Debt of the Gifted

Verse 1: The Weight of the Haori

In a house where the embers never die,

Born to a lineage reaching for the sky.

The Flame Hashira—a title, a name,

A bloodline forged in a holy flame.

Young Kyojuro, with eyes like the sun,

Watched the training his father had begun.

Shinjuro stood tall, the breath in his chest,

The pride of the Rengoku, better than the rest.

Verse 2: The Mother’s Mandate

But the hearth grew cold as the winter drew near,

Ruka spoke soft, with a voice calm and clear.

On her deathbed, she whispered the truth of the light:

"The strong are born gifted to finish the fight."

"To protect the weak is a debt you must pay,

Carry this burden, don’t turn away."

With a final embrace, her spirit took flight,

Leaving a spark in the dark of the night.

Chorus

Set your heart ablaze, let the fire burn high!

Even if the world tells you hope is a lie.

From the ashes of grief, a warrior will rise,

With the strength of a mother in his golden eyes.

The Flame still flickers, the Flame still roars,

To save every soul is the oath that is yours!

Verse 3: The Father’s Fall

The pillar had crumbled, the hero had bowed,

Shinjuro’s spirit was lost in a cloud.

Torn by the mourning, drowned in the wine,

He cast down the records of the ancient line.

"It’s pointless!" he shouted, "You’ve no talent at all!

The flame is a flicker, destined to fall."

He closed every door, he silenced the blade,

Leaving his sons in a bitter, cold shade.

Verse 4: The Self-Forged Blade

But Kyojuro smiled through the sting of the words,

Searching for songs that the ancestors heard.

He opened the scrolls, the pages turned gold,

Studying secrets the family had hold.

No master to guide him, no hand on his shoulder,

But the fire inside him grew brighter and bolder.

He swung through the morning, he breathed through the pain,

Turning his sorrow to spiritual gain.

Bridge

(Tempo slows, building intensity)

"I’m not like you, Father," he says to the wind,

"I’ll carry the justice that you couldn't find."

For Senjuro’s sake, for the innocent’s breath,

He dances with fire, he laughs in the face of death.

Ninth Form! Purgatory! The dragon takes flight,

A beacon of passion in the demon-filled night!

Chorus

Set your heart ablaze, let the fire burn high!

Even if the world tells you hope is a lie.

From the ashes of grief, a warrior will rise,

With the strength of a mother in his golden eyes.

The Flame still flickers, the Flame still roars,

To save every soul is the oath that is yours!

Outro

(Softening, like glowing embers)

Mother, did I do it? Was I strong enough?

In a world that is cruel, in a world that is rough.

The mission is finished, the duty is done...

A Hashira’s legacy...

Bright as the sun