[Intro | sparse funeral piano, dry phonograph hiss, distant low drone] [Whispered choir] Before the kingdom... Before the crown... Before the sword... There was darkness underground. [Long silence] [Low male vocal] Before your gods... Before your names... Before your heroes... There was flame. [8-bit ancient hymn begins ticking] [Verse 1 | low male vocal, sparse piano] I have waited beneath the earth Where no kingdom learned my name I watched the first stones become a wall I watched the first fire become a flame Before you called yourselves eternal Before you carved your history in stone I was sleeping underneath it all And the darkness was my home You built your castles over me You buried me beneath the ground You thought the world had left me behind... But ancient things are never gone. [Whispered choir] He is waking... He is waking... [Pre-Chorus | deep sub bass enters] You built your kingdoms You raised your walls You called yourselves eternal... Now watch them fall. [Choir] Fall... Fall... Fall... [Chorus | full haunting choir] I was here first. Before the hero. Before the king. Before the kingdom Learned to dream. I was here first. Before the light. Before the sword. Before your gods Were ever worshiped. I was here first. [Verse 2 | piano, ticking 8-bit hymn] I remember every hero Who believed that I was gone Every sword raised against me Every prayer before the dawn I remember every kingdom That believed it would survive Every generation born beneath the sun That thought the darkness had died But darkness does not die. It waits. It listens. It remembers. [Low male vocal] The hero comes. The light returns. The blade is raised. The kingdom learns. You call it victory. You call it fate. But I have watched this story... Repeat. [Whispered choir] Again... Again... Again... [Pre-Chorus | distorted organ slowly rising] You may defeat the beast. You may break the king. You may seal the darkness... But you cannot erase the beginning. The seal will crack. The darkness will rise. And somewhere beneath the world... I will open my eyes. [Chorus | larger choir] I was here first. Before the hero. Before the king. Before the kingdom Learned to dream. I was here first. Before the light. Before the sword. Before your gods Were ever worshiped. I was here first. [Bridge | music drops to piano, heartbeat and distant choir] [Low male vocal] You cannot kill What came before you. You cannot bury What was beneath you. You cannot seal The beginning away. You cannot destroy The night by naming the day. [Silence] [Whispered choir] He was here... Before us. [Low male vocal] You think I am the curse. You think I am the ending. But I am older than the curse. Older than the ending. I am what waits... When everything else is gone. [Build | deep sub bass, ancient 8-bit hymn, distant drums] I gave your heroes Something to fear. I gave your kingdoms A reason to build. I gave your legends A reason to live... Because without darkness... What would your light mean? [Choir slowly grows] The hero will rise. The hero will fall. The kingdom will burn. The kingdom will rebuild. The sword will shine. The sword will break. And every time you call it over... I will wake. [Low male vocal] I am Demise. Remember the name. Not because I am the end... But because I was here before the beginning. [Final Chorus | massive funeral choir, distorted organ, heavy drums] I WAS HERE FIRST! BEFORE THE HERO! BEFORE THE KING! BEFORE THE KINGDOM LEARNED TO DREAM! I WAS HERE FIRST! BEFORE THE LIGHT! BEFORE THE SWORD! BEFORE YOUR GODS WERE EVER WORSHIPED! I WAS HERE FIRST! THE DARKNESS BELOW! THE FIRE BENEATH! THE THING YOUR HISTORY COULD NEVER BURY! I WAS HERE FIRST! AND WHEN YOUR LAST LIGHT DISAPPEARS... I WILL STILL BE HERE. [Final Crescendo] [Massive choir] Before the hero... Before the kingdom... Before the sword... [Music drops] [Low male vocal] I was here first. [Whispered choir] He was here first... [Low male vocal] And I will be here... When you're gone. [8-bit ancient hymn slows dramatically] [Dry phonograph hiss] [Single piano note] [Silence]
