The multiverse is a twisting web. So many lives people can lead. Every choice leads to a new reality. Our story takes us to a Space between Spaces. A single realm, merged from many others. A monarchal society lead by the Imperator. A man of shadowed past. He wore layered metallic armor and wore a cloak with a hood that covered his face. His voice was low, but casual, ruling the SbS with an iron fist. Behind him stood, the Darkness. Bound to his body this entity gave him unparalleled power. Beneath him were the Arbiters: Ripa Moramee and Thel Vadamee. Beneath them were the Imperatorius, a faction of elite soldiers that commanded the foot soldiers and carried out high level missions. Finally, the main army which consisted of aliens from many realms.

Split into many sections, each part of this realm served a different purpose. Engineering, science, training soldiers, you name it!

It all surrounded Abraxas. Home of the central tower of the Imperator. He rested at the top, overlooking his entire realm. The throne room was massive, the throne was in the back of the room, flanked on all sides by golden pillars. The center of the floor was an elevator that brought you down to the only other floor: the bottom. At the opposite end of the room was a glass wall that allowed the Imperator to look out to Abraxas.

Inside this throne room, he stood with Ripa and Thel giving him a report about "Phantom Thieves". In recent times, two factions of revolt had begun to rise against him: The Honorbound, an organized rebel army; and the Phantom Thieves, an as yet hidden group of gentlemen thieves. The only reason the Imperator even knows they exist was because of calling cards posted all over Abraxas. Each card contained the name of a soldier and one phrase in many variations: "Change your heart". The named soldier would suddenly find themselves compelled to go against the Imperator. No information could be found about them.

"We currently have no information on their modus operandi, my lord...", said Thel bowed down next to Ripa facing the slouched Imperator. Two snakelike tendrils were connected to his back, eyes locked on the Arbiters.

"So...", the Imperator spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "We have made absolutely no progress..."

Ripa shook his head as Thel continued, "It would seem so, my lord."

"And instead of continuing your search, you're here telling me what you don't know.", The Imperator remained slouched, but his voice carried weight.

Thel looked up and replied, "My lord. The Phantom Thieves have left few bread crumbs for us to follow. However, when they strike only a handful of our thousands of soldiers are ever effected. I believe it's more beneficial to refocus our efforts on dealing with the more external threats."

The Imperator's voice gained a little more life as he said, "You mean the Honorbound? They haven't made a move in weeks."

"Yes. Perhaps they're investigating the Phantom Thieves as well.", Ripa finally chimed in.

The Imperator scratched his chin under his hood and said, "I don't know. They only seem to target our troops. None of their people have been targeted at this point. I'd think by now they would've figured out they're on the same side."

"Well, they're a smaller group with less resources than us, and even we have nothing on them. They may have even less information to go off of.", Thel guessed.

The Imperator paused for a moment, eliciting a twinge of fear from the Arbiters. "True.", he spoke. "It's possible. I just wish there was more information."

Suddenly, the floor elevator opened up. The Arbiters were shocked by this, drawing blades of light. Forward pointed the blades were, surrounding the fist. A young boy with tan skin and shaggy, neck length brown hair. He wore a tan suit and black pants and shoes, as well as black gloves. He smiled, exuding an almost inhuman level of confidence around the energy blade wielding aliens before him.

Both Arbiters quickly held their blades to his neck. Ripa growled, "State your business. How did you get in here?!"

The boy simply stated, "I was invited in, by your Imperator."

The Imperator waved his hand and simply said, "Stand down."

With some minor hesitation from Ripa, both Arbiters retracted their energy swords.

The Imperator continued presenting a red and black card hidden in his cloak, "Yes. I received your little card. You said you had information on the Phantom Thieves for me, Goro Akechi."

Akechi grinned and said, "Yes. Mainly I have info on how they operate. We've had...encounters in the past. To put it bluntly, there is a world mirroring ours known as the Metaverse. A universe formed from the collective human subconscious. The Phantom Thieves and I can access this universe, battling shadows that reflect us. Purifying these shadows can change their respective people in the real world. Or alternatively, you can kill the shadow, which causes the subject to have a complete mental shutdown."

The Imperator giggled at this info, saying "Well THAT explains why we couldn't find them."

"But I also came to warn you, they've been interrogating shadows to find out about you. They've closed in on your palace. Put simply, they're about to twist you to their ideal of 'good' and make you abandon your current mindset.", Akechi continued.

"WHAT?!" the Imperator screamed, lurching from his chair grabbing Akechi by the neck and hoisting him in the air. His feet dangled inches off the ground. The Imperator growled, "I cannot allow them to ruin me. Especially not now!"

Akechi sputtered out, "I'm...here...to help!"

The Imperator dropped him upon these words. "I'm sorry. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me. Please, tell me more!"

Akechi coughed on the ground and smiled as he said, "Certainly!"

2 days earlier

7 humans and a cat. An even split of boys and girls. The Phantom Thieves of Heart. All fair skinned Japanese children, high school age. They gathered together in a secret alleyway inside Abraxas, hidden from prying eyes. The first a boy with spiky blond hair, dressed in casual clothing of a t-shirts and shorts. Ryuji Sakamoto.

One a boy with well combed blue hair and dressed with long sleeves and pants. Yusuke Kitagawa.

A girl with two large platinum blond pigtails with a hoodie, skirt and pants. Ann Takamaki.

A girl in a traditional Japanese school girls outfit with short brown hair. Makoto Nijima.

A short girl with very long red hair, dressed in a hoodie, white shirt and long black boots. Futaba Sakura.

A girl with short curly red hair dressed in an oversized pink sweater, white leggings and black shoes. Haru Okumura.

A black and white cat with a yellow collar and blue eyes. Morgana.

And finally a tall boy with black curly hair, glasses and a black and red school uniform and the leader of this group. Ren Amamiya.

Ren said, "Alright. We've gotten the information we need. It's time to start exploring the Imperator's palace."

Ann reminisced, "It's been a while since we explored a palace together."

Morgana spoke, being the only one who could be heard by the Thieves, "Just like old times, right?"

Ryuji smiled and said, "Hell yeah! Let's get in there and kick some ass!"

Ren nodded and pulled out his smart phone. On it was an app visualized as a red and black eye symbol. He pressed it, and navigational data appeared. Inputting what they had learned from the Shadows, they entered the Metaverse. Reality warped around them.

The Metaverse sky was dark red. The colors were distorted and saturated. And the central tower of Abraxas had transformed into a hospital. In the Metaverse, anything can change from the cognition of the real world. The Imperator saw his world as a hospital. The goal of the Phantom Thieves was simple: Find the treasure. When someone's desires become warped they form a palace around themselves and the desire takes form as some sort of treasure. If the Thieves can steal or destroy that treasure, the desires will fall and the Imperator will be reformed in the real world.

In this world, the Phantom Thieves donned outfits far more fitting of their namesakes, each one connected to their ideas of rebellion, each one wearing a mask, and going by specific codenames to hide themselves.

Ren wore an all black suit with a tail coat and waist coat adorned with golden highlights and a pair of brown black boots. His mask was a white bird-like masquerade mask with black highlights around the eyeholes. Here he was known as Joker.

Ryuji wore something more reminiscent of a biker's outfit with metal pads on his elbows, knees and back. His mask was a metallic skull that covered the top half of his face. Here he was known as Skull.

Morgana simply looked like a bipedal cartoon cat with a big oval head and round blue eyes. He wore a yellow scarf as well. Here he was known as Mona.

Ann's outfit was a skin tight red vinyl catsuit with a red panther mask. Here she was known as Panther.

Yusuke's outfit was a black and white collared jump suit with white boots and a kitsune styled mask. Here he was known as Fox.

Makoto wore a skin tight black and grey outfit with spiked pads and a metal mask. Here she was known as Queen.

Futaba's outfit was also skin tight, but it was black with green highlights, black and green boots and a mask that was an oversized helmet with red eyes. Here she was known as Oracle.

Haru's outfit was consisted of a dark purple cavalier hat with a plume, a blouse with a corset vest, and black pantyhose with lace up pumps. Here she was known as Noir.

The front gates of the hospital were sealed shut. This was expected. A true thief never goes in through the front door.

They quickly located a ventilation shaft, curiously sized enough for humans to fit through and entered inside.

Upon entering the facility, things seemed unassuming. Cognitive versions of how the Imperator sees people around him were spread throughout. Hospital staff were helping fix injured and broken people.

Yusuke commented, "Intriguing. It seems he truly believes he's helping people in this world."

Ryuji scoffed, "Well that can't be. You don't get a palace by being a good boy who did nothing wrong."

Haru spoke in a soft, almost whispery voice, "Still, it's strange that there are no shadows here. Even by now there should be some resistance."

Morgana replied, "The mind works in mysterious ways. I get the feeling this is just the surface level he puts up, and as we go deeper we'll see what really makes him tick."

Ren said, "As long as this floor is safe, let's split up and find a way further in."

The Thieves all nodded and split up. The decor stayed the same and the imagery was unchanging. Doctors and patients. All saying the same thing. "The Imperator will save you. Accept his gift. Accept his protection."

Eventually, Makoto called out, "I found something!", drawing the rest together.

It was a staircase, leading to a lower level.

The lights were flickering in this level, but the most striking thing was the complete absence of life and activity. Blood was smeared along the walls. There were no rooms, only a network of hallways. Two phrases were written along the walls in this blood ad nauseam. "Make us Whole" and "Project: Azathoth"

Futaba said, "This place is giving me the creeps, Joker. What is this?"

Ren replied, "Looks like he's more disturbed than we realize."

Yusuke commented, "Still no shadows though. How curious."

The lights suddenly completely went out.

Ryuji yelled out, "Guys? You still here?!"

Everyone responded quickly, but the darkness remained. A 9th voice soon entered. It whispered in song, "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are..."

As the song continued a low and whispered scream, sounding like it was garbled in static began to overlap. The world around the Thieves began to ripple. The scream grew piercing. The distortions around the world became violent. The walls began to reflect grotesque brutality. From the darkness, three lights slowly grew brighter. It was two eyes and a mouth, attached to a human form. Orange hues surrounded them and illuminated the hallways, and revealed the form.

The skin was pale, caked in blood. It was a human girl, roughly the same average age as the Phantom Thieves. Her hair was short and her nose was pointed. Her head slowly raised up. Her body glitched and twitched. The scream completely overpowered the song and became deafening. Paralyzed with fear, sweat poured down the Thieves head. Finally the girl began to whisper which managed to be heard through the chaos, "MAKE...US...WHOLE...".

She disappeared, and with her the hues and sounds.

It was almost 2 full minutes before anyone could say anything. Ann's voice shuddered before she finally collapsed into a shriek.

Futaba was balled up on the floor leaned against the wall, tears in her eyes as she repeated to herself "It's not real. It's not real. It's not real."

Ryuji grabbed Ren by the collar and shouted, "What the FUCK was that?!" before releasing him and grabbing his head in distress.

Makoto was close to vomiting from the imagery. Yusuke actually vomited.

Haru was only frozen in shock, with the occasional shudder.

Ren tried his best to calm everyone down to no avail. Morgana walked beside him and said, "Joker, something's really wrong here. I don't think anybody wants to continue."

Ren sighed and said, "Take everyone back. I'm gonna continue on."

Morgana raised an eyebrow at Joker and asked, "You're not...freaked out by all this?"

Ren shook his head and said, "Of course I am, but somebody's gotta keep it together, and if what we just saw only gets worse from here then I can't risk hurting them more."

Morgana nodded, but his eyes lids were still low as he looked at the floor. He said, "I guess that makes sense..." his eyes lit up as he continued, "but I'm staying too! You're not doing this on your own."

Ren nodded as well and turned to the rest of the group, calling out "Everyone! HEY!"

His shout got their attention as they all turned to him. He continued, "All of you need to get out of here! Something is seriously disturbed in this guy's mind. If it gets worse from here, I don't want you guys to get hurt. Mona and I will go alone from here."

The silence and tension were palpable. Looks were exchanged amongst the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji broke the silence with an uncharacteristically serious "No."

Ren's eyes widened. Ryuji continued, "We're not leaving you here either. Yeah, we freaked out a bit. Who wouldn't? But we'll stand by you through it all, got it?" Ren nodded with a new look of determination in his eyes.

Yusuke wiped the vomit off of his mouth. "Still..." he said, "it wouldn't hurt to figure out just who or what that thing was."

Makoto says, "It could be a cognition, but the way the palace was affected is too violent and distinct. I think this is a hallucination."

Futaba slowly stood up from her position on the floor while meekly saying, "You know..."

The group turned to her as she continued. "During that time, when I thought I...killed my mom..."

Memories of their first meeting with Futaba flooded in to them. Her suffering after being manipulated by evil people into thinking she caused her mother's death was difficult to forget.

After a second to compose herself she continued, "I had...hallucinations. I saw her and heard her, and it was just like that cognitive version in my palace. This girl is someone the Imperator knew in life and maybe feels responsible for her death."

Haru whispered, "That pale and bloody skin...it's certainly telling."

Ren said, "Let's keep moving. The sooner we find the treasure, the better."

They were silent for a moment before deciding to continue on. There was no stairs but only a massive door. Sealed shut. A computerized feminine voice rang overhead: "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY"

Ryuji sighed and shrugged, "Guess that's our stopping point."

Makoto replied, "We knew something like this was bound to happen with how secretive he is."

Morgana said, "I feel the treasure just beyond this door."

Ren said, "Soon as we leave here I'll call Akechi. We kept separate from him for just a moment like this..."

Ryuji said, "He'll get in on the Imperator's good side, and then BAM this door will open like nothing!" Ryuji fist pumped in excitement.

"It will be difficult..." Akechi said over a phone call with Ren. He continued, "It could take a couple days to even gain an audience with him."

Ren explained, "If you do though, we'll be able to access the deeper recesses of his heart."

Akechi responded, "I'll do what I can and call you when I'm in. Don't call me until then."

Present Time

Akechi explained to the Imperator, "I have reason to believe they're very close. If you employ me as your protector, I can keep your heart safe from them."

The Imperator stood over him, towering in 7 foot height. He looked him in the eye. Akechi noticed faintly human eyes in the shadows of his cloak. The Imperator said, "What do YOU have to gain?"

Akechi smiled and bowed down stating, "I only wish to serve you, my lord. These Phantom Thieves are dangerous. Only I can keep you safe from them."

The Imperator turned his head, studying Akechi's face for any signs of lying or deceit. He found none.

"Very well.", he said. "Ripa. Show our new guest to the Imperatorius living quarters."

Ripa bowed his head and walked to the elevator with Akechi. He grabbed him by the back of the shoulder aggressively, slightly hurting it. "Come, human." he bitterly spat as they descended. Only Thel remained. Thel asked, "Do you trust him sir?"

"Not even a bit." The Imperator's reply was so quick he nearly cut off Thel's question.

Thel raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why is that?"

The Imperator explained, "The Darkness binds the multiverse together. It sees ALL."

The tendrils around the Imperator formed a circle, and an image appeared in the circle scrying into an event of the past. The Phantom Thieves were shown, against a massive vault door. A computerized feminine voice rang overhead: "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY"

The boy in the skull mask sighed and shrugged, "Guess that's our stopping point."

The girl with the metallic mask replied, "We knew something like this was bound to happen with how secretive he is."

The strange cat-like creature said, "I feel the treasure just beyond this door."

The boy with the bird-like white and black mask said, "Soon as we leave here I'll call Akechi. We kept separate from him for just a moment like this..."

The boy in the skull mask replied, "He'll get in on the Imperator's good side, and then BAM this door will open like nothing!"

The scrying closed as the tendrils returned to the Imperator's side. Thel said, "You knew from the moment he walked in, didn't you? Why even give him the chance?"

The Imperator explained, "My guess is he doesn't know what they said here. Why should he care? It's likely in their home, their targets can't see or remember what happens in the Metaverse hence why these 'seasoned thieves'. So, I'll reveal I can see into the Metaverse, but not that I know he's a traitor. I'll tell him he has no need to enter the Metaverse to protect me. My heart is kept safe and I have an ally that will do anything to get on my good side."

Thel bowed his head and said, "Very well sir. And what of the Thieves themselves?"

The Imperator opened the scrying portal again, showing the Thieves talking once again.

"Record this. Use the important visual descriptors not covered by masks to narrow it down. Hair color, hair style, voices. Find them and arrest them. Have Mistral help you. Her drones will narrow down the threat in no time!"

Thel held up a small metallic orb-like device that flashed, preserving the image of the Thieves and recording their voices. He pressed it again, flashing the image up for the two to see. "I'll start working on this immediately" he said, entering the elevator, leaving the Imperator alone. He walked to the massive window, looking over his city.

Then she appeared. Behind him. Still pale and still bloody. Glowing eyes and mouth. The world grew distorted and deafening once again. "Trying to hold the monster inside? Don't fight what you are! I am what YOU broke!"

The Imperator stayed staring out the window not even turning to acknowledge the voice in his head, "You're right. I did break you. But it doesn't matter. I'll fix it. I'll fix everything. I'll make us whole."

She disappeared. The world was calm and quiet. And he was all alone once again...