[Cold open — silence, then a processed female voice, warm static under it:] "Raven... are you ready?" [Beat detonates — industrial, mechanical, boost-thruster bass] [Verse 1 — heavily vocoded, flat, machine-cold] Six-two-one. That's the whole obituary Fourth-gen wetware, property, mercenary They cut out the person to install the pilot Frozen between contracts — quiet, compliant Walter says "buddy," but a leash is a leash Thaw the hound out, point it at the breach No name, no grave, no face in the glass Just a debt with a heartbeat and a kill-count amassed [Verse 2 — vocoder thinning slightly] Then Rubicon burning and a corpse in the sand A license, a callsign, pried loose from a hand RAVEN — stolen feathers on a serial number Flying a dead man's name through the thunder But comms keep calling and I keep answering Balteus falling, the Ice Worm shattering Say it enough and the theft becomes true — The name found the hound, and the hound flew [Pre-Chorus — filters dropping away, her voice threaded behind his] Then a signal in the static where my thoughts should be alone "Raven, can you hear me?" — first voice that felt like home No hand to hold, no face to find, just Coral on the wind The only one who says my name like there's a someone in [Chorus — half-processed, half-human, massive] RAVEN — wings I stole, now they're mine RAVEN — cut the leash, cross the line She's a voice I can never touch A ghost in my blood — but it's more than enough They froze me, sold me, flew me, bled me Rubicon's fire was the first thing that fed me Six-two-one was the cage they gave — RAVEN is the name I saved [Bridge — beat strips down; Walter's goodbye, the choice] Old man on the comms with the fire in his plan "Burn it all down" — one last command And the hound in me heels... but the Raven says no You freed me, Walter — this is how far free goes She asks me softly, no order, no chain: "Will you fight for Rubicon?" — and I choose the flame Not the fire that erases — the fire that warms The Coral wave rising, and I fly into the storm [Final Chorus — vocoder GONE, raw human voice, full mix] RAVEN — every feather earned in fire RAVEN — liberation, my one desire She's the voice I will never hold And I'd choose her again with my heart full of Coral and gold They built a weapon — the weapon woke The leash is ash, the collar broke Six-two-one dies with the cage they gave — RAVEN flies for Rubicon, free of the grave [Outro — beat cuts to ambient static hum. Her voice, one last time, softer, almost smiling:] "...Welcome back, Raven." [End.]
