NIGHTMARE OF PERFECTION

Lyrics

[Full Act I Finale] [climax] [Act I: The Descent] [A blistering, neoclassical guitar solo tears through a double-bass tempest, locking into a furious, galloping heavy metal rhythm] I stumbled from the frozen mist, a beggar with a lute, With empty eyes and hollow hands and frozen, bleeding boots. You took me in, you gave me warmth, you gave me name and song, Not knowing every single step was where I planned them all along! [The tempo drops into a heavy, rhythmic chug as Aramis mimics Arthur's booming, trusting voice] And Arthur dropped his heavy shield, his loyalty a chain, He clapped my shoulder by the fire and whispered through the rain: "You're safe with us, my wandering bard, the road has used you rough!" ...Oh, fools who thought a human bond was ever strong enough! [Act II: The Threshold] [The guitars surge upward in a triumphant, soaring melody, joined by a sweeping operatic choir] We reached the door of the Velvet Crow, the sky was split in gore, The compliance spell was in the meat, the blood was on the floor! Selene gripped her silver hilt, her instincts sharp and cold, She looked right through my human skin and tried to break the mold— [The rhythm cuts to a tense, ringing bassline as Aramis mimics Selene's sharp, panicked warning] “There’s something wrong behind his smile! His eyes are turning deep!” Too late, my sweet! The tide is high! The leviathans wake from their sleep! [Act III: The Betrayal & Climax] [The music grinds to a terrifying, slow-motion doom-metal crawl. Heavy, distorted chords ring out like church bells tolling the end of the world] You thought I was a comrade who had lost his way for three nights, You thought we sought a cure beneath the flashing violet lights! I watched you calculate the math, so diligent and brave— You didn't lead me to the rift! I led you to your grave! [A ferocious, shrieking vocal crescendo over a descending chromatic guitar riff] “FROM THE FIRST STEP ON THE TRAIL, WHEN I CAME TO YOU ALONE— I WAS WEARING YOUR TRUST AND FRIENDSHIP LIKE A SUIT OF MORTAL SOUL!” [The Molting & Outro] [Explosive blast beats and a massive wall of death-metal orchestration erupt. The vocals shift from clean operatic grandeur to a terrifying, multi-layered demonic bellow] HEAR THE CRACK HEAR THE TEAR! SEE THE HUMAN FEATURES SHEAR! LEGS OF IRON, CLAWS OF DREAD— TAKING OVER HUMANS? DEAD! [The music hits a final, colossal, earth-shattering breakdown that vibrates the entire room] THE SOULS ARE STOLEN! THE LEDGER BURNED! THE TIDE HAS COME! THE WHEEL HAS TURNED! I AM THE DEEP! I AM THE FLOOD! I SHED THE SKIN OF BROTHERHOOD! [The guitars sustain into a screaming, feedback-drenched wall of sound as the final choir roars in unison] BEHOLD THE DAWNING OF A NEW AGE. LEVIATHAN! LEVIATHAN! APOCALYPSE IS IN THE AIR THE RIFT AWOKEN THE WORLD IT TARES! LEVIATHAN! LEVIATHAN! LEVIATHAN! LEVIATHAN! [he final, crushing chord cuts instantly to absolute, ringing silence] [outro] [evil laugh] [dark heavy evil strings]