Verse 1 [Male rap voice, gritty and low, intimate over tense atmospheric pads] They nail the golden words to every door before the dawn “Praise the Light or lose the roof you’re sleeping under, son” The inquisitors walk smiling with their torches in their hands While mothers teach their children how to lower eyes on command I walk these streets at dusk and feel the air has changed its taste The sacred groves are ash now, and the old gods hide their face My people still bow in the square when the hymns begin to play But I can hear the silence screaming everything they cannot say Chorus [Melodic male vocal, heavy and strained over dark EDM drop with distorted 808s] Under the radiant yoke the days get longer Every smile is measured, every word gets stronger They call it mercy when they take the things you love I feel the iron pressing from the sky above We breathe because we have to, we survive because we must But the light they preach is burning everything to dust Verse 2 [Male rap voice, gritty and low, more personal] I keep her braid beside the throne where no one else can see The only thing still holy in a world that’s lost its memory At night I hear the neighbors praying louder than before Not to the gods they loved — to the ones that keep the score The children used to run between the market stalls at noon Now they practice silence like it’s something they were born to do I feel the weight of every “yes” they’re forced to give And wonder how much longer until the whole kingdom forgets to live Chorus [Melodic male vocal, heavy and strained over dark EDM drop with distorted 808s] Under the radiant yoke the days get longer Every smile is measured, every word gets stronger They call it mercy when they take the things you love I feel the iron pressing from the sky above We breathe because we have to, we survive because we must But the light they preach is burning everything to dust Bridge [Switch to Female vocal layers, cold and radiant, sorrowful and haunting over atmospheric breakdown] They say the yoke is golden, that the burden makes us clean But I can feel it tightening every time they intervene The light they carry blinds you so you never see the chain And those who try to slip it disappear into the flame Final Chorus [Melodic male vocal, heavier drop with added grit and layers] Under the radiant yoke the nights get colder Every prayer is careful, every secret older They call it mercy when they take the things you love I feel the iron pressing from the sky above We breathe because we have to, we survive because we must But the light they preach is burning everything to dust And somewhere in the dark a voice is starting to wake up
