Steps on the Dao

[Verse 1]
Bare feet on frost
Old pines breathe slow
Cold spring in my hands
I drink the sky
Three thousand scrolls
Ash on the floor
I burn each word
To carve my own sign
[Chorus]
Step by step on the Dao
Every wound is a vow
Thunder in my veins now
I will break, I will bow
Then rise again
On this endless Dao
[Verse 2]
Night storm above
Cave mouth of stone
Qi runs wild
Like a hunted wolf
Fail, then sit
Till the dawn turns gold
One breath, one spark
My marrow glows
[Chorus]
Step by step on the Dao
Every wound is a vow
Thunder in my veins now
I will break, I will bow
Then rise again
On this endless Dao
[Bridge]
Who was I
Before the dust
A name, a face
A handful of rust
If the heavens
Close their gate
I’ll split the clouds
With my own fate (hey!)
[Chorus]
Step by step on the Dao
Every wound is a vow
Thunder in my veins now
I will break, I will bow
Then rise again
On this endless Dao

Cinematic Eastern-fantasy score with male vocals; guqin and bamboo flute over deep drums, subtle choirs in the hook. Verses stay sparse and intimate, low strings pulsing under the voice; chorus widens with layered chants, cymbal swells, and soaring erhu lines. Final section lifts in key with stronger drum accents and echoing backing vocals for a mythic, ascendant climax.