(A/N) Hey sorry about taking so long on this chapter ;-; My mental health has been rapidly declining recently so it may take some time to write the epilogue

THIRD PERSON POV

"Shouldn't have taken your sweet time, Akira."

The stranger inhaled as time slowed to a crawl, and the wind was reduced to a whisper in comparison to the deafening cries inside their mind. With a simple squeeze of the trigger, the pistol fired with a loud boom, causing the palace to slightly distort.

Crimson red speckled along the checkered floors, similar to the way a soft rain would fall down onto the ground.

Akira looked down at the golden shell casing that landed on the floor, which was now coated in blood. Black eyes trailed up, only to widen and shake in a mixture of anger and fear. His breathing hastened to a quicker pace as he could feel his stomach begin to churn.

"(Y/N)...?"

The female did not respond to his words. Her mind began to grow feverish, as if intoxicated. She stumbled across her words, her face contorting into one of pain.

“Akira…” 

Paralyzing fear spread through her body like icy, liquid metal. Her legs soon gave way, leaving her to drop to her knees and her body to collapse onto the floor. 

"(Y/N)!"

The boy rushed down to her side, his arms wrapping themselves around her body, cradling the weak girl. A single, salty tear began to drop down his face. Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. Akira leaned down closer to (Y/N)'s chest, and as his grip on her began to tighten, he began to cry with the force of a person vomiting on all fours.

The intruder let out a dry laugh at the scene that showed before him. It was honestly pathetic, observing the oh-so great leader of the Phantom Thieves now cry and break down like a baby.

And he relished in watching it. After all, it was Akira’s fault that (Y/N) got shot.

The boy in question suddenly turned to face the trespasser. His eyes may have been blurred because of the tears, but he could recognize the look and style anywhere. His brows narrowed.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Akira yelled, although he had a strong feeling he already knew the answer.

“Akira, don’t tell me you really don’t realize by now.” A smirk formed on his lips.  “You’d think you would recognize your own self, don’t you agree?”

The stranger looked almost exactly like Akira, except for two key differences. One, his clothes. Almost exactly the same as Jokers, except the colors were much more darker and faded out, with a small gold crown atop his head. Two, his eyes. The shade of neon yellow that would resemble a black cats in the middle of the night; the unmistakable sign of a shadow self.

The shadow gave a grimace of wry amusement, crossing his arms in lax judgement.

"Honestly though, you should've expected this! What did you think would happen when you left a part of yourself behind?"

Akira looked back to the fallen girl in his arms, sighing as he knew the shadow was right. 

"You're not me. You're just a cognitive form of myself, imaginary."

All of his melancholic grief disappeared for the two as he heard the phrase come out of his original self.

He held back a laugh at the thought. Him, imaginary? 

What a joke.

'You're just a cognitive form of myself.  Imaginary.'

The shadow form looked at the bleeding girl in Akira's arms, giving a dwindled-out chuckle as head swayed up and down in timing with his insane bits of laughter. He suddenly lurched forward, his body now still as a statue. As the words dribbled off of his chin, he said with a glare, “Imaginary? You really think that everything that has happened to you and her was just make believe?"

Akira remained silent.

"That's what I thought."

"Although it is a shame…" He began once more. "I truly did love (Y/N). More than anything or anyone." The shadow hesitated for a moment, before raising the gun once more. 

"So that's why you need to die. If you aren't around, then the two of us can stay here for all eternity!" 

Akira’s mind began to wonder. While he didn’t his shadow self to kill him, he also didn’t want his darling to suffer any longer.

His false smile faltered at the sound of her fading breath, nervousness teeming at the edges of his lips.He knew what he had to do, regardless of how much it hurt him to do so.

But if he couldn’t have her, then no one could.

Akira leaned down, his eyes closing softly as he gave one last kiss to his darling.

"I'm so sorry, (Y/N)."

Once he gave his goodbye, Akira summoned his persona for a final time, tears threatening to fall once more.

“Arsene?”

The creature hummed.

“Kill (Y/N).”

Arsene complied, his red smile seemingly growing by the second. With the point of a finger, blue and purple flames began to engulf (Y/N) in a fiery blaze. Akira didn’t seem to mind the heat, only cradling the burning body closer to his chest.

A high pitched scream suddenly echoed throughout the palace. Bits and pieces that made up the castle started crumbling down, the floor cracking as the ground below rumbled with the strength of a great typhoon.

“What have you done?!” The shadow screamed out in agony as his body began to rot. Sections of his skin disintegrated, as pure black liquid oozed out of his arms and legs.

"You know what happens when you destroy the treasure, right?" Akira gave a smirk; the final thing his shadow self saw as his form was erased from existence. 

That sneer disappeared as he saw what remained of his once beloved haven. Nothing but chunks of ground remained, and with Arsene having left, him and (Y/N) were left alone to perish.

A white light shone throughout the area, signaling the final end for the two. 

Akira let out a slight chuckle at the severity of the situation. He had to admit, he didn't think this was going to be how he died. 

He looked over at the burnt corpse next to him. (E/C) eyes stared back, a glossy look permanently sealed over her expression. 

In his final moments,  

"I love you."

He could've sworn he heard an "I love you too."

Closing his eyes, Akira Kurusu's body went limp as the entirety of the palace was destroyed. A flash of white, then nothing.

And thus came the death of Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves.

(A/N) The ending feels kind half assed but idc at this point I'm tired

Also I took some liberties with how palaces and shadows work