[Intro - Short spoken word, dark, ambient sound] In the quiet before thought, I hear two voices. [Clean, smooth melodic vocal] My son, I’ve walked beside you through the rise and the fall, when your spirit felt heavy, I never left you at all. Your heart was built to survive every wave that collides, so I whisper in the quiet, always here by your side. [Harsh, screamed metal vocal, highly distorted] HE SAYS HE LIFTS YOU UP JUST TO WATCH YOU BREAK? NO. HE THROWS YOU INTO SUFFERING JUST TO WATCH YOU SHAKE. IF HE CARED, WHY LET YOU STRUGGLE WHILE YOU DROWN IN STRAIN? EVERY NIGHT YOU CRIED OUT, HE IGNORED YOUR PAIN. HE LET YOU FALL TO YOUR KNEES WITH NOTHING TO GAIN, LEFT YOU REACHING FOR ANSWERS THAT NEVER CAME. [Clean, smooth melodic vocal] I know those nights felt hollow, like I wasn’t near, but I steadied your thoughts when your heart drowned in fear. My silence wasn’t distance, you never stood alone, I guarded every part of you when your strength was nearly gone. [Harsh, screamed metal vocal, highly distorted] WHERE WAS HE WHEN THE PEOPLE YOU LOVED SLIPPED AWAY? WHERE WAS HE WHEN YOU BEGGED FOR ONE QUIET DAY? IF HE LOVED YOU SO MUCH, WHY LEAVE YOU TO STAY INSIDE ALL THAT GRIEF WITH NO HELP ON THE WAY? SEE THE TRUTH—HE LET YOUR HOPE DECAY. [Clean, smooth melodic vocal] Your sorrow burned through me too, I felt the weight you carried, the memories you held close, the moments never buried. Some pain has no language, some wounds never heal fast, so I held your soul steady till the darkest night had passed. [Harsh, screamed metal vocal, highly distorted] DON’T BELIEVE HIS WORDS, THEY’RE A BEAUTIFUL TRAP. I’M THE PART OF YOU THAT NEVER HOLDS BACK. YOUR FIRE, YOUR POWER, YOUR COURAGE, YOUR FEAR— THAT’S ME, THAT’S THE VOICE YOU ALWAYS HEAR. HE WANTS YOU QUIET, I WANT YOU CLEAR. I WANT YOU TO RISE AND MAKE THEM HEAR. [Guitar Solo (20 seconds)] Enough… I’ve lived with both of you tearing at my mind, one trying to steady me, the other unrefined. My strength came from both of you, not one side aligned, mercy kept me grounded, fire kept me defined. My hurt shaped me, but love kept me alive, I stand in the middle, and that’s how I survive. Without my stillness I would lose control, without my fury I’d never grow whole. Both of you formed what lives in my soul— my courage, my truth, my rise from the toll. I walk forward stronger than you both ever knew, because everything I am… comes from both of you. And as the last doubts fade, and breath settles in my chest again, I realize I am not a war to be won… I am the balance that holds both sides within.
