceiling.

He was laying down on his comfy bed, in his dark room.

Usually he'd close his eyes to rest but he couldn't.

Not since Rimuru asked if he looked into who he was before he was a Guardian.

It was risky..

Very risk.

Sivert could go through his memories and then wake up as an entirely different man.

However that wasn't the only reason why he didn't want to.

He was reborn in the Light and lost his memories. Sivert did not know if he would lose his Light because he reclaimed those memories.

The Hunter Ana Bray didn't..

So maybe he might not.

It could just be him being stupid and worrying about something so childish.

"Tch.." Sivert rolled to the side and pulled one of his fluffy pillows closer to him.

Hugging it tightly..

He stared at Aria, sleeping peacefully on a white pillow on the stand next to his bed.

She called it 'sleep' but it was more of just leaving your eyes closed until morning came..

Sivert rolled over to the other side, still hugging the same pillow.

Now he stared at the dark wall..

Sivert bit his lip, he was in a civil war with himself.

Part of him wanted to look into those memories while the other part didn't.

He balled his hands into fists.

This urge to look was killing him!

Finally..

He couldn't deal with it.

"Forgive me Aria.. everyone.." he whispered before closing his eyes.

He utilized his Darkness and went into his mind to look..

It was dark..

There was laughter, chatter and weird sound horns coming from all around him.

He opened his eyes and they widened in amazement.

Sivert was standing on the street of an urban area.

There were several children with backpacks on walking past him.

Then he spotted him..

A child with black hair and two grey colored locks and dark eyes, with a bored expression..

He wore a black sweater with black pants and small little shoes.

It felt good to know his favorite color was still the color black..

"So young.. a half soul, wandering.."

He heard a voice, Sivert recognized the voice.

His head slowly turned to the right, standing not too far from him was a tall humanoid figure in metallic robe like clothing..

It's pale skin and dark eyes were easy recognizable along with it's creepy strange smoke emitting from its head.

The Witness..

"You.."

Sivert took a step back..

"I thought I killed you.."

The Witness raised both of it's hand and brought them together like it usually did while moving forward.

It reached its hands down to grab Sivert's..

"Yes.. but not our mind. You absorbed it.. we are your mind now."

Sivert did not like the sound of that.

He tried to summon his glaive or sword but nothing appeared.

"Do not worry child.. we act as your guide so you can finally see what the Light took from you."

Sivert had no response..

He wasn't sure how to comprehend this.

The Witness raised it's right arm to point at something.

Sivert turned around and saw him, standing before a beautiful women with black hair and yellow eyes. She wore a black dress..

"You be safe now Shin.."

The women said in a kind tone, she reached out a hand to pat him on the head.

"I don't want to go.. everything is to easy.." the young Shin replied..

The women smiled beautifully, "That's good, it shows how smart you are."

Shin was silent, looking up at his mother.

"How about this. I'll buy you that book you've wanted when school is over."

His eyes widened in excitement.

"Ok I'll go."

His response made his mother chuckle.

She brought him in for a big hug..

"I love you mom.." Shin whispered..

"I love you to. Now go or you'll miss the bus."

Shin gave her a quick nod before running off across the street towards the Bus stop.

Sivert stared at the women..

"Mom.."

It was his mother.

His actual mother!

Seeing her brought so much pain to his heart. He wanted to hug her!

"Mom.." he called out.

There was no response.

"These are memories.. you cannot interact with anyone or anything." The Witness explained.

Sivert did not reply..

He reached out his right hand towards his mother.

It phased through her.

A small tear fell from his right eye.

He wanted to hug her and to never let go..

To tell her he loved her..

His mother walked and phased through him..

He felt so much more pain at that moment.

He'd rather get shredded by Cabal slug rounds then go through this pain again..

Suddenly the area changed.

Sivert was in a room, a classroom by the looks of it.

There were several other children, silently listening as the teacher explained a simple addition math problem.

The Hunter spotted him sitting in his wooden seat in the second row out of the three rows.

He once again had a bored expression.

"Young but intelligent. At the time your mind was greater than any other." The Witness broke the silence between them.

Sivert scoffed.

"It's children's math, addition... it's easy. That doesn't mean I'm intelligent."

The Witness moved its hand through the air.

The scene changed..

Sivert was in another classroom, this time it didn't have the basic children posters or other accessories.

He spotted him in the second row once again. However he looked a little older.

He had that same bored expression just like before..

Sivert watched as a women with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress passed out papers to each of the students.

The Hunter leaned over the shoulder of his past self, looking down at the paper.

A list of grades.

"Shit.." Sivert whispered in amazement.

Every subject had an A+.

Was he really that smart?

He shook his head and looked for something on the paper.

Then he spotted it.

"Sixth Grade.."

Sivert still had a hard time believing he was very smart.

The area changed once again, Sivert was standing in a waiting room with the Witness.

He spotted himself sitting silently on a black chair, reading a book.

"Miss Adar your son has exceeded all of the teachers expectations. No matter what they give him he achieves a full score and he shows no care or interest in it. Your son in a genius.."

Sivert heard a male voice.

He turned around and looked through the small window of a wooden door.

His mother sat in an office with a middle aged man in a suit.

"I recommend allowing us to give him a High School Level test to see how far his intelligence goes. If he once again proves the knowledge is below him then I suggest finding a university.."

His mother scoffed, "He's only twelve… isn't college still too early for him?"

The man shook his head. "He may be twelve but his mind is more mature than any other kid in this entire district. Let us give him this test to see how far he goes."

His mother was silent for a moment..

"Please give me some time to think."

The man nodded, "Take as much time as you need."

Sivert watched them shake hands and part ways.

The area changed once again.

He was standing in a beautiful garden with the Witness standing next to him.

"The knowledge they gave you was below you. Everything in those 'schools' were below you. Nothing mattered to you or interested you.. except your mother and the Light took it all from you.." The Witness said.

Sivert had no response.

He.. was dead in the inside.

No care for anything.

A cold heart.

He socialized with no one and looked down on others.

"I was one hell of a brat.." Sivert whispered. "A smart one though.."

He heard grunting and turned a little to the right.

He once again spotted himself standing on the bright green grass, wearing white and black robes.

Shin was holding a wooden sword, swinging it while keeping a strange stance.

One Sivert has never seen before.

The wooden sword was strange as well.

"Shin have you figured out what you want to do in the future yet?"

That sweet voice asked.

It was his mother..

Sitting on a wooden bench wearing a black Kimono and watching him train.

"No.." Shin calmly replied.

His mother sighed.

She was proud he was very smart but..

He lacked communication.

He relied only on himself.

He trusted only himself and her..

Shin hasn't made a single friend these 12 years.

"Mother.. where did you come from?" Shin suddenly asked.

His mother did not expect that question but then again..

She never told him.

"Japan.."

Shin stopped swinging the sword. "But you're not Japanese."

His mother closed her eyes and smiled softly.

"No. I was abandoned by my real parents and taken in by a kind and wealthy Japanese family. They raised me as their own and taught me many things. Such as the technique's I'm teaching you now." She said and opened her eyes, pointing at him.

"When I was old enough, I moved here to America so I may try and find my real parents and find out why they left me. I never did but instead found a kind man who stole my heart with his kindness and care for others."

Shin lowered the wooden sword. "Father?"

His mother nodded. "Yes."

Shin looked down at the grass he stood on.

He never met his father.

That was because he died in a car crash the day Shin was born..

It was a devastating day for his mother.

"I only wished you could have his kindness and care." His mother mumbled.

Of course Shin heard her, she wasn't good at keeping her voice down.

"I care for you mother. I'm kind to you.." Shin walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"I know and I'm glad. But you need friends Shin.. stop avoiding everybody." She responded before pulling him in for a big hug full of love.

Her warmth..

He didn't want her to let go..

He loved it.

"Having friends means more things to worry about. It's better if I only need to worry for you and myself."

Shin's mother couldn't help but sigh.

"Worrying for others is great though. It shows how nice you are, how caring."

Shin shook his head, disagreeing.

His mother rolled her eyes, "At least show respect to others who show respect to you."

The young Shin nodded, he would do that at least.

For it was his mother's wish.

"Now let's go continue practicing your Jujutsu your lacking in form three."

He nodded once again.

Sivert watched in amazement as his younger self practiced several martial arts.

Not only was he a smart brat..

He was a strong one..

Some of the moves he watched be taught are some Sivert's never seen before.

Was it a custom family Jujutsu?

That was the main question he had, However he had one other question.

"Wait.. when I finish looking through my memories what happens?" He could not help but ask the Witness.

"Your past and current self will merge. Every form of knowledge and skill will be regained. Your form of personality may also change or merge with your current personality. When you finish looking through your memories.."

The Witness raised both of its hands, placing them together once again.

"You will become more greater.." It said with excitement in it's weird voice.

Sivert had no problem with any of that, in fact he didn't really mind how he was back as a child.

He just wished he was more.. caring.

Now it was time to see how he was as a teenager..

The area changed and Sivert stood in another classroom, this time more larger and packed with more students.

He saw himself in the middle row again only this time he was wearing a black school uniform with once again a bored expression.

There was not a single hint of interest on his face for the subject.

"By the Traveler." Sivert whispered in disbelief.

How could he have been like this? Not socializing or making friends for 15 years. This would be torture for Sivert.

As he walked towards his younger self he spotted white little devices in his ears.

Sivert leaned closer to himself.

He could hear what sounded like music coming from the little devices.

Was he not supposed to be learning? Why is he listening to music..

However that didn't matter much to Sivert, what did was the music.

It caught his interest because he's never heard anything like it.

No.. as soon as he heard that music more memories were unlocked.

He loved this song!

"Pfft is he listening to that old music again? What a weirdo..." The Hunter heard a group of boys whisper to each other as his old self enjoyed the music.

The Hunter rolled his eyes, it didn't matter if it was a hundred years old!

This song was crazy good!

"Does this not prove your intelligence? You paid no attention to what others worked so hard on. For you saw it below your attention. You have already shown such great feats at such a young age. But the Light took it all from you.." The Witness suddenly spoke.

Sivert quietly grumbled, he forgot it was here which really surprised him because the Witness stood out from these group of students.

"Alright I see what you mean. I was a genius back then let's just continue..""

The Hunter didn't hate being a genius, he just wished he was a genius who cared for others.

The Area changed once again and Sivert found himself staring at a large billboard screen with his mother..

"What's so special about it?" Shin asked his mother.

"They say when it first entered our solar system many years ago it terraformed our planets, making them habitable for us."

Shin hummed a little at her answer.

"Are you interested?" His mother asked him.

"A little.."

She giggled as he tried to hide his embarrassed expression.

"Well, you did want to go to Bray University didn't you? Perhaps you might be able to research more on this 'Traveler.' and soon.. walk the stars."

Walk the stars..

Sivert couldn't help but chuckle a little, he did indeed walk the stars.

"Hm.. I'd prefer staying here on earth with you." Shin told her.

His mother smiled and held tightly onto his hand.

"I'm glad."

The Hunter loved these moments in his memories.

He truly loved his mother..

The years passed peacefully.

The young Shin was 20 and he was in college.

Still he found no friends or even a love interest. He continued to stay by his mother's side.

Sadly he could not for long as he was invited to a Russian Spaceport to assist a team of scientists developing a new jumpship.

He would decline but his mother forced him to go..

It would be the biggest regret in his life and Sivert felt this.

Not only that..

He knew Death was coming..

That's when the news came in, Human colonies were being destroyed by an unknown force.

Humanity was pushed back to earth and Shin was stuck in traffic in Russia.

He tried calling his mother several times and finally she picked up.

"I love you Shin.."

Those were her last words before the line cut off.

And Shin could only look up at the sky as black pyramids blocked out the sun and brought hell down on him..

Sivert balled his hands into fists. "You were responsible for her death! My death!" he shouted at the Witness.

"We gave your mother the gift of death. However we did not intend to kill you. The Disciple Nezarec acted on his own. He knew what you would become.."

"What? One of your Disciples? Hah! I'd rather burn in hell for eternity."

The Witness stared at him in silence as the Hunter stared at it fearlessly.

"No.. the Perfect Existence. The Disciple seen a glimpse of your half soul. Half.. but very powerful. We intended to claim you before the Light could but he killed you before we could."

It didn't finish.

Sivert now fully understood why the True Dragon Velzard looked through his memories.

She did say something about his soul being a piece of the other half of the soul of her older brother Veldanava.

That explained his power..

It explained why he was so strong and why the Witness was so obsessed with him.

"But you couldn't claim me because you were focused on the Traveler and then Savathun tricked you?" Sivert asked.

It did not reply.

The Hunter knew he was right.

He smiled.

"Hahahahaha! Well you shits deserved it. I just wished I was there to see your expression. Not that you have one but it'd still make my day to feel your anger."

Sivert knew the Witness had emotions, when he fought the Witness 2 years ago he could feel joy coming from it for some weird reason.

"So is that it? I was a genius lonely kid with several skills and loved his mother so much?"

Not what Sivert expected but, it beat being some murder or something.

"Yes.. Now that you have broken the Light's shackles on your memories. How will you proceed?" The Witness asked to satisfy its own curiosity.

"Proceed? I can't say. Just have to let time tell.."

The Witness stared down at him in silence, Sivert returned the stare..

"So.. were done right? I can get away from you and never see you again?"

Having a conversation like this with the Witness felt so weird..

"No. There is much to show you that you have yet seen.."

The Witness waved it's right hand around, showing it's memories to Sivert.

Sivert saw the reef being destroyed by the Black Fleet.

He saw the Awoken Queen Mara Sov dead on her throne..

"You killed her.." Sivert whispered with slight anger in his voice.

"We gave her the gift of death."

The Witness casually replied.

The Hunter wanted to rip the Witness apart right now but there was no point. It was within him.

It'd just come back over and over..

Then Sivert's sight changed, he saw the Witch Queen's Throne World.

The Sunken Pyramid gone and the permanent death of the Witch Queen.

Not that Sivert cared, the bitch had it coming..

"The journey through memories is over. You will regain conscious shortly. Before that, do you have any more questions?"

Sivert shook his head.

He couldn't think of any..

"No.. Oh! Wait."

He stared the Witness in the eyes coldly before moving quickly and ripping it apart with his raw power.

It's body dissipated in white smoke..

"You're not dead.. but doing this makes me feel good."

Sivert whispered before closing his eyes.

His eyes slowly opened and he was met with a close up view of Aria's blue eye.

She stared at him..

And Sivert stared back..

It was quiet..

And awkward.

"Ahh! This sucks! I would have totally given you a good morning kiss If I had a body."

She finally spoke only she had a dissatisfied tone.

Sivert smiled a little, this is the reason why he sleeps, even though he does not need rest anymore, waking up in the morning to Aria gave him comfort.

The Hunter sat up and gently dropped a kiss on Aria's shell. "Don't worry. I can kiss you at least."

Aria would be a big blushing mess right now if she had a body.

"Oh Sivert don't tease me like that.. It's unfair when I can't return it." she replied.

Sivert chuckled a little, "Well don't think too much of it if it annoys you. Just ask and I'll gladly give you a kiss."

Aria floated closer, snuggling up against his chest.

Knowing what she wanted Sivert began to gently pet her.

It was a quiet but peaceful moment.

Aria was everything to him, when he lost her that day Sivert would have drifted into the Deep and gone mad if his two spirits didn't grab her soul before it faded.

"I looked at them."

Sivert broke the quietness with that sentence.

Aria was silent, she knew what he was referring to.

"What were you like?" she asked.

"A genius with many skills but I was cold to everyone and didn't care for anyone except for my mother."

Aria looked up at her Guardian.

She bet his mother was beautiful and kind. Oh she wished she could have met her.

"I will change Aria, not now but soon. My past self and current self will merge."

Aria wasn't worried, Sivert was strong mentally. He might change his view on others but she knows he'll still care deeply for his friends.

"Well let's just wait and see. Today you have a lot of work to do. Better get ready."

He did..

Not even working in Tempest for more than a week, Rimuru has given him several assignments..

Most of it being paper work much to his dislike, but he didn't care to much about it.

It gave Sivert a different view of work.

Since he became a Guardian, work to him was just destroying armies... And any reports that he needed to file were all taken care of by Aria.

The Hunter sighed.

He had a feeling the real journey was just beginning..

End!