Before the Contract Breathes

Intro (whispered, layered, almost unintelligible) Time does not move. It waits. Verse 1 I was here before the vow was formed Before the lie you call a choice I watched your futures split and spoil Each one crying in a different voice You think desire seals the mark You think hunger makes me stay I feed where endings hesitate Where hope forgets its name Pre-Chorus (low, droning) I do not chase I do not claim I cultivate delay Chorus (cold, minimal, echoing) Not yet Not now Let the circle crack Let the promise drown I don’t take what begs or bleeds I take what knows and still concedes Verse 2 I have worn a thousand shapes All of them unfinished Kings who swore they’d never kneel Still taste exactly like surrender You breathe as though it’s yours to keep I count the seconds you forget Every life you might have lived Is something I collect Pre-Chorus Patience sharpens appetite The slowest rot is sweetest ripe Chorus Not yet Not now Let the sigil ache Let the future bow I don’t hunger for your scream I hunger for the moment you mean it Bridge (ritualistic, overlapping voices) No prayer was unanswered It was postponed No fate was denied It was owned You will not fall You will arrive And when you choose The mark will close Alive Break (industrial hum, mechanical pulse) Tick —pause— Tick Final Chorus (deeper, heavier, inevitable) Now Now The circle seals The fracture drowns No witness left No higher ground You are not taken You are complete And finally… You are worth the wait Outro (barely audible, fading) Every soul tastes of fear. Yours will taste of certainty.