Sae Niijima spirals until she drowns. Makoto hears the song of a fallen angel, then closes her eyes.


[3 Years ago]


"Go on, open up." Said the silver haired woman as she encouraged her baby sister to open up a manilla folder she handed to her.

The young girl glanced curiously between her father and sister both, then slowly opened the folder. Within it, sat a set of financial documents. Makoto's eyebrows rose, not quite understanding. She passed it to her father, who cautiously took the folder and analyzed its contents. Sae looked on smugly.

The policeman's eyes hardened as he put the folder down and stared at his eldest daughter critically. "What is this?"

"An investment account on behalf of Makoto. The earnings will then be turned into Makoto's college funds. And even if she doesn't use the money for tuition, she'll still need to have her own money so she can concentrate on her studies instead of working." The young prosecutor finished enthusiastically.

Makoto looked awestruck and also a bit intimidated at her sister's extravagant 'gift'. "Um, you don't have to go through all this trouble for me sis!"

Sae waved her away with a smile "Nonsense. You're going to need it and I'm doing it because I want to. I have a bit to spare now that I'm done paying my own college debts."

Their father seemed to think differently, however. "Well, that's rather generous of you, but I'm afraid we'll have to refuse."

Sae was taken aback by the refusal. "Excuse me?"

Masayuki didn't back down. "We refuse. I will take care of Makoto's college situation myself."

An extremely tense and charged silence ensued their father's words. Makoto sat in a mix of apprehension and disappointment, and Sae straightened herself in her chair.

"Masayuki," She spat with immense disrespect. "I'm not asking you, I'm informing you I set these funds for Makoto. You have no grounds for refusing. It's not your money."

Her father looked murderous. "Makoto, go to your room."

Masayuki's words left no room for arguments. Obediently and swiftly, Makoto left the room, but not before throwing a worried look over her shoulder to her sister, who sent her a reassuring smile back.
Their father slammed his hands on the table as soon as his youngest was out of the dining room. "What the hell do you think you are doing!?"

The eldest daughter narrowed her eyes. "I'm doing what is best for my sister."

"You have no right!" Her father roared.

Sae, not backing down from a challenge, rose up and shouted back. "Why the hell are you so worked up over this!?"

"You're setting an awful example for your sister, flaunting all this money and undermining me in front of her!"

"Because you're clearly not doing anything for Makoto's future! Do you think your stupid job is going to be enough to prepare for her future!? You're drowned in debts!" She taunted with excessive condescension.

"I'm your father, show me some goddamn respect!" He immediately retorted. "And you're not doing this for Makoto, you're doing this to get back at me!"

"Get back at you? Damn you dad! Not everything is about YOU!" She shouted back ferociously.

"You're trying to overstep again! Need I to remind you that you are NOT Makoto's Mother!?"

Sae looked as if she had been slapped. "Why the hell are you saying that! I'd never disrespect my mother's memory like that!"

"But that's exactly what you have been doing by making decisions like that! I am Makoto's father. I am YOUR father, It's my call, not yours!"

"Some father you are!"

"Watch your fucking tone!" His voice boomed.

"Stop! Please, stop fighting!" A scared, younger voice cried out.
Makoto could be seen in the doorway, crying. Both adults deflated. Sae looked regretful and their father seemed tired.

"Makoto, go back to your room." Her father said.

"N-No! If I go, you're going to fight again."

"Don't make me repeat myself." He said with a firm tone, clearly not in the mood to fight with his other daughter.

Sae, sensing that her father's patience with Makoto would run out if she stayed, decided to make an exit. She approached Makoto and gave her a gentle hug, then ruffled her hair. "It's fine, I'll go."

Masayuki had other ideas. "Where the hell do you think you're going!? I'm not done talking with you!"

Sae threw a cold look at her father "No, but I'm done talking with you."

She forcefully slammed the front door on her way out.


[The Present Day]


Sae was not doing well.

Staring at the face of her dead parent brought her so many conflicted emotions. Hate, so much hate, and anger, at him, at the world. Feelings of betrayal, abandonment, regret.

Feelings of happiness, love. She almost wanted to forgive him, almost wanted to rip those chains and run to him, to ask for forgiveness herself.

In the years leading up to his death, Sae and her father clashed constantly. Her wanting to break away from their family unity to pursue her ambitious goals at a young age, and her father risking his life constantly to play hero were the major points of contention between the two of them.

One time, they had a truce after she went behind his back to sit the bar exam while still in highschool. Back then, he confessed that he was very proud of her, and that she would always be fine because she didn't need him like Makoto did.

'But I need you too' , she wanted to say. 'I'm scared too. Don't leave us. Don't leave me.'

And then one morning, they fought. The next day, he died. She didn't get to say goodbye.

She could never bring herself to speak of the last conversation she had with her father with anybody else, especially not Makoto, who loved their father dearly and was dealing with her own grief at the time. And even though her younger uncle Tatsuya looked at her and just knew she wasn't alright, she averted her eyes and pretended that she was fine, that Makoto's grief took precedence over her own.

So she moved on, she did what she had to do, became who she had to be. She didn't need her father, and she feared nothing. He left her and Makoto anyway. She wasn't going to be a burden on her uncles either. She would make it, until Makoto thrived on her own and she finished her promise to her mother.

The beat of the ridiculous gavel brought her back from her own messy headspace. Her father's doppelganger stayed silent with a grief stricken face.

The Manager continued with a mocking tone. "As I was saying, we need you to deal with your daddy issues. So-"

"You need to tell her what happened, and how things were for you. If not today, one day. She should know the truth." Her father's double interrupted her other self, and both her and the Manager froze.

"I- I can't" She whispered.

"You can. You must." He insisted with a gentle tone.

"She loves you too much, I can't." She shook her head in denial.

"I wish things had been different. I wish I was a better father to you." He spoke with deep grief lacing his voice.

"Dad…I-" She whispered, choking down a sob.

He stared at her, sadly but patient, unlike how she last saw him.

She couldn't say anything. Her throat was closing up, her heart beating fast. Not far from her, she could see Makoto trying to hold herself together as well.

"Sae, you are my firstborn, the one that made me a father. My very own pride and joy, so very much like your mother. Take heart, child, don't lose it."

She wanted to cry, and to run to her father's arms, scream herself hoarse, and beg for forgiveness. But she was in chains, and even if she could break out of them, her father's double faded, leaving her full of regrets and pain, once more.

The Manager soon regained her senses and glared at the empty witness stand. "Hm this one was faulty. Ugh."

Below the word "THIEF", the score changed from '1' to '2'.


Several questions ran through Makoto's mind. She was disappointed that her father's cognition came and left so suddenly, but most importantly, her sister's interaction with the cognition scared Makoto.
Her gut instincts had told her some awful fight had happened between her sister and father the day before he died. But she kept quiet for Sae's benefit. A dark part of her had whispered that it was probably Sae's fault anyways, but she would always feel shame afterwards for thinking so lowly of her sister.

Knowing now that her instincts were proven right was jarring and Makoto was afraid to learn of the specifics, but she knew she had to know eventually. Whatever it was, it was clear that Sae regretted it and that was what mattered, wasn't it?
Now was not the time for it, for she didn't know if they were even going to survive in the first place.
All thanks to my own stupidity…

She was shaken out of her own miserable musings when a woman that looked eerily like herself, but with her hair longer and her expression colder, was brought forth as the fourth witness.

"Natsumi Niijima, Formerly Natsumi Suou, mother of the defendant."

"Mother? I wouldn't say so. The daughter I gave birth to wouldn't have done the things this… Woman has done."

Sae paled and Makoto herself was startled at her harsh words.

Now, Makoto didn't know her mother well, because she was little when she died of a terminal disease. That being said, she vaguely remembers a very kind and calm woman who would always soothe and play with her.
The way Sae's cognition of their mother spoke of her elder sister was awful and Makoto's fists tightened in anger. It was clear to her now that her sister's shadow was done playing nice.


Sae just wanted the night to end so she could wake up from her nightmare. As soon as she thought she was going to fall from a precipice, she was held back for a respite, only then to be pushed forward once more, even closer to the edge.

Her father, now her mother. Her mother, who died so young, leaving behind a toddler and an angsty grade schooler for daughters, as well as a grieving husband.

Her mother, who made Sae promise things. This woman, who was told by her uncles to have been ruthless and unforgiving in court before she discovered motherhood.

If her father was everything to Makoto, her mother was everything to Sae. Her mother was not just her role model, but her guiding light in spirit whenever her father was being difficult and Makoto was throwing a tantrum.

To hear this double use her mother's lips and proclaim that she was not her daughter hurt so much, hurt so bad.

And it was a lie.

"My mother would never say this. Don't… Don't tarnish my mother's memory too! She'd never say this, never!" She shouted, beyond angry and hurt.

The Manager chuckled darkly. "Oh no no, you're not escaping this. This is the moment I have waited for all night. Please Mrs. Niijima… Tell us more. Tell us the ugly truths about your daughter."

"My daughter… Or should I say, Sae Niijima, is a farce, a disgrace and my greatest shame."

"No! That's not true…" Sae was in full denial.

Her mother's doppelganger continued, her tone cold. "My own father was imprisoned unjustly, framed for a crime he didn't commit and he spent 10 years in prison for it."

"Hm so you'd say justice is important to you?"

"Justice is everything to me. It's a matter of right and wrongs. To know that my own daughter disregarded her morals for something as corrupt as seeking promotions and simpering for her superiors simply disgusts me."

"Mother…" Sae whispered, deeply ashamed of herself.

"And that's not all. Her treatment of her sister is appalling. I asked her to take care of Makoto and what does she do? She emotionally abuses her sister so she could feel better about herself. Pathetic and disgusting."

Genuinely horrified, Sae protested. "I don't… I don't abuse Makoto, mother, no!"

"But you do! You are selfish, petty, callous, envious and harsh. Your sister is nothing but kindness and patience, while you're full of dark, shameful and resentful thoughts towards her and everyone else!"

The Manager laughed in delighted amusement, sporting the most evil glint in her eyes. "My, how vile!"

The prosecutor flinched in further shame. Sae always tried her hardest to not externalize some of the most dark thoughts she had about Makoto, because it was her stress and frustration making her think those shameful thoughts most of the time.

But sometimes she couldn't help it, and she would go and say something that she would regret saying, while also pressuring her sister to always be on her very best behavior as if to mask her pathetic displays of jealousy and bitterness.

As if sensing her shameful thoughts, her mother looked her square in the eye. "What a disappointment. You are not my Sae, my Sae died with me!"

The Manager's demonic, harsh laugh echoed horribly across the room.


Makoto was concerned about Sae's emotional state. Her shadow was obviously toying with her, bringing people that she cared about to throw her flaws at her own face. The entire situation amounted to her sister simply torturing and judging herself via her cognitions, and she feared the palace's distortion and the Shadow's unpredictability would cause something akin to a psychotic breakdown in her sister.

So when her mother shouted to say that she died with her, she decided that enough was enough, she had to try and reach out to Sae's messy psyche.

"Stop it! That's cruel!"

The cold and harsh snarl on the woman's face softened upon spotting her. "Makoto…You grew up into such a fine young woman. I am so, so sorry that she hurt you and made you feel bad about yourself, my love."

"I…" Makoto hesitated, not expecting the whiplash from cold to gentle.

Her mother kept gazing at her with such softness that gave her pause. What could she say to defend Sae?

'She doesn't emotionally abuse me, she is going through a lot, and this is my fault anyways, she-'

'My priestess, don't delude yourself with sweet lies and unjust blame.' Her persona protested, gently but firmly. Makoto shook head sadly, realizing she was trying to justify Sae's horrible thoughts and considerations regarding her.

She was not immune to Sae's callousness, and a part of her was heartbroken to know that her sister bore some envy and resentment towards her. Another part of herself hated Sae too, hated what she became. She knew she had to fight for her older sister but that split second of doubt was enough to make her pause, and that scared Makoto.

"You're my only true daughter, Makoto." The woman who looked so much like her whispered, sounding like a coiled snake poised to strike.

'That is not to say you need to give up that which you hold dear. Reach out to her in truth.'

Makoto regained her fire. "That's not fair, I don't think my real mother would speak like this!" She shouted back.

Her mother's double's cold demeanor returned instantly "So you would defend this vile woman?"

"She is not vile, and with all my heart! I didn't get a chance to know you, and I'm sorry for that. But I have known Sae all my life, and you're right, she's lost her way. But it's not too late to change that! It's never too late!"

No matter how petty and cruel Sae could be sometimes, she was still her sister, and it hurt Makoto to see her doing this to herself.

She wouldn't let her.


Sae's heart melted in a mess of pain, sadness and pride at Makoto's passionate defense of her.

'Oh Makoto…'

Her mother's double sneered at them both and then shook her head. "Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you then."

She disappeared, like the others, with no closure at all, leaving Sae to mourn her broken promises.

The Manager grinned and then started to laugh harshly, as if in a strange mix of pain and euphoria. Another score for the house.


Once more regretting her actions and her own misgivings, Makoto beat herself up for her choices tonight. She could hear Anat giving her strength and resolve, however.

Stay strong my priestess. Do not back down from the path of strife.

Even so, the brunette still worried about their predicament. The others had no idea where she was, and she was bound too tightly to perform an escape that wouldn't end in tragedy.

The Manager looked more and more unhinged, and Makoto could swear the shadow was almost coming to distort into her true form, something that alarmed her.

Thankfully, she didn't, and merely scored a chip for herself on the scoreboard. The total score being 2 in favor of Makoto, and 3 in favor of the Manager.

Another witness was escorted in. The younger Niijima did a double take, and then her heart sank.

Staring right back at her, was Sae's cognition of Makoto herself.


Still emotional after her mother's judgment, the last witness's appearance provoked a visceral reaction on Sae.

Standing before her was a carbon copy of her sister Makoto, with a few key differences. The biggest was that she looked younger. Not quite a child, judging by her uniform. This was how Makoto looked in her first year of junior high.

Something about this Makoto made her feel melancholic. The Manager just smirked maliciously.

"Well this lovely brat here needs no introduction, I hope. So let's get to the point. Makoto, do you honestly think your sister cares about you?"

The young girl, too, looked down sadly, and stayed quiet while staring at her counterpart. That in itself was answer enough.

The real Makoto however wouldn't take that "That's not true, I know she cares, I know!" She insisted.

The Manager was merciless, however, as she sent venom towards Makoto in retaliation. "Isn't it time you acknowledge our situation? Right now you're useless to me!"

The younger girl looked as if she was slapped, and her cognition version seemed to shrink on herself as well.

Sae closed her eyes. Her stomach coiled painfully, extreme shame and regret overtaking her.

For several moments, nobody wanted to say anything.

As if running out of patience, the Manager stared pointedly at Sae. "Let's give you an incentive, shall we?"

Then she snapped her fingers to the real Makoto's captors, and they started to beat her up right in front of Sae.


The first thing Makoto heard was her elder sister's shrieks of terror as the first blow was landed. She held her ground and gritted her teeth, trying her best to not give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry. The shadows of her sister's palace were strong, and her chains bound tight and painfully. She couldn't reach out to her mask.

But still, Queen soldiered on, even if she eventually cried out in pain. She could hear Sae's desperation on her behalf, begging for it to stop. Makoto tried to be strong for her sister, but after a while, she was getting close to blacking out.

She resisted with every fiber of her being.


Sae was trembling. "Please, no more. I can't take any of this anymore…" She pleaded with her other self.

The Manager made a halting motion with her hand and the beatings ceased immediately.

"Then stop fleeing. Stop hiding and face the truth."

Sae Niijima is corrupt.

Sae Niijima is selfish.

Sae Niijima is abusive.

Seeing her little sister being beaten up because of her brought all her arrogance and emotional barriers down, crashing violently.

Sae Niijima is cynical, arrogant, a control freak, a bitter bitch, a sore loser, an envious cretin, a woman scorned, a pessimist and a defeatist.

Sae Niijima is afraid and has lost her way.

"Ask the witness your question. NOW." The Manager shrieked, in a distorted, growly voice.

Makoto let out a pained grunt of protest, as if trying to muster all of her remaining strength for her big sis. A fighter through and through, that girl, even when she was in danger. Witnessing such a scene, a couple of tears fell from Sae's face as she cried in shame, a crippling sense of failure and defeat clinging to her.

Before their father's passing, Makoto was a happy, loud child. Still a good girl, a good student and a well behaved child. But she was also happier, chattier, more open.

Makoto idolized their father as if he were a superhero, and put him on the highest of pedestals.

But it was to Sae that she'd come crying whenever someone bullied her, or when it was dark outside during a storm. It was with Sae that she'd throw her temper tantrums, then calm down and apologize, hugging her tight. She would beg her big sis to let her and Buchi-kun stay up to wait for dad.

Sae remembers pushing away potential friends and acquaintances to focus on success. She remembers giving up her childhood, her teenage years, being forced to grow up to help out their small family after their mother's passing.

She didn't care back then because when the house was silent and their dad was away at work, she still had Makoto, who resembled their mom so much it hurt.

But her dad was gone and let her and Makoto down. Makoto continued to idolize their father, while Sae had no other choice but to drown in responsibilities.

'It's not her fault. It's not yours either.' A voice not unlike her own whispered in her mind.

She took some time to recompose herself. Then she turned to her sister's doppelganger.

"Makoto…" She paused, afraid to get to the crux of the problem, but with no other options at this point. She soon continued. "Why are we here, in this awful place? What have you been hiding from me?"

The child stayed silent, looking afraid. Behind them the real Makoto whimpered in pain. Sae spared a glance to her real sister, feeling dejected. She turned her attention back towards the cognition.

"Hey, you remember the promise that I made you?" She asked in a gentle tone, in truth directing the words to her real sister.

The younger girl looked at her real self, who nodded back at her.

"Yes, big sis. If I get in trouble and dad isn't around, I need to shout for you, and you will come for me."

The doppelganger younger girl smiled with real happiness and awe of her big sister.

Sae turned to face the real Makoto.


"You said you would save me from the villains if dad was not around." Makoto rasped out.

At first, Makoto thought her sister's cognition of her represented how childish she was to Sae. But seeing her normally cold and stressed sister displaying emotions turned things around in her heart. This was the Sae she remembered, her big sis, who protected and raised her.

If Makoto was going to die tonight, she wouldn't die a failure. She was going full throttle with the truth.

"I want to answer you myself…"

The Manager raised an eyebrow but stayed otherwise silent. Sae was looking at her expectantly. Makoto looked her sister in the eyes.

"This place… This place is how you see the world. Your cognition, your heart. I wanted to come here to see how you saw the world. I was selfish and afraid of losing you, and ruined everything because of that."

It had been years since Makoto had Sae's undivided attention like this. She didn't tear her eyes from Makoto even if her own hands in chains trembled.

The younger girl kept going. "Sis…For the past months… I haven't been truthful with you." A couple of tears fell down on Makoto's cheeks, mixing with the blood dribbling down her chin.

Queen was broken and hurt, but with a resolve to do it right by her sister.

Forgive me guys. Forgive me Ren.

"Sae, I am so, so sorry. I am a Phantom Thief."


Phantom…Thief.

Makoto was a Phantom Thief.

Sae recoiled in her chair, in absolute horror.

All those times Sae was frustrated from dead ends at work.

All those nights she had worked until she passed out, trying to do her job, only to be overshadowed by them.

"No…!"

She lived with one all along.

"Makoto… Y-you're…?"

Her sister hung her head in shame.

WHY WHY WHY!?

Something shattered inside Sae. She started to feel such a wave of rage, grief and sorrow. But to whom was it directed to?

Towards Makoto, who lied to her face?

Towards her parents, who died and left them behind?

Towards her doppelganger and this sadistic game of hers?

"You…" Sae was venomously turning towards the woman in the position of judge.

Towards herself, who was willing to betray everything that she stood for, once before?

The manager had a manic grin, becoming more and more monstrous, on the cusp of something awful. "Well it seems that the last point goes very much against Makoto. I suppose it means the trial is concluded in my favor, and we can proceed to the executions. Or do we have words of objection from the defense?"

There was a storm brewing inside her, and she was drowning with it. Nothing made sense anymore.

Is this it? Am I undergoing a psychotic breakdown?

No, not a breakdown. Something so, so much better. But only if you want it to be.

It came from HER.

Sae's chains broke. She stood up and stepped forward, towards her other distorted, ugly self, with thundering steps.

"You…" Sparks of blue flames started to crackle around her.

"You are responsible for EVERYTHING! I want you GONE!"

The demon looked her in the eye.

"But darling… I am thou."

She could hear a whisper coming from her sister. "Sis…Remember your justice..."

'My…Justice…'

'When did everything go so wrong?'

'Why did I follow Makoto? '

'Why didn't she trust me?'

'Why did I start caring for her safety only tonight?'

'When did I ever stop caring?'

'I am sorry mom, I have failed you. And I have failed Makoto.'

'Justice…'

She roared with the storm. "This isn't justice. This is destruction. Take me with you if you must, but I want Makoto out of this. I want you to stop this madness NOW!"

Time stopped. The shadows receded, Makoto crumpled to the ground, no longer being held back.

Time resumed. The Manager changed. Gone were her masks, her falsehoods, and her monstrous transformation. In her place, it was Sae Niijima again. As she was, as if in a mirror, down to every single detail with the exception of her golden eyes.

"Are you going to step down from your treacherous court of envy, and rise to the clouds to herald judgement day instead?"

Within Sae's heart, sat the answer.

Remember your justice.

"I remember my justice. I will change. I will do what's necessary. For Makoto. For myself!"

"Then let's make a bet, you and I. It's double or nothing now. No more cheating, play it fair and square."

"I understand."

The manager burst into blue flames, purifying away the sins of shadow Sae Niijima. A heavy mask made of metal adorned with spikes formed on Sae's face in a burst of blue ethereal flames.

I am thou.

She screamed in pain and rage, purging the distortions of her heart. It was time to rip off the mask.

Thou art I.

She ripped the mask with all her might, tears and blood pouring for her face as she let out a blood curdling roar. And in her heart, she just knew.


Makoto opened her eyes, awed at the turn of events. Witnessing her sister awake to a persona, Anat resonated deeply within her with joy.

"Sis…" She whispered with her remaining strength.

When it was all over, she could see behind Sae a figure. It was a translucent angel with flowing silvery hair and a metal mask, holding a trumpet in one hand, and a flaming sword in the other. A pair of metallic golden wings adorned the angel's back, with a serpentine tail coiled around their slender body.

Her sister was wearing a full body suit much like her own, but with darker undertones, with pauldrons sharper than hers, while also holding a dangerously looking greatsword with just one hand.

"I am Leviathan, herald of the world's end…" Spoke the persona, with a powerful commanding voice, as if singing a gospel of salvation that only Makoto could hear.

They would live.

Makoto closed her eyes. She knew she had to get up and go to her sister but she no longer had the energy to keep herself awake.


A wave of powerful energy was coursing through Sae's entire body. Somehow, she could understand that her persona, Leviathan, was her.

That the strife of this night would lead to a new path, and she'd have to follow through with her words, or doom the entire world to ruin.

But before she could come to terms with her high, the entire courthouse started to rumble, and the sounds of the casino died down.

She suddenly remembered. "Makoto!"

Sae rushed to her sister and grabbed her, trying to wake her up to no avail. The stones were crumbling down and Sae panicked.

"MAKOTO!"

She was on the verge of spiraling when she heard a childish voice nearby.

"Hey, you!"

Sae looked back and saw the younger version of Makoto near a monster cat with a giant head. The cat was the one yelling. "Let's go, this place is gonna crumble anytime now!"

"Who the hell are you!?" She asked, taken aback by its appearance.

"LATER, LET'S GO NOW!"

She immediately scooped up Makoto in her arms and rushed after the cat and the younger version of her sister. They were being taken to an area which was similar to the courthouse's real fire emergency exits. Sae did not hesitate to rush as fast as she could while carrying her sister.

They finally got to the exit and managed to get down to the first level and out of the courthouse casino. Now out in the open, Sae could spot the street and rushed over, but then she noticed that only she and the cat were still running. She set Makoto down against the wall of another building and rushed back for her sister's younger doppelganger, who stood motionless in front of the crumbling structure as it came down.

Sae shouted. "Mako, come on, I'm taking you to safety!"

The young girl shook her head. "It's ok big sis, she needs you now. You can go now. I'm not real."

Conflicted, the elder Niijima stood frozen until she could hear the cat thingy screeching at her to get away from the building.

The young girl showed Sae a toothy grin. "It's alright sis. Thank you for coming back for me!"

Sae embraced her. "I will always come back for you Makoto!"

She squeezed Sae back in response. "I know!"

Not wasting any more time, Sae rushed back to her companions, scooped up the real Makoto in her arms once more and ran away, never looking back.


A couple of seconds later, Makoto's phone let out a beep.

"The destination has been deleted. You have now returned to the real world."


To be continued…