"To live… is to battle the trolls In the vaults of the heart and the mind." Deep in the hollows beneath my ribs, Where the old wounds gnaw and breathe, I hear them stirring in the dark… The trolls… awaken. They hide where the silence breaks, In the marrow of my buried deeds. Shapeless things with hollow eyes, Feasting on the truths I fought to hide. Beating on the stone doors I sealed, Desperate for more of my soul to steal. Each one wears a face I know A shadow carved from long ago. They were born from the fractures inside, Remnants of the battles I survived… (But never healed.) To live… is to battle the trolls, In the vaults of the heart and the mind. To breathe… is to reckon with ghosts That whisper truths you have denied. To stand… is to face what you forged In the places the light cannot find. To live… is to war with the trolls In the vaults of the heart and the mind! Stone by stone, the halls descend, Past every lie I failed to mend. The deeper down these passages go, The more I fear what wakes below. They circle me with hungry eyes, Mirror-voices wearing my disguise. Hunter, hunted, all the same, Bound by blood and fear and flame. If I run, they grow stronger still… If I face them, they bend to my will… [whisper] (But never break.) Come forth… Creatures of my ruin… I know your names... They echo in these halls I forged... FEAR… SHAME… REGRET… YOU WILL NOT RULE THESE HALLS AGAIN. To live… is to battle the trolls In the vaults of the heart and the mind. To rise… from the ruins they built And reclaim what they left behind. I bleed… but I won’t turn away — This war is the shape of my life. To live… is to war with the trolls In the vaults of the heart and the mind! The vaults grow quiet… But never still... The trolls return… They always will... AND SO WILL I!
