[Verse 1]The Outcome (The Final Separation)(The drums completely cut out, leaving only a single, haunting cello drone and the sound of a heavy grandfather clock ticking.)Reader 1 (Left Channel):(Sound: Thud! The final left card drops)Card 5: The Six of Swords (Upright)My outcome is a quiet boat moving through the dark.Leaving the shore with a very small spark.Reader 2 (Right Channel):(Sound: Thud! The final right card drops)Card 6: The Hermit (Upright)And my outcome is a lantern on a mountain of stone.Walking up the path, completely alone.
[Verse 2]The Immediate Aftermath (The Echo)(The heavy boom-bap drums drop back in with full force after the final cards are dealt. A ghostly, high-pitched female vocal choir layers beneath the ominous cello loop, creating a vast, empty sonic space. The vocals are rapid and biting.)Reader 1 (Left Channel):(Sound: Slide... A card is dragged slowly across the left velvet cloth)Card 7: The Four of Swords (Upright)So you take your sanctuary, horizontal on the tomb,Seeking out a truce inside a silent, frozen room.Three swords hanging on the wall, one carved in the stone,A forced meditation where your thoughts can be alone.You call it a recovery, you call it an escape,But you’re just a statue hiding under funeral drape.You shut down the system just to keep yourself intact,Paralyzed and hollowed by the gravity of fact.Reader 2 (Right Channel):(Sound: Slide... A card is dragged across the right velvet cloth)Card 8: The Nine of Swords (Upright)While you sleep in your castle, my night is a cage,Sitting up in bed, ripping through a dark page.Nine blades on the wall pointing straight at my back,Waking up at midnight in a panic attack.Face buried in my hands, crying tears full of lead,Replaying every single word that you never said.A playground of paranoia, guilt, and regret,Paying off a debt that I can never forget.You found your peace by checking out of the fight,Leaving me to wrestle with the ghouls of the night.Character 1 (Left Channel - Female Voice, Sharp and Trembling):You think I froze you out?! I had to survive!I pulled out the blade just to keep me alive!You dragged me down in your turbulent sea,Drowning yourself and then blaming it on me!Character 2 (Right Channel - Male Voice, Aggressive and Desperate):I capsize the ship?! You just walked out the door!Left me to bleed on the battlefield floor!You look at your ships while my world goes to ash,You don't even care that we're bound to crash!Character 1 (Left Channel):Because you fight with shadows! You're fighting the air!Holding onto ghosts that were never even there!Character 2 (Right Channel):Because the ghost are real when you leave me alone. Sitting in the dark on a shattered stone throne!
[ Outro] (The pizzicato violins return very softly, slowly fading out into the background.)Reader 1 (Left): The water is calm ahead.Reader 2 (Right): The mountain is cold tonight.Both (Center Channel, whispering): The decks are put away. The reading is closed.
GrizzlyJones
