Dr. Lazarus Batsto, The Stranger

[Intro — Mechanical Pulse, Asymmetric Guitar Rhythm] One. Two. Three. An unexpected variable. How disappointing. [Verse 1 — Cold, Precise Baritone Vocals] I've watched a thousand empires rise. I've watched a thousand prophets die. I've seen the patterns in their bones. I've built my kingdoms on their stones. You call it fate. I call it math. Predict the future from the past. A calculated consequence. A universe of evidence. Your little band of broken toys Makes such an entertaining noise. A tree, a beast, a bird, a thing That doesn't know whose song to sing. And somewhere in your little show, A daughter Daddy doesn't know. [Pre-Chorus — Accelerating Polyrhythms] Every movement. Every breath. Every variable assessed. Every heartbeat. Every lie. Every possible goodbye. [Chorus — Massive Melodic Industrial Metal] Run your numbers! Count your days! Every road becomes a maze! Break the pattern! Change the game! Every answer ends the same! You can run! You can resist! You can swear I don't exist! But there's one thing you forget. I haven't made a mistake yet! [Post-Chorus — Syncopated Guitar and Bass] Divide! Subtract! There's no undoing what you've lacked! Calculate! Eliminate! Another variable erased! [Verse 2 — Rapid, Intricate Rhythmic Vocals] The men in suits believe they're smart. I let them think they play their part. They bring the funding and the guns. I bring the science. Everyone wins. A laboratory underground. A thousand miles without a sound. They've built a cage of steel and glass. They think they're holding something vast. But what they cannot comprehend Is every tool becomes an end. They think I'm hunting you for them. How wonderfully convenient. The eagle watches from the sky. The soldier never questions why. The sailor searches through the deep. And there's a tree that doesn't sleep. [Pre-Chorus — Increasing Mechanical Intensity] Every weakness. Every scar. Every secret from afar. Every failure. Every fear. Every reason you're still here. [Chorus — Explosive Melodic Industrial Metal] Run your numbers! Count your days! Every road becomes a maze! Break the pattern! Change the game! Every answer ends the same! You can run! You can resist! You can swear I don't exist! But there's one thing you forget. I haven't made a mistake yet! [Instrumental Break — Interlocking Odd-Meter Guitar Riffs, Polyrhythmic Drums and Industrial Synthesizers] [Bridge — Sparse Mechanical Pulse, Intimate Vocals] Oh, Akida. What a fascinating mistake. Your father made you something rare. A weapon hidden in despair. He thought the Void belonged to him. He thought his light would never dim. But I've been waiting through the years. Collecting all his little fears. And when I finally take you home, He'll learn what it means to be alone. [Rhythmic Breakdown — Increasingly Unstable Time Signatures] Seven steps. Five heartbeats. Three more seconds. One last piece. The numbers change. The pattern breaks. An unfamiliar calculation. [Sudden Silence] Why won't you behave? [Final Chorus — Maximum Intensity, Distorted Vocals] Run your numbers! Count your days! Watch your perfect world decay! Break the pattern! Change the game! I will make you know my name! You can run! You can resist! You can swear I don't exist! But there's one thing you forget. I haven't made a mistake yet! [Outro — Mechanical Rhythm Gradually Slows] One. Two. Three. An unexpected variable. [Brief Silence] Perhaps I should account for that.