[Verse 1] Beneath the chapel's broken stone, A buried iron gate stands sealed. The mountain keeps its secret throne; One night each year, its locks unyield. [Pre-Chorus] When winter's final bell is struck, The hinges groan beneath the ground. A red-eyed keeper wakes below; The living hear his call resound. [Chorus] Once in the year, the gateway turns, And opens on the underworld. The just return with gold and health; The sinner leaves with judgment hurled. [Verse 2] A steadfast heart may cross the stair, Past bones laid out in nameless rows. The devil weighs the truth they bear, And grants the clean a life reborn. [Pre-Chorus] But those who fed their hands with harm, Who forged their vows and sold the weak, Find no bright treasure in his palm— Only the doom they dared not speak. [Chorus] Once in the year, the gateway turns, And opens on the underworld. The just return with gold and health; The sinner leaves with judgment hurled. [Bridge] The final toll! The passage seals! The earth consumes the crimson stair. One year to wait beneath the fields— One chance to face what waits down there. [Final Chorus] Once in the year, the gateway turns, The devil calls beneath the world. The just ascend with strength and wealth; The damned are lost, their fate unfurled. [Outro] The iron sleeps. The stones grow cold. Below, the keeper counts the year.
