Ascend - Act II — Scene Two - You Said

[The Story — New Meridian, 2091. Cael Morrow rises from the Lower Grid to lead a revolution called The Ascending, seizes the Governing Council, and slowly becomes the very thing he overthrew. His oldest friend Lyra watches the drift. His enforcer Sable runs further than he authorized. And the people eventually sing his own words back at him as an indictment.] [Lyra — Mezzo-Soprano Solo] [Intro] [Instrumental – bare piano only] [Verse 1] [Female Vocal – measured, addressing an absence] You said this would be different You said the new world would be worth it You said the people in the lowest grid Would never be afraid of their own government You said it to me personally Standing on that broken fountain You said it like your life depended on it Like you'd built your name on it And maybe you did — and maybe it shows How a name becomes a cage nobody knows [Pre-Chorus] [Female Vocal – voice beginning to fracture] You said power was the means — not the end You said we'd keep each other honest You said call me when I'm drifting — [Chorus] And I'm calling Can you hear me calling? [Verse 2] [Female Vocal – rebuilding, then breaking again] I believed you — God, I believed you More than I believed in anything I chose I gave you every version of my loyalty And this is how the story goes? [Bridge] [Female Vocal – nearly whispered] You said — You said — You said we'd still be us. [Outro] [Instrumental – one long chord held, then released to silence]