[Verse I] There ought to be an answer. I have always trusted those. A theorem may be difficult, But difficulty yields if one still knows The terms, the proof, the consequence, The cost that follows from the cause. And here I stand with all of them— So why can I not solve this? One life against a city. One spark against the end. One heart already carrying The means to save my friends. No innocent need take my place. No stranger bears the cost. If all that's asked to end this is one life— Why should it not be mine? [Pre-Chorus] I know exactly what would happen. There is mercy in that fact. No uncertainty. No second chance. No taking anything back. And gods, I've made a life Of wanting what I should not touch. Perhaps, for once, I know enough. [Chorus] What is one life worth When weighed against them all? If I can be the final stone That keeps the heavens from the fall, Is it courage to remain here? Is it cowardice to go? I can calculate the consequence. It's the value I don't know. [Verse II] She called it my redemption. I resented her for that. As though a life could be reduced To one magnificent final act. As though every morning after Were a debt I hadn't earned. As though the only worthy thing A ruined man could do was burn. But she does not own this choice. If I die, it need not prove her right. No absolution waits for me Inside that final light. I know my life has value now. I know exactly what I'd lose. And perhaps that is precisely why It matters if I choose. [Chorus] What is one life worth When weighed against them all? If I can be the final stone That keeps the heavens from the fall, Perhaps dying isn't penance. Perhaps no debt is being paid. Perhaps knowing life is precious Is what gives a life the weight to trade. But mine would not be all I spend. There are those who'd bear the cost, Who'd live because I chose to die And grieve for what they lost. Is grief a kinder gift than death? Gods. Of course it is. So why does knowing that Not make this easier? [Verse III] And then there is the other answer. Of course there is. A power wrought by mortal hands That even gods have learned to fear. Karsus failed. I know he failed. I know the lesson carved in flame. But knowing where a spell went wrong Is not the same as doing it the same. There are things I understand now That he never lived to learn. There are ways to wield such power Without demanding all things burn. Call that pride. Perhaps it is. I've worn the accusation well. But must a mortal fear the heights Because one mortal fell? [Pre-Chorus] If I live, there may be answers. There may yet be work to do. There may be mornings, books, and arguments, And people I would like to see them through. Is wanting that so shameful? No. Then why, beneath the wanting, Do I still hear: "You could be more"? [Bridge] Suppose I die. Not for forgiveness. Not for her. Not to make my failures clean. Suppose I choose it with clear eyes Because I know what death would mean. Would that make sacrifice less worthy Because once I craved the praise? Must every noble thing be poisoned By the reasons that first gave it shape? Suppose I live. Not for the Crown. Not out of fear. Not to prove a goddess wrong. Suppose I simply want tomorrow. Surely wanting life cannot Be evidence I'm wrong. And if I live and take it— There. There you are. The oldest hunger in the room. But hunger is not proof of folly. Ambition is not proof of sin. If I know more than the man who failed, Why must I fail as him? Is reaching always arrogance? Is restraint always wise? Or have I learned to call a ceiling sacred Because a goddess drew the line? [Final Chorus] What is one life worth? Mine. There. I've said it. Mine. And theirs are theirs, And all of them are standing On the edge of what I choose. So tell me how to weigh them When every answer leaves me something I cannot bear to lose. I could end this here and save them. I could trust that sacrifice is right. I could choose the life I've learned to value. I could reach beyond tonight. And none of those is nothing. None can be undone. There is no proof that tells me Which man I will become. One life against the world. One moment. One decision. And for once, no book, no goddess, No equation tells me Which is wisdom, which is fear, Which is ambition, which is love. [Outro] There ought to be an answer. There isn't. Only this: What am I willing to choose?
