[Intro – whispered / spoken] I didn’t summon you… I just… broke. [Verse 1] Rain on my windows, ash in my throat A city of strangers, a body of stone I carried my silence like a loaded gun Prayed for an ending — and opened one A crack in the ceiling of who I pretend And through it came whispers that never were friends They didn’t ask nicely They never do They only arrive when the dark is true [Pre-Chorus] And I felt them watching Not angels… not saints A crown made of hunger A mouth full of fate [Chorus] Welcome to the shadows of the flame Where love is a wound with a holy name Where chaos kisses the edge of my spine And death walks softly, calling me “mine” I don’t need a savior — I need to remain In the shadows of the flame [Verse 2] Azerel counts lines like a prayer in glass Cold hands of order, letting nothing pass Virelyn laughs in gold-lit scars Like desire dressed up as falling stars Nihor in raincoats, tired and still A god of forgetting that never will heal And Balthazar… beautiful, twisted, divine A grin like a dagger, a throne made of night [Pre-Chorus 2] He doesn’t ask permission He turns my blood into song But the fire inside me Refuses to be wrong [Chorus] Welcome to the shadows of the flame Where love is a war I’m willing to name Where demons knock politely to get inside And gods wear masks so they can lie I don’t need a savior — I need to remain In the shadows of the flame [Bridge – breakdown / whispered voices overlaping] Hold the line… Let it burn… Don’t forget… Don’t obey… Not yours… Not theirs… [spoken, calm] Deleath… keep me warm. [Verse 3] Nyveros lives where the sleepers drown In velvet dreams and a fever crown Satyriel smiles like a courtroom sin A prince of lies with a key to my skin But I learned the difference Between hunger and truth Between being desired And being used So I chose my chaos I chose my pain And the monster I love lost his chains [Final Chorus – bigger, triumphant / tragic] Welcome to the shadows of the flame Where I stop apologizing for my name Where I hold my darkness like a newborn light And I don’t look away from what I survive I don’t need heaven — I don’t need to change I live in the shadows of the flame [Outro – soft] If the world wants purity… let it choke. I was made of fire. And I learned how to cope.
