[Verse 1] Legatus stat in colle [The Legatus stands upon the hill] Sub caelo obscuro et vasto [Beneath a vast, dark sky] Aquilam suam tenet [He holds his eagle standard] Nesciens quid venturum sit [Not knowing what is to come] [Verse 2] Ignis cadit de astris [Fire falls from the stars] Non ut fulgur, non ut pluvia [Not like lightning, not like rain] Legio tacet, attonita [The legion falls silent, stunned] Terra tremit sub pedibus [The earth trembles underfoot] [Verse 3, tension building, low register] Umbra descendit sine sono [A shadow descends without sound] Maior quam turris, maior quam templum [Greater than a tower, greater than a temple] Milites fugiunt in silvas [The soldiers flee into the woods] Solus Legatus non movetur [Only the Legatus does not move] [Verse 4, vocal strains upward, held syllable on "ascendit"] Lux eum capit, non flamma [Light seizes him, not flame] Corpus eius ascendit [His body rises] Aquila cadit in pulverem [The eagle standard falls into the dust] Nomen eius iam silet [His name now falls silent] [Chorus, full crescendo, wide vocal] Ufo volat [The UFO flies] Alte volat [It flies high] Legatus captus [The Legatus is taken] Sidera petunt [They seek the stars] Per nebulas [Through the clouds] Per spatium [Through space] Ad astra alta [To the high stars] Lugeant stellae [The stars mourn] [Verse 5 – Meretrix, quieter, sparse instrumentation] Meretrix ligata [The courtesan, bound] Manus non humanae [Hands not human] Cutis retracta [Skin, peeled back] [Verse 6 – Antea] Legatus eam noverat [The Legatus had known her before] Ad limitem, sub luna pallida [At the frontier, beneath a pale moon] Pretium dedit, non nomen [He gave a price, not a name] Sero eam agnoscit [Too late, he knows her] [Verse 7 – Dissectio, clinical delivery, flat affect] Nervi extracti [Nerves, drawn out] Ossa numerantur [Bones, counted] Ova erepta [Eggs, torn away] Oculi evulsi [Eyes, plucked from their sockets] Vox iam non eius [The voice, no longer hers] Vox nulla, semper clamat [No voice, yet she screams on] Nemo audit clamorem [No one hears the cry] Medulla tamen fremit [Yet the marrow shudders still] [Bridge – Legatus Tacet, restrained, near-whisper] Legatus videt [The Legatus watches] Genua non movet [His knees do not move] Tacet, non pugnat [He is silent, he does not fight] Oculi eius serviunt [His eyes obey] [Verse 8 – Sanguis, vocal cracks on final line] Sanguis stellas pingit [Her blood paints the stars] Non salvatur quisquam [No one is saved] Nomen eius perit [Her name is lost] [Chorus – variant, harder edge, distorted layer under vocal] Ufo volat [The UFO flies] Alte volat [It flies high] Duo capti [Two are taken] Sidera tacent [The stars are silent] Per nebulas [Through the clouds] Per spatium [Through space] Nemo redit [No one returns] Lugeant stellae [The stars mourn] [Hook – Bridge Return, hushed, intimate delivery] Oculi eius serviunt [His eyes obey] Viro cinereo, gracili [The lean, gray man] Oculis nigris, ingentibus [With huge black eyes] Oculi eius agnoscunt [His eyes recognize] Meretricem a limite [The whore from the frontier] Oculis fuscis, dolentibus [With pain in her brown eyes] [Pre-Outro, tempo slows, reverb trailing, voice thinning to nothing] Duo capti [Two are taken] Sidera tacent [The stars are silent] Nemo redit [No one returns] Lugeant stellae [The stars mourn] Oculi eius clauduntur [His eyes close] Nihil iam videt [He sees nothing now] [Chorus – variant, final repeat, full weight] Ufo volat [The UFO flies] Alte volat [It flies high] Duo capti [Two are taken] Sidera tacent [The stars are silent] Per nebulas [Through the clouds] Per spatium [Through space] Nemo redit [No one returns] Lugeant stellae [The stars mourn] [Outro, fading to silence, held final syllable, long decay] Duo capti [Two are taken] Sidera tacent [The stars are silent] Nemo redit [No one returns] Lugeant stellae [The stars mourn] Oculi eius clauduntur [His eyes close] Nihil iam videt [He sees nothing now]
