[Verse] I learned the weight of a sword before my name Learned how screams settle into stone Every mile I claimed for the crown Asked for blood And took it alone They praised the hand that never shook As it wrote the border in bone Victory rots if you stare too long But it feeds you If you’re cold I buried boys who called me brother I buried faith beside the dead Each prayer tasted like iron Each god Turned its head [Pre-Chorus] Power does not whisper It demands Love does not save you It brands [Chorus] They will say I chose damnation Like it wasn’t already mine Say I crossed a line for love When time was the one that crossed me first I did not beg for mercy I did not kneel or pray I chose to remain When everything else decayed [Verse] She moved like warmth through carrion halls A living wound I couldn’t close I felt my hunger learn her shape And cut its name Into my bones Sergei still believed in morning Still thought the sun was kind I watched him touch what time denied me And felt The world misalign [Pre-Chorus] If gods keep score, they cheat If fate is fair, it lies I asked for one unending truth And paid with every life [Chorus] They will say I chose damnation Like it wasn’t already mine Say I crossed a line for love When time was the one that crossed me first I did not beg for mercy I did not kneel or pray I chose to remain This is my domain [Breakdown] [Outro] I am the ancient I am the land I am the ancient I am the land
