[Intro | 60 BPM | spoken word, shakuhachi, wind through trees, low drone, single taiko heartbeat] (Kiri ni kemuru...) [Verse 1 | 60 BPM | spoken word, deep male baritone, whispered Japanese, sparse shamisen, slow deliberate pauses] Kiri ni kemuru fukaki mori wo... Gingei no kitsune hitori yuku... Kokonotsu no o ga yami ni hae... Ayashiki kaze wo hibikaseru. [Pre-Chorus | 60 BPM | spoken word, male English voice, low and measured, taiko enters, rising intensity] Through the deep, mist-shrouded woods... A silver fox wanders all alone. [Chorus | 96 BPM | spoken word, male baritone Japanese recitation, driving taiko, rhythmic and forceful, male English voice answering each couplet] Ruri no sugata henzuru koro, Shukumei no kaze fukiareru. (The winds of destiny fiercely blow.) Hohoemi misuru kuroki koromo, Mashou no henge ga ima hajimaru. (The magical transformation now begins.) [Verse 2 | 60 BPM | sudden stop, spoken word, restrained male baritone Japanese, low strings, near whisper] Mayoeru bushi no tsukaretaru... Katana ni sugari yume wo miru... Sono me ni utsuru gensou wa... Kyojitsu no fuchi de yureteiru. [Pre-Chorus | 60 BPM | spoken word, male English voice, taiko returns, rising intensity] A lost and exhausted samurai... Sways on the edge of truth and lies. [Chorus | 96 BPM | spoken word, male English voice leads, male baritone Japanese answers, driving taiko, rhythmic and forceful] As the mystical form begins to shift, The winds of destiny fiercely blow. (Ruri no sugata henzuru koro.) A smiling figure in black robes appears, The magical transformation now begins. (Mashou no henge ga ima hajimaru.) [Bridge | 60 BPM | spoken word, call and response, male baritone Japanese, male English voice, sparse percussion, tension rising] Teki ka mikata ka koromo no sode... (Friend or foe? Beneath the robes.) Houshi no sugata ni mi wo sutete... (Casting off its shape to take a monk's form.) Azamuki no gotoku jishin ni michi... (Brimming with a deceptive confidence.) Sennen no toki ga kuroku somaru. (A thousand years of time are dyed in black.) [Instrumental Break | 96 BPM | shamisen solo, taiko hits, shakuhachi, no vocals, 8 bars] [Final Chorus | 96 BPM | spoken word, both male voices speaking together then alternating, Japanese and English layered, big taiko, building to a shout on the last line] Ruri no sugata henzuru koro, Shukumei no kaze fukiareru. Hohoemi misuru kuroki koromo, Mashou no henge ga ima hajimaru. (As the mystical form begins to shift.) (The winds of destiny fiercely blow.) [Outro | 60 BPM | spoken word, slow, fading, whispered male Japanese then quiet male English, shakuhachi] Yami ni kieteku gingei no kage... Houshi no egao wa doko e yuku... Yume ka utsutsu ka fukai mori... Kaze no sasayaki dake ga nokoru. (Only the whispering wind remains.) [End | shakuhachi fades to silence]
