The Architect of Ashes

(A slow, steady bassline—thump, thump, thump)

I built you a cathedral out of matchsticks and bone

I gave you a crown, then I left you alone.

I watched from the rafters, I breathed in the damp

While you tried to find light from a flickerless lamp.

You called me a savior; I whispered a lie

I was just teaching you how to say "goodbye."

(The "ticking" gets faster; violins begin to screech)

The ink on the contract is starting to bleed

I sowed the garden, but I planted the weed.

And the walls…

The walls are beginning to lean.

(Crashing drums—chaotic and loud)

Burn it down! Let the velvet turn black!

There’s a knife in the door and a weight on your back!

I’m the architect of every bridge that you burn

I’m the lesson you never quite managed to learn!

Call it a tragedy, call it a crime

But I’m the one holding the hands of the time!

(The music stays heavy, driving forward)

Don’t look for the exit, I boarded the door

I’ve seen this performance a thousand times before.

You’re crying for mercy, you’re clawing the floor

But honey, the "mercy" don't live here no more.

I didn't break you to see if you’d heal

I broke you to see if the engine was real.

(Everything drops out except a distorted electric guitar)

Is it cold? (Is it cold?)

In the house that I made?

Are you scared? (Are you scared?)

Of the debt to be paid?

(Vocal builds to a scream)

I AM THE DEBT!

(Maximum volume—pure adrenaline)

Burn it down! Let the velvet turn black!

There’s a knife in the door and a weight on your back!

I’m the architect of every bridge that you burn

I’m the lesson you never quite managed to learn!

Call it a tragedy, call it a crime

But I’m the one holding the hands of the time!

(The bassline returns to the slow, steady thump)

The smoke is a curtain.

The fire is the play.

I’ll see you tomorrow…

When you’ve faded away.

(Sound of a single match being struck, then silence)