The King's Desire

[Verse 1: The Throne’s Burden] Beneath the crown of iron and gold, A king grew weary, weathered, and old. His days were numbered, his line undone, No heir to rise, no chosen son. Through courtly halls where shadows play, He called the fates to mark the day: "Let chance decide, let seven stand, To claim my throne o’er this vast land." From velvet throngs, the lots were cast, The courtiers gasped as names amassed. Seven arose, by fortune’s hand, To kneel before the king’s command. Yet in their eyes, a glint so dire, A whispered curse, a hidden fire— The sins of old, in flesh made real, Their souls laid bare, their fates to seal. [Chorus: The Seven Revealed] Oh, seven souls, oh, seven stains, Bound by vice in cursed chains! Lust and Sloth, and Greed’s cruel gleam, Wrath’s red roar, Pride’s lofty dream, Gluttony’s feast, Envy’s sting, Which of these shall wear the ring? Or will the king, with torch in hand, Burn the throne and curse the land? [Verse 2: The Parade of Sin] First came Lust, with silken grace, A smile to charm, a serpent’s face. Her whispers wove a velvet snare, To bind the realm in sweet despair. "Choose me," she purred, "and all shall bow, Desire’s reign begins here now." But through her beauty, rot unfurled, A hollow queen to damn the world. Then Sloth, a shadow, slow and gray, Who yawned at dawn and slept through day. "The throne’s a bed, I’ll rule with ease, Let others toil, I’ll take my peace." His languid gaze, a creeping blight, Would dim the sun and stall the fight— A kingdom still, a stagnant mire, No spark, no will, no burning fire. [Verse 3: The Dark Ascent] Greed stepped forth, with grasping hands, His eyes like coins o’er endless lands. "I’ll pile the gold till mountains rise, The poor shall starve, the rich shall thrive." His voice was cold, his heart a vault, A king of want, a king of fault— The realm would gleam, yet rot within, A hollow crown for endless sin. Wrath stormed in, a thunder’s cry, With fists of flame and bloodshot eye. "I’ll crush dissent, I’ll break the weak, My rule is war, my word is bleak." The halls would quake, the rivers red, A reign of ruin, a throne of dread— No peace to find, no mercy near, Just rage unbound, and endless fear. [Chorus: The Seven Revealed] Oh, seven souls, oh, seven stains, Bound by vice in cursed chains! Lust and Sloth, and Greed’s cruel gleam, Wrath’s red roar, Pride’s lofty dream, Gluttony’s feast, Envy’s sting, Which of these shall wear the ring? Or will the king, with torch in hand, Burn the throne and curse the land? [Verse 4: The Final Three] Pride strode tall, a mirrored lord, His crown already self-adored. "I am the sun, the stars, the skies, All kneel to me, or all shall die." His gaze was steel, his heart was stone, A god in flesh, he’d rule alone— But blind to all, he’d never see, The cracks beneath his vanity. Gluttony waddled, vast and wide, A drooling maw where hunger bides. "The fields, the flocks, the seas I’ll drain, A feast eternal, my sole gain." The land would starve, the wells run dry, A bloated king beneath the sky— No harvest left, no bread to share, Just endless want in empty air. [Chorus: The Seven Revealed] Oh, seven souls, oh, seven stains, Bound by vice in cursed chains! Lust and Sloth, and Greed’s cruel gleam, Wrath’s red roar, Pride’s lofty dream, Gluttony’s feast, Envy’s sting, Which of these shall wear the ring? Or will the king, with torch in hand, Burn the throne and curse the land? [Verse 5: Envy Least and last] Last came Envy, green and lean, A twisted soul, a bitter sheen. "What others have, I’ll take, I’ll steal, No joy shall live beneath my heel." Her poisoned tongue, her restless spite, Would turn the day to endless night— A realm of ash, of broken trust, A crown of thorns, a throne of dust. [Verse 5: Envy Least and last] Last came Envy, green and lean, A twisted soul, a bitter sheen. "What others have, I’ll take, I’ll steal, No joy shall live beneath my heel." Her poisoned tongue, her restless spite, Would turn the day to endless night— A realm of ash, of broken trust, A crown of thorns, a throne of dust. [Verse 6: The King’s Resolve] The king looked down, his spirit torn, A legacy so bruised, so worn. Each sin a mirror, each a blade, A mockery of all he’d made. Could Lust seduce a world to doom? Could Sloth let shadows choke the bloom? Would Greed or Wrath tear peace apart, Or Pride crush every beating heart? Gluttony’s maw, Envy’s glare, No hope, no light, no mercy there. He rose at last, his voice a knell, "No sin shall rule, no tale to tell." A torch he seized, with trembling hand, To burn the throne, to scourge the land— "Let flames decide what fate denied, My reign shall end where hope has died." [Final Chorus: The Fall] Oh, seven souls, oh, seven stains, Freed from life in fiery chains! Lust and Sloth, and Greed’s cruel gleam, Wrath’s red roar, Pride’s shattered dream, Gluttony’s ash, Envy’s wail, All consumed in flame and shale. The king has chosen, torch alight, A burning end to endless night. [Outro: The Ashes Sing] The embers danced, the kingdom fell, A silent tale no bard would tell. No heir to rise, no sin to reign, Just smoke and ruin, a king’s refrain. Was this his triumph, or his doom? A throne unclaimed, a fiery tomb— The winds now whisper through the pyre, Of seven sins, and one king’s fire.