Altars of Her Skin

Altars of Her Skin [lo-fi metal, dark ambient texture, slow ritual tempo, female lead vocal (Lyrica imprint), breathy intimacy, layered whisper doubles, soft distortion haze, distant choir pads, low sub pulse, vinyl crackle artifacts, melancholic atmosphere, restrained percussion, cinematic reverb, emotional climax near final chorus] Intro I thought love was a sunrise something clean and new a promise in open hands a light breaking through I walked in with open eyes heart wide like a door never counting the cost never keeping the score I believed in forever in fire that wouldn't dim never knowing the prayers I'd whisper in skin Verse 1 Some were soft like summer quiet warmth in their touch gentle laughter at midnight when nothing meant too much Some were storms in the distance rolling thunder inside beautiful in their chaos like waves that never decide Some were poison disguised as the sweetest relief kissing scars into memory carving scripture in grief But I stayed at the altar every time it began offering pieces of heart with unsteady hands Chorus I knelt at the altars of her skin every love a prayer within some were mercy, some were flame every altar spoke my name I gave pieces I couldn't reclaim just to feel devotion again standing now where silence has been among the altars of her skin Verse 2 Some were mirrors of heaven some were lessons in pain some were ghosts in the hallway whispering my name Some held warmth like shelter safe from the dark outside some were knives in velvet waiting patient to slide Some were wild constellations burning bright in the night some were shadows of longing fading out of sight But I worshipped every moment every breath, every sin never seeing the pattern written under the skin Chorus I knelt at the altars of her skin every love a prayer within some were mercy, some were flame every altar spoke my name I gave pieces I couldn't reclaim just to feel devotion again standing now where silence has been among the altars of her skin Bridge Devotion isn't gentle it demands its due every altar asks a sacrifice every vow cuts through I thought love was salvation something holy and bright but even sacred fire can burn through the night Now the echoes grow quiet the prayers grow thin only memory walking through altars of skin Final Chorus I knelt at the altars of her skin every love a prayer within some were heaven, some were war some left scars I can't ignore Still I gave what I had to give every heartbeat, every hymn now I walk through what remains of the altars of her skin Outro No bitterness left in the silence no blame left to defend only the ghosts of devotion and the man I became in the end Love was never the altar nor the fire within It was everything I learned at the altars of her skin.