Chapter 1: Can You Hear Them Cry?

Trees. So many trees. I must be in a forest. When did I walk into the woods? How long have I been here? Hours? Days? I'm so tired, I need water, but I can't stop. Why am I so tired? Oh, I'm running! That is why my feet are aching, why my head is pounding, why my muscles are throbbing. Okay, great, I'm running, problem solved, crisis averted. But wait, why am I running? I should look behind me. No, I mustn't! I should keep moving, trust my instincts, and keep surging forward. But can you hear them cry? Is that the shrieking of the trees? I've never had to listen to such pain. I can hear it back there and whatever is, it is catching up to me. If I can just reach that city, the golden city. The answer to my prayers, the solution to my mistakes, the absolution of my wrongdoings will belong to me. The sun is going down. What once seemed like a bearable darkness is slowly becoming an impossible blackness. If only I could stop moving my feet for just a brief moment, sit down, and collect my thoughts. Perhaps this thing, whatever it is chasing me, is in need of a rest as well. Maybe we would both benefit from an unspoken courtesy. Just five minutes, vile beast, is that too much to ask for? My thoughts are slowing me down, I can feel the presence of evil inching closer with every blink, every stride, every swallow of air. Each twig that cracks beneath my feet, every stone upon which I stumble is making it easier for the voice to catch me. I feel as though it could reach out, extend it's morbid grasp, and tackle me beneath the earth. The sun is setting and I'm losing hope. I can not be left here alone with this-this thing. Maybe I can hide amongst the trees as running is becoming less and less of a privilege, and more of a punishment. The footsteps are deafening. Keeping my eyes locked straight ahead no longer seems like an option, or even the right choice for that matter. The tenebrous unknown is gaining precious inches with every passing second and panic is starting to set in. How much more can my body handle the rhythm of this chase, the exigency of this forbidden dance? Only a few more strides and swear will no longer invade my eyes. A couple more deep breaths and my legs will no longer buckle from exhaustion. One final leap forward and the golden city is mine.

Chapter 2: Infatuation Has Strangled Me Again

I should have been content with where I was going instead of being obsessed with where I had been. Everything in my mind told me to forget the sounds of laughter and evil behind me but, finally exiting the woods, I could no longer resist the urge to see what was chasing me. As I began to crane my neck to catch a glimpse of what was at my heels, my body was suddenly overcome by an unconscious paralysis. Off in the distance to my right was a woman, a magnificent creature, I could not quite make out her face but her presence alone was enough to make time stand perfectly still. My legs stopped moving for the first time in God only knows how long, but my mind was too preoccupied to experience the relief, or to any longer fear the chase. The long, flowing gown looked as thought it had been radiant at one point but in the final rays of the setting sun, and on the canvas of a decaying wood, it seemed oddly macabre. The sides of her garb were town and revealed hips that would stop any man dead in his tracks. I was no exception. Her shoes at one point had been lovely stems that I am sure only accentuated her

unending and tantalizing legs, but now they resembled a sort of moccasin, sitting flat to the ground, the sides withered from a weary travel. Her face was covered with a veil that somehow managed to still display her radiance. There was nothing that anyone could say or do at this point, no one thing that could happen that would stop me from moving towards her. A slender hand unsheathed itself from the sleeve of her dress and beckoned for me to follow. Not even the promise of perfection radiating from the golden city was enough to persuade my stride in any direction but hers. It was then I noticed a cease in the approaching footsteps. As I rediscovered control of my body I quickly turned around, but found nothing. Only a soft breeze and a decorated forest greeted my stare. My breathing had steadied itself and I was no longer sweating profusely. My legs did not ache, my muscles were not tired, my heart was not pounding. My Mind was as clear as I could ever remember it being and the paranoia that had gripped me so mercilessly now seemed like a distant torture, forgotten swiftly with little effort. I urgently threw my eyes back to the woman in white. I knew there was no resisting the tangled web of her secret fantasy. In infatuation was strangling me with a fury that I could find nothing that mattered more to me in that instant than the sweet Temptress draped in tattered cloth. I had not taken notice to the dilapidated house in front of which she stood. I did not see the broken stairs, the sunken foundation, the cracks in the walls, the cobwebs in the windows. I did not see her turn and open the door to the unknown, leaving me alone in the dusk. I only saw her veil blow in the breeze, revealing my weakness, as she crossed the threshold and into the building that I was now standing directly in front of. The golden city was a distant memory. I was no longer being pursued, as the prey had poetically become the predator. I lowered my shoulder and crashed through the locked entrance of my own obsession. If I'd only known the Hell that awaited me. If only I had never witnessed the vile Temptress perched in front of my own prison, I could have spent eternity sipping on blood of the chaste and dining on the body of the austere in a city only dreams are made of. Instead, as I slammed the door shut behind me, I found myself wishing I had heard the vociferous laughter of curiosity one moment sooner; and that I had noticed what was hiding beneath that hideous veil.

Chapter 3: If You Think This Is Fun, Just You Wait Till I'm Done!
The smell hit me like a freight train, it's power unrelenting. Overwhelmed by bewilderment and disgust, a stench so incredibly rancid forced me to my knees where I lost the contents of my stomach with the first breath I tasted. It was more than just foul it was sinister. My mind reeling, I scrambled to get back up and collect myself. Focus and figure out where you are, first and foremost. I am in a house. I chased the beautiful woman in white, the sweet Temptress inside. My shoulder hurts, why? The Door. I crashed through the door. What is that God awful smell? The culprit was in the corner of the dark, windowless room. This small, disgusting den was covered in excrement to the point where not a single patch of bare floor was visible. What I could not understand was why, as sickening as this place seemed to be, the room was almostglowing. It sparkled in its vulgarity with an almost royal disguise. Stunned, I soon realized the bog of filth was riddled with gold and jewels. It was a king's ransom, a bounty of deceit buried

beneath the sewage. In the midst of it all was him, the kind of the damned, the purveyor of evil, the Fiend himself. The creature sent a chill down my spine that gripped my very being, a corpulent blob with pale, waxy skin lay in the corner of the room. He was wearing a jeweled crown, necklaces of gold and silver, rings of rubies and emeralds, all still smeared in unspeakable shit. His face was nothing of this world, not for it's distinct features, but rather for the lack there of. His sweaty face had no affection that even suggested he was once a man, save for one very trenchant exception: His gaping, carnivorous maw. Oh, and that mouth was brought to full use, shoveling the treasure, the feces, everything his polluted hands could reach, into that widening aperture. The sheer horror of what I was witnessing held me captive. I could not move. Run, you idiot, run! Find a way out. Find a door; a window, anything. Don't just stand here and admire the abomination, run! Find her, find the Temptress! Go, now! It was in that instant that the eyes of the Fiend locked onto my own. His pleasure turned to disgust, his crooked smile to a sneer. In a voice so boisterous, so piercing and powerful, the vile beast warned: "Imprisoned soul seized in a chamber of felucent horror! Suffer all you must, but suffer silently! Still your cursed tongue, stay your blighted abandon! In your eternal death you hunger for rotten mire for in your mortal life it was this in which was your gift to man! God can't help you and angels won't save you! Your unrequited prayers will be the bane of your existence! Prepare to walk hand in hand with the damned!" With that the Fiend lunged forward, tossing aside riches and rubbish. I finally found my legs and dodged his blow with a split second to spare. I spied a key hole opposite the way I had entered. With no other clear escape, I waded through the filth and the fortunes and crashed through yet another passageway of doubt. I can only hope she is there waiting for me on the other side of this door. I don't trust myself, I'm trapped, drowning in despair. I am poisonous. But oh, sweet temptress, before you push me away, let me try to change your mind.

Chapter 4: The Road I Walk Is Paved With A Thousand Unmarked Graves

A leaky faucet was the only sound in the room. I crawled towards the wall with what little resolve I had left in me and wrapped my mouth around the cool drip. I drank for what felt like hours and finally collapsed. Days may have passed before I finally woke. Did time even exist in this terror? The room felt safe, but I knew better than to place hope in that illusion. I sat up feeling ready to figure out the nightmare my life had become and began to scount my surroundings for an escape. Unlike the intensity of the last room, these quarters had a much more stoic and cathartic feel. All of the brick was white, or had been at some point as much of the paint was peeling from the stifiling heat. Several overturned plastic chairs accounted for the only furniture and with the exception to the steel basin protuding from the wall to my left, the room was a perfect square. A dingy lightbulb swung on a single cord hanging from the ceiling. Dirt caked the floor and there was a smell that could only be described as death. I had never actually been in the prescence of a dead body, but an innate human instinct seems to be able to alert your senses and tell you things you otherwise would never know, or comprehend.

A reflection bouncing off of a puddle of water in the center if the room, created by a leaky ceiling and the pouring rain outside, alerted me and directed my focus towards a window I had not yet noticed. It was odd because although the sun was echoing off of the ground, it appeared to be dark outside. Soon, I would give up trying to understand anything in this deadful house. Time wasted on figuring out the twisted world I was trapped in would only slow down my pursuit of the Temptress. You have lead me here to this lair of iniquity and yet you are still all my mind can focus on. Do you need any help? Have you lured me here by way of some twisted cry for help? I will not let you press on alone. You need me, I can feel it. Perhaps even more than I have come to need you. I lifted my exhaused limbs from the ground, staggered over to the window, and peered out into the blackness. Confusion made it hard to see as I struggled to understand why the hell I was here to begin with. Self pity would do nothing right now. Concentrate, damn it. I peered out the window and saw her instantly. Standing at the edge of a cliff on the backdrop of a breathtaking mountain which rose to the heavens, she again gestured for me to follow. The thing that stunned me the most was how beautiful her outfit had become. The tattered material at her sids that had once revealed soft skin were now replaced by the seams of a steady hand. Her once battered paws exposed by the holes of worn out shoes had become elegant feet elevated on perches of divinity. The straps holding the gown to her skin had gently fallen over the crest of her shoulders revealing a sexiness that imprisoned my eyes. Still, her face was covered by that damned white veil.I should turn and leave, go back the way I came. I can handle the smell of shit once more, the foul odor of tortured souls. I'm not even sure what riddle I am looking to solve. What I do know is I will see her eyes. I will touch her skin. Her kiss will soon punish me, ruin me: A ghost of such elegance.

Chapter 5: The Temptress of the Night

Without warning and seemingly without purpose, other than to taunt me further, the Temptress leapt from the cliff and plunged to the uncertainty below leaving behind only those magnificent shoes. I should have digested what I'd seen before leaping through the window. I should have drank from the leaky faucet once more in case it was the only water I would find for some time. I should have stood still and let my mind devise a proper plan to escape my nightmare, but all I could think about was saving her. I never even took a second to realize that the reflection in the window was not of me. It was not of any person I had ever seen. Hell, I'm not so sure that there was even a reflection at all. On my feet and out of that damned house at last, but what a sordid arena had I stepped into now? Much to my surprise, the Temptress had not plummeted some thousands of feet to the murky sludge below, but was standing one hundred yards from my reach, positioned distinctly and deliberately on the other side of the gorge where I had spied her form only seconds ago. I gaze across the chasm that divides me from her, my prize, and drink in her beauty.

I stood at the edge of the great canyon, a fissure spanned only by a creaking rope bridge. A warm wind buffeted me, a welcome change to the stuffy aid I had been inhailing in that depressing house. The wind was so sweet, sickening in fact; it was drenched with such an intoxicating odor. My head drowned in it's fragrance as I greedily inhaled deeper and deeper. I listened to the screams of my pounding heart reverberating in my temples as they shouted past the wailing and moaning of the sensual gusts; the bouquet quite literally aroused me. Oh, how this very same wind seemed to dance upon her fully ripened form. I let the heavy aroma of perfume riding on a hot wind saturate me. I train my ears to the creaking of the bridge spanning the gap to her. I could swear that her attire had been less revealing before, or maybe I just hadn't had a chance to properly observe her allure. Her gown was almost transparent, leaving litle of her curves to the imagination. Never had I pined with such a lustful fury to lay with a woman before. She was truly bewitching and my imagination was running wild with the endless possibilities of carnal delight. I throw caution to the wind of passion and continue down the path; the path to the unknown. I began to make my way across the bridge, propelling all of my inhibitions into that sticky, sultry wind. I ran with a desperation and an acrimony that can only be born of an animalistic desire for flesh. As my feet anxiously traded places with one another, one by one each plank began to disappear beneath me. In a flash I snapped back into reality as I realzed what was happening. In my haste to join the Temptress surely I had examined the stability of the bridge, right? Before I could even finish that thought, I was falling. I peered down into the dark abyss into which I plunged and listened to the violence of the waves below. Oh, delicious fate, I would not die this very moment. I took one last mighty gulp of precious air and plunged into the sea. leaving my addiction standing alone, miles above the earth.

Chapter 6: Human Reason Is Washed Away

I hit the water below with so much force that for a brief moment I thought I had broken my legs. I would return to that dreaded forest and run for an eternity if it meant never having to experience this agony. I could not even see an inch in front of my face. I was dizzy from the rapid spinning of the waves, and I was swallowing what seemed like gallons of water. Only, it didn't taste like water. It was salty and acidic, almost a copper flavor, and it was heavy on my tongue. The ocean seemed to be clawing at my skin and it burned with such a ferocious intent. I'm the one who has to swallow water? That's what I get for chasing you. Am I the first to be fooled by your dirty little trick? The anger of the water eased long enough for me to wipe my eyes and clear my thoughts. I reached down to feel my legs, fully expecting to find torn skin and exposed bone. Much to my relief, i seemed to be physcially intact. The water was boiling now, steam rising, bubbles forming. The pain was unbearable. I opened my mouth to scream but was choked by another wave of wrath. It was not water, after all. It was blood. How had it taken me this long to realize I was drowning in a violent mixture of crimson and rage? My body crashed into something beneath the water, knocking the wind out of me, and I grabbed on for dear life. Strangely,

what I was holding on to seemed to be gripping me as well. My attention was drawn to the walls of the cavern and to my horror I discovered that these were no ordinary walls, covered in rocks, dirt, and wildlife. They were the bodies and souls of the damned screaming in pain, begging for solace, for relief, and for the agony to end. Their limbs flailed so wildly that the boiling blood stirred with a vengence. A bone chilling cry erupts. I've seen those eyes but not that smile. I've seen those eyes but not that sinister smile. I've seen those eyes but not that blank stare. I've seen those eyes but not that stare. The tides of sin are stained with blood. Before I could react, the immobile body that I had been clinging to for dear life fired me into the wall of souls across the way. The many hands along the impediment clamped onto every inch of my being, forcing my attention forward, the blood still crashing into my face in undearable bursts. My eyes were cursed to see a most foul and hideous beast. His feet were calloused and bruised, his arms thick and covered in puss. He stood at least twenty feet tall and each sound that roared from his saliva soaked face was deafening. I've seen that mouth once before, but where? Ah, yes! The room of foulness just beyond the gates of this hell that I had so hasitly and fatuously entered. The difference now was the very same face had eyes filled with the deepest hatred man can comprehend; and he was staring straight at me. His gaze was destroying me inside. I could no longer breathe and my heart felt as though it would erupt inside my chest. Suddenly, as if on cue, his attention was distracted. I followed his wandering eyes and there she was, swimming through the carnage. She glided with such an elegance that even the wake of this abhorrent massacre she glowed with an artistic grace, seemingly penned by the hands of God himself. She followed me here. I knew she would. She is only playing games with me, the thrill of the hunt, the power of flirtation. Of course! How had I not recognized this sooner?! I finally broke free from the grasp of so many tortured souls and began to swim towards her. Spying my desire, the Fiend moved with inhuman speed and snatched her from my approach. His powerful claw was no match for her gentle poise. He held her over his head, ignoring her for the time being, and glared into my eyes as he proclaimed, "You will be sorry when he spills the blood from your throat!" He laid her down on the rocks at his feet. The water stopped moving, the afflicted souls ceased to mutter their cries. The silence was terrifying. Without warning the ground started to shake, the walls began to crumble, and the wind attacked with a resentful ire. At the top of his lungs the Fiend bellowed, "You'll be torn limb from limb, tramp! There will be hell to pay!" With all of the power and fury in his iniquitous control, he mauled the limp body of the Temptress to shreds, leaving behind only the battered and bloodied veil. The sheer terror of what I had seen caused me to lose consciousness, and I floated away along the now calm tide of the bluest water you ever did see. I can't stop the bleeding. Your dying eyes tell a story of poisonous passion. Oh, the violence.

Chapter 7: Caution Must Be Obeyed On An Island Of The Decayed

I curled my hands into a closed fist and felt the sand between my fingers. Every few seconds I was greeted with a cool, gentle wave of water. I could feel some seaweed stuck in my hair. Birds were singing in the sky above and the trees seemed to be laughing with joy in the warm breeze. I tried to open my eyes but the bright sun made it impossible. I embraced the peace. She is gone. The Temptress is gone and now I am trapped here all alone. But where am I? This does not feel anything like the places I've been since entering that house. Get on your feet, forget about her. She is gone, bested by the hands of the Fiend. Forget vengeance, save yourself. Open your eyes, damn it. I flipped onto my hands and knees and crawled away from the frightful shoreline, not wanting to take any chances with what may have still dwell beneath. I stumbled up the dunes and gazed upon an island of paradise. It was unlike anything I'd ever laid my eyes on; a perfect vision od ecstasy, a dreamy palace, home to the soulless. I had nearly forgotten the very concept of serenity, but here it was, a sanctuary from the madness, an island of reason. I looked back out upon the once screaming sea and began to weep. Was this pitiful beach the last and only vestige of sanity in this world gone mad? I had never felt so lost. The woman that guided me here had been torn asunder before my very eyes and all that was left for me was to die on this beach or press on in a hostile realm of torture and strife. There must be a point to all of this! Am I being tested? Is this serene bit of earth truly meant to draw me away from my true path? I must press on, as much as my soul aches to stay. A foreboding wilderness stood off in the distance. It was mocking me, challenging me to press on. I knelt down and closed my eyes, found the Temptress in my thoughts. If I stayed here, I would most certainly die, but at least I would die in peace. If I press on, I might find answers. It was no longer my decision as my body had already begun approaching the jungle. There was something terrible in those woods, I could feel it. But, what did it matter? Fear was no longer going to slow me down. Time to reap the whirlwind, time to solve this enigma. What's the point of fighting when there's nothing to save? Time is melting away. I can't explain, but my eyes are begging to stay. I must say a sunny day helps to push the memories away. However, caution must be obeyed on an island of the decayed.

Chapter 8: Sing A Touching Lullaby And We'll Watch The Angels Cry
Regret gave way to desperation after walking several miles in the hellish wood. The sense of loneliness somehow attached itself to the feeling of being watched with a quiet and calculated dread. Visually, everything else I had experienced up to this point was far more intimidating, but this forest had been a presence that was very real and very upset. It did not like the fact that I was there. Yet, nothing truly unexpected had happened. Then again, maybe I had just come to expect so much worse. Perception is reality. I walked and walked and walked and, with exception to the mental agony caused by the unknown, I was essentially left alone. The trees were decorated by the features of man, almost faces if not for the leaves and branches distracting these characteristics. In fact, they were similar to those I had encountered on the

walls of that dreaded sea of blood. Only now, they seemed more lost, more abashed. It felt as though they had given up what little hope that could possible still exist here. Unless I was losing my mind, which was very possible, I could have sworn the trees were whimpering. My own misery is taunting me. The air stings my lungs. I can barely see. Wicked eyes surrounding me, the trees are watching silently. I could try to run, but I don't see the point. It was becoming easier and easier to fall victim to my surroundings, to succumb to the torture. Had these trees once been a mere man such as I, struggling to understand where he was or what he was becoming? Would I just continue to move forward until my body gave up? Would I die here, my body decaying into the ground and becoming just another piece of this depressing wood of suicide? I slowed my pace, spun a full circle trying to spy any semblance of an escape, found nothing. Exhausted, I fell to my knees. The forest was getting exactly what it wanted as it watched me slowsly slip into despair. I found a rather large branch and began sharpening it into a blade with one of the many rocks on the ground beside me. I would die here, I knew that much, but it would be at my own hands, not those of the sick, twisted evil that has created this Hell. I'm tired of trying, I'm sick of the waiting, if there's nothing that I can do. A pitiful lullaby to sing the tortured to sleep. Please, oh please, dear Temptress, come back to me. Show yourself, answer my cries, show me the way. Allow me to make you mine. We could settle down and change the end, nothing but time, start over again. Footprints. A straight line, a steady flow, created by a pair of magnificent shoes. They were right in front of me. Had they been there all along? Was I too busy wallowing in self pity to notice I was not alone anymore? I traced the footsteps with my eyes, slowly raising my head, and there she stood as beautiful as ever. This was not possible. I watched her destroyed beneath the crimson with my own eyes. Had I willed her to return? Had I made this happen? Had I figured out this funhouse of insanity? I decided to test the theory and spoke out loud, "Oh, master of this maze of wonder, creator of this den of torment, show me a way to press on and continue down the path to the unknown!" With that, the Temptress urged me forward with her slender, delicate hand. As I moved forward, trusting her gesture, the wall of the mountainside in front of me began to quiver and quake. An entranceway to a dark cave unveiled itself to me. Without hesitation, I followed the Temptress into the shadows and fog of the dank, cold cavern. I have been reborn! I have broken free! I'm free! I'm free of all the shackles of your control! I have figured this place out! Throw everything you have at me now, I dare you! You can't deny m! o not defy me! I am drunk on lust and soverignty! I have been reborn!

The souls of the carnal, those who betrayed reason to their appetites, their sin was to abandon themselves to the tempest of their passions. How does this insolence still live in you? he cried upon that terrible sill of Hell. - Dante Alighieri

Chapter X: They ll Never Be Able To See That They Crave This Captivity
I opened my eyes but I could not see. I was blindfolded. I tried to lift my arms to remove the blindfold, but my arms were tied down. I was laying down and the surface was smooth and hot, probably some sort of steel. The cries and screams in the room were deafening. So much pain, so much agony. I could hear bones cracking and bodies falling. I could smell flesh burning, emptied bowels, and fear. Whatever was happening in this room was an utter massacre. I was able to lift the edge of my shoulder to the side of my face and rub just hard enough to loosen the grip of the blindfold. My eyes were finally free to digest the horror surrounding me. Machines lined the walls of an industrial warehouse that looked like a makeshift hospital. There was surgical equipment everywhere, scalpels, clamps, scissors. There were doctors, or at least what appeared to be doctors, all throughout the room, their faces disguised by surgical masks. They were escorting seas of children, bound and gagged, into a giant apparatus that resembled an incinerator. Something was not quite right about this machine. The usual cogs, nuts, bolts, and beams were instead replaced by bone, skull, muscle, and skin. The engines were literally running on the blood of the forgotten, the souls of the damned. One by one the hopeless were led into a furnace built by the spilled blood of those before them. Is it so? This can t be happening. Why can t they see? The blind are leading the blind into a disaster and I m the only one who seems to care! In the cracks exposed between the hundreds of bodies scattered around the warehouse, I spotted her. The Temptress was tied down to a surgical table, wearing nothing but a corset and a pair of torn underwear. Her shoes were missing, as was the veil, but now her long, dark hair covered her face. She angled her head towards me and, although I could not see her face, I sensed that she was begging for help. For the first time since entering this dreaded house it seemed I had the upper hand to the Temptress. Her fear was tangible. Perhaps it was intentional, just another piece of this sick, twisted puzzle. I concentrated as hard as I could and begged for something to allow me to break free of these chains. As quickly as the thought had come, I was standing on my feet next to the table where the Temptress lay, free of my shackles. I took two steps towards the door on the far wall, completely ready and willing to leave her behind to rot. Unexpectedly and seemingly out of nowhere, one of the doctors tore the mask from his face revealing a grotesque face covered in third degree burns. Underneath the burns were two such distinct features that would haunt my dreams forever; the gaping mouth of sewage and the eyes that could destroy the earth. The Fiend took one giant

step towards me and exclaimed, All must kneel before the altar! The veiled will be exalted! We are the flock! In the God s harbor all shall rest and become part of the master! Without even thinking I reached down and untied the clamps tying the Temptress to her fate, lifted up her body, and scrambled towards the door. Flinging it open, I turned to find the Fiend running straight towards me shouting, Blessed smoke bellows from the beast! Bow to the gears and worship the machine! I slammed the door shut, the Temptress in my arms, and ran straight ahead into the blackness that awaited. They do not hear a word I say. I can not save them all. I need you to trust me now, sweet Temptress. Don t move, I ll figure this out. Forget what anyone said, just take my hand, or we ll both be dead.

Chapter XI: One By One Reflections Fall

Panting, I paused to catch my breath, muttering comforts to the woman I had finally caught. Her hand held in mine, this whole sorted mess started to make sense. Or at least, if still confusing, it began to feel worth the struggle. The Temptress had the softest skin I had ever touched. Her fingers danced with mine as we pressed forward, no real destination in mind other than to get the hell out of this place. Maybe we could break out of here, find a peaceful field of grass, lay there together arm in arm, staring at the sky, dreaming our dreams together, never remembering this repulsive inferno. I turned to check on the Temptress and she was gone, her hand no longer in mine, instead replaced by a rotting piece of flesh; an arm severed from the elbow down. I casted the maggot covered bone and muscle to the ground and immediately began vomiting. Damn it! Not again! Why do you torture me so, cruel Temptress? I have saved your life and this is how your repay me!? Insanity is whispering to me. Your vanity so patiently will steal your soul. The eye of the beholder knows the truth. Spitting the last of the bile to the ground, I muttered a curse under my breath in frustration. What was happening, where was I now? It took me a moment to put it together but when I did, I swear she had to know because she emitted a shrill giggle to punctuate my vexing situation. A house of mirrors, an endless maze of reflections of the one I pursued. Climbing to my feet I could see her everywhere now. Everywhere I turned, there she was trotting along, laughing at me, teasing me, mocking me. I saw her again, and again, all at once. Her laughter was piercing. She was having fun at my expense and she was loving every second of it. I continued to reach out to her but found only glass on every occasion. Not only was her image displayed a thousand times over, but so was her cackle. With each vision of her that appeared the taunting

guffaw exploded louder and louder. I fell to my knees and squeezed my hands over my ears. The pressure was unbearable, I felt as though my head was going to rupture. I could not take it any longer and I begged, Please, please vile Temptress, cease your cries! End your laughter, I beg you! With that, she let out a laugh that forced me fully to the ground, my face pressed against the cold concrete, my knees curled into my chest. I did not realize it at first but I was screaming, the flesh inside my throat tearing, the veins of my temples inflating, my knuckles turning white from the pressure. Just when I was about to lose all sanity, the room went completely silent. Breathing heavily, I peaked my eyes open and caught a glimpse of her perfect figure standing not even two feet from my face. She knelt down, gently pressed her hand to the back of my head, and whispered, Oh weary Wanderer, let go of your fears, calm your pulse, enjoy the ride; lose yourself in the vanity faire. She stood up, spun around, and again was gone in a flash. Something inside of me snapped. I had chased her through a room of shit, fighting passed a creature of unspeakable foulness, ventured across a mountaintop thousands of feet above the earth, swam through a river of boiling blood surrounded by the tortured souls of the damned, explored the darkness of a cave designed to drive a man insane, and rescued her from the claws of a madman directing the masses into a furnace of infinite pain and sorrow; and still she has the nerve to mock me. Finally I could take no more, my rage boiled over, and I lashed out at her ridiculing beauty. With the smile of a man gone deranged, I bellowed out a laugh as I threw myself into the flawless mirror. It almost seemed like time had slowed to a crawl as I saw countless tiny prisms of glass explode into the nothingness. I was a prisoner breaking free. I will find every single image of you in this Goddamn fun house and I will destroy every last piece of you! Attack the mirrors! Shatter the prism! One by one reflections fall until I destroy them all! More clouds of sparkling dust blossomed into the air and I lost myself in the moment, salivating at the thought of her having no where else to hide. It seemed I had only started when the task was done and I held the last piece of shattered glass in my hand. I honestly expected her to still be standing there, but she was not. Stunned, I looked out upon a hopeless void, an inky blackness that stretched out to the ends of the earth. A single speck of light pierced the abyss and shone down upon me. I felt truly alone for the first time since crossing through the gate. I had lost it all, all of it, everything I had to guide me or even trick me into thinking I had a plan. With that epiphany, the last shred of hope fled from me, the last ray of light fizzled out, and I was stranded, on my knees perched atop the immortal sill.

Chapter XII: The Path Of A Tempting Lie

It is so dark in here. I can not even see my hand directly in front of my face; and it is quiet, so very quiet. My mind uncontrollably returned to the path, to the golden city. I was so close to redemption, and then she appeared. My God, she is so beautiful. I would have given anything just to touch her, to kiss her, to hold her close to me. I guess, arguably, I had given everything. I gave my soul, my life, my quest for eternal rest to her the moment I followed her into this Hell. Do second chances exist? If I beg, if I pray, is there a chance that I could return to the path once more?

I am so confused. I am so tired. I am so sorry. I attempted to crawl somewhere, anywhere. Broken glass was everywhere, evidence of a man gone mad. I had lost all self control and for what? For her? For that despicable Temptress? What a waste. I had thrown everything away for her and she had deserted me. What s worse, is she seemed to enjoy it. I had lied to myself and for that I have been punished. I may sit here forever, trapped in a blackness so evil that man cannot even begin to understand its power. Every move I have made was wrong. The Fiend, the Temptress, the darkness has remained one step ahead of me the whole time. A few prisms of glass offer little comfort in the blackness. The desolate emptiness is drinking every last drop of life that is left in me. I gave up searching for a way out. This was the end. I was defeated. Everything I had suffered was for naught. I straightened my back, sat proud and stiff on my knees, folded my hands and brought them to my chest. It was my last resort. I was out of options. Dear God, I am but a weary Wanderer. It s funny how we believe the things we tell ourselves to, and our hearts simply follow. I pray for absolution. Let me return to the path of a tempting lie. Lead me towards the light. To the golden city, I was delivered.

Chapter XIII: Your Body Is An Illness

I was scared to open my eyes until I felt a cool breeze across my skin. I moved my hands from face as I rose to my feet. In front of me was a massive, angelic fountain. It was divine. The water leapt towards the sky and returned the ground with a melodic splash. Birds circled above, singing a warm and inviting song to the rising sun. I leaned forward and let the water douse its refreshing elixir all over my body. I dove head-first into the brilliant, blue water and swam through the ripples, laughing and crying all at once as my mind realized where I was; I, the Wanderer, had survived the most hellish travels and was now directly in the center of the golden city. It was more magnificent

than my wildest dreams had ever imagined. Above me I stared towards the whitest clouds and the bluest sky I d ever observed. The buildings were majestic and regal, the grounds manicured and ambrosial. The air was light, the trees green, and the atmosphere wondrous. Right before my eyes, a tragic surprise; the water stops. I m sure it took several minutes to happen, but it felt instant. The clouds turned grey, the sky turned purple. The trees were bare, the leaves dead on the ground. The buildings had begun to crumble to the ground, the birds were gone. In spite of all of this, the most terrifying thing still stood beyond the fountain. As the last drip fell from the sky, the once stunning fountain revealed a nightmare that would shake the soul of the most noble man. There she stood; the Temptress. Only now, she was draped in black, her skin cracked and bleeding, her eyes projecting an unspeakable horror. The veil still covered much of her face, but I could feel the spiteful, malevolent smile that dwelled underneath. Without a single thought, I scrambled from the water and took off running. The chase was on. The Temptress was on my heels in an instant. Dear God, she was fast. I craned my neck and saw that her feet were barely even touching the ground, she was almost floating. There is no way I will be able to outrun this kind of speed, survive this aggressive attack. She was laughing, but it was not the laughter of a delicate woman, nor did it match the timbre of her shrieks in the mirror maze. This was guttural, this was angry, and this was hungry. I ve heard this laughter before, not very long ago it would seem. It feels like I ve been running for days. Wickedness will rain down and drown us in her sorrow, and her thirst. If I hope to survive, I must think faster, I m losing ground. These footsteps feel familiar. Should I stop and face her? Should I pull back the veil? All around me the city erupted into a riot. Temples crashing down; all around me, panic. Buildings were bursting into flames, collapsing to the ground. The citizens of the golden city were running towards me, towards each other. It was chaos. Blood was being spilled in all directions, the bodies of the innocent being mauled, the thirst of the damned poisoning this utopia. I could not escape the notion that all of these people seemed identical, hoods over their heads, disguising their identity. If only I could see their faces. I was running out of time, the gate was just ahead. The footsteps were gaining on me, closing in on me. You had me convinced that together we could fly until I started scratching at the surface and I saw beyond your masquerade. Your body is an illness. Curiosity rained down on me with an unspeakable fury. I had to know. I had to know who was causing this mayhem, destroying the golden city inch by precious inch. I ran straight towards one of the rioters, came to an immediate stop, and fell to the ground. The Temptress, only a few steps behind, fell over me, crashing directly into the unsuspecting masked man. I climbed on top of him, no longer caring about the

Temptress who lay eerily still off in the distance. I slammed his arms into the ground as he struggled to get to his feet. I pressed my forehead to his and screamed, Stay still, you filthy bastard! You are destroying it! Why?! Answer me, you maggot! Why would you ruin something so beautiful?! I ve come all this way and it is because of you that I will not find salvation! Tell me why! Why would you do this me?! How could you do this to me?! I tore off the hood and found my answer. I stared for what felt like hours. I tried blinking, I tried shaking my head. The earth fell still. It can t be. This is not possible. My blood runs cold, I fear I now know the truth. I tear back the cowl and stare into my own eyes. The poor, tortured soul beneath the hood is me. The Temptress was on me before I could even react, a blow to the head. I drifted off into the blackness, unconscious. All shall be made clear.

Chapter XIV: There s No Escape From This Awful Place

When I came to, I was running. How the hell was I running? My head was killing me, blood spilling down onto my cheeks. Footsteps behind me. This felt all too familiar. The trees, the heavy breathing, the sweat. There s no escape from this awful place. The twigs, the stones, the setting sun. I had been here before. I realized that I was staring straight at the ground and finally decided to peer forward.
The golden city. It can t be. I just escaped your clutch. You are behind me.

Terrified, I mustered the courage to glance to my right, begging for her not to be there, for that house not to be there. But there she stood, the white gown torn at the sides, the magnificent shoes worn down to moccasins, the cursed veil, the long and slender finger urging me towards her. The truth has finally shown it s face. How long have I been in this place? Do I even dare to question fate s design or submit to such a bleak destiny? No more running, no more of this shit! I am done. Show your face to me you heinous monster! I stopped running and turned around, horrified to find the Temptress standing there. I had been running from the very thing I was chasing all along. I chased and I escaped, deeper and deeper into the circles of Hell. That wicked and most evil house had, in fact, been my own purgatory. I was being destroyed, punished for my sins, for the things I had done in life. God only knows how long I have been running in this same

vicious circle. Chased by the Temptress, chasing the Temptress, avoiding the Fiend. Where did she begin and where did I end? When had I become the Fiend? Was I warning myself the whole time? I was trapped in a nightmare of my own insanity, led further and further below the earth into the depths of such despicable torture. My thoughts were interrupted by the screams of the Temptress: We are the crucified, we are the virtuous, we are the damned! Let s pray we never fall asleep! No more. Stand here and fight. Break the cycle, end the Temptress once and for all. She will mock me no longer! I stared directly into her eyes and proclaimed, Hey, stranger what s your name? Have we met before? Take a look around, the scenes are all the same. I can see the veil is right behind me and yet here you stand. Have I ever said this before, or is this the first time I ve caught on to your little game? If I just keep moving will I be okay, or once again panic in the mayhem? I will no longer take flight from you! I ran straight at her, tackling her to the ground. With a violence and rage that I never knew existed within me, I mangled her body. I gouged out her eyes, tore off her fingers, severed her nerves, shredded her sinews. She screamed and begged, but I ignored every plea. I would fall for her lies no more. I did not want to maim her, I did not want to kill her, I wanted to end her. I wanted make her disappear from existence. I was enraged. I had lost my mind. Her heart had stopped beating long ago and yet still I screamed, Now that you ve got me, what s next?! I will destroy you, demon! Stripped from your body, crimson! A fury of righteousness will now consume you in death! I felt a tapping on my shoulder, glanced back and spied a beautiful and delicate hand. I leaned back and saw her. She stood above me, as beautiful as I had ever seen her. She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. She ran her fingers through my hair and smiled that precious smile that always made my heart melt. I could taste her breath and it drove me wild. She dropped to her knees, pulled me close, and whispered into my ear, Wake up, sweetheart. Wake up. Come back to me. Wake up. Of course, I obeyed. I always did what she asked of me. Never would I ignore the sweet words of my Annabel.

Chapter XV: And Now For The Final Illusion

My eyes open wide as I wake, panting. Some say that dreams have deeper meaning, that they are cries from our subconscious. I never put much stock in such ideas. But I feel strangely compelled to recount this one to my love, my Annabel. Shaking her gently, I wonder why her flesh has the chill of virgin snow. My thoughts are disrupted as reality hits me like a bolt of lightning and I scream. She had rescued me from my nightmare, but she was too late. Blood was everywhere, the screams of pain still echoing in the room, our room. I began sobbing

uncontrollably. What had I done? My one and only love, my Annabel, had been slain by my hand. This has to be a dream. A nightmare within a nightmare. I m going to wake up and she is going to be okay. I am going to tell her all about my journey through Hell, my victory over the Temptress, the Fiend. We are going to laugh together about how real dreams can feel, about how they can torment our minds so lucidly that we begin to think we are actually acting them out, performing them in a theatre of our biggest fears. The nightmare had won. Had the Temptress known all along what I was going to do? Is that why she teased me so? Is that why no matter what mistakes I had made along the way in that God forsaken house I was always given another opportunity? I was never in control. It was all a lie. The punishment for my sins was never to be for me to spend an eternity in Hell. It was to live without love in my life here on earth. The only thing I had ever truly loved was gone. My Annabel was gone. I could almost hear the Temptress, the Fiend, laughing. I never stood a chance. I climbed to my feet, walked to the mirror, stared at my blood soaked clothes, my blood stained hands. I cried, I begged, I pleaded. But she wasn t coming back. I had failed. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath. I never saw the blade coming. I m not so sure I even felt it enter my side. I would have opened my eyes to spy who had done this to me, but really what s the point. It s not like I didn t already know. This isn t the first time I ve had to watch myself die. What is it that Annabel had said before she left that night? It s round and round and round we go? I better start paying closer attention before someone gets hurt. Imprisoned beneath the world where the soulless dwell lies a place that the damned call home. A place where the virtuous hide in fear, a place we see only in our nightmares. A place where the sun is silent.

The Dark Wood Of Error

[Spoken:] Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Our story is about to begin. Salvation cries, but all I can see Is darkness following me And I might be crazy just for looking at you I must be crazy if I think that it's true The things I've done to be with you They echo in my every move And I might be crazy just for looking at you I must be crazy if I think that it's true [Spoken:] Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, ch la diritta via era smarrita esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte che nel pensier rinova la paura! Io non so ben ridir com i v intrai, tant era pien di sonno a quel punto che la verace via abbandonai. guardai in alto e vidi le sue spalle vestite gi de raggi del pianeta che mena dritto altrui per ogne calle. cos l animo mio, ch ancor fuggiva, si volse a retro a rimirar lo passo che non lasci gi mai persona viva. [Overlapping with Italian:] Can you hear them cry? Can you hear them cry? Can you hear them cry? Can you hear them? Can you hear them? Can you hear them? Can you hear them cry? Can you hear them cry? Cry?

A Forbidden Dance
Stay to the path Trust only your faith, to falter is to hasten your doom I dare not say my hope is slipping away Such gleaming fangs mock the gilded gates The way of the true Tell me what to do sweet spirit Yea yea yea yea yea! Your wildest dreams have come true! Welcome to what I call hell! Help me! Infatuation has strangled me again There's no resisting the tangled web of your secret fantasy A strange sensation is falling over me I may be blind but I can see your kiss will punish me Your kiss will ruin me Well, here we go! I tear myself from the beaten path never to look back And still I glance, the lure of a forbidden dance I'm hypnotized by the sordid nymph who races from me Suddenly, my eyes see clearly Yea yea yea yea yea! Your wildest dreams have come true! Welcome to what I call hell! Help me! Infatuation has strangled me again There's no resisting the tangled web of your secret fantasy A strange sensation is falling over me I may be blind but I can see your kiss will punish me I fall down on my knees in anticipation of the dawning Curiosity is laughing I decide that if I'm to die here I will not go calmly I will not go down without a fight Help me! Infatuation has strangled me again There's no resisting the tangled web of your secret fantasy A strange sensation is falling over me I may be blind but I can see your kiss will punish me Your kiss will ruin me You're wildest dreams have come true

Hand In Hand With The Damned

I don't trust myself I'm trapped drowning in despair, I'm poisonous. I slammed the door and locked it shut and now disaster plagues my thoughts. Let's drink to the dead, "Cheers to what's ahead!" I'm poisonous. Sweet temptress! I can see it in your eyes, You re moving on without me! So it ends tonight, I guess this is goodbye! Selfishly you say you're better off without me. And it ends tonight. Well baby save your breath. Won't you please have mercy!? Before you push me away let me try to change your mind. Oh wanderer! If you think this is fun just you wait until I'm done! Blessed fortune screams, "Why have you forsaken me?!" There's no escape..I never should have lost my way. And now I'm stranded out at sea chasing a lie? There's no escape. I'm losing the sky. Imprisoned soul seized in the chamber of feculent horror. Suffer all you must but suffer silently. Still your cursed tongue, stay your blighted abandon. In your eternal death you hunger for rotten mire. For in your mortal life it was this which was your gift to man. Prepare to walk hand in hand with the damned. God can't help you and angels won't save you! Your unrequited prayers will be in bane of your existence! Prepare to walk hand in hand with the damned! I am poisonous! Is there a way for me to say that you should stay?! I need to know you'll miss me when I'm gone. I'll cherish you until the day I die! A twisted way to make you mine! Won't you please have mercy?! Before you push me away let me try to change your mind. Oh wanderer! If you think this is fun just wait until I'm done!

Beyond The Sacred Glass

Quietly I am screaming for help I calm down and steady myself Collapse to the ground when I realize I can t breathe Could this be happening? What s happening to me? All the walls are closing in on me And confusion makes it hard to see Still my pounding heart is bleeding for you I know the truth And I start to sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat Why the hell am I here? I start to sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat Have I succumbed to fear? Why am I trying the undying? A ghost of such elegance Oh why am I racing to be facing A vision of something so perfect? I am willing to give whatever it takes To find forgiveness for my mistakes So I m going to take a chance And invite the unknown to a deadly dance I have laid eyes on you And yet it does not seem as if the earth moved You will be mine tonight! As I rise to conquer the demons I sense that the darkness awaits! That road I walk is paved with a thousand unmarked graves..

The Temptress
My love, try to understand me when I say you torture me. Your lips they beg for me to get you alone. I want you to know it's the sway of your hips. You taste so sweet cruel temptress. I'm at your feet. I can tell by the way you move that you want me to want you. Are you happy now that I've figured out I was just the victim?! In a game of lies and lustful tension? I can't believe I fell for you! I was wrong, I am so confused. A foolish mistake! I gaze across the chasm that divides me from her, my prize. And drink in her beauty. I let the heady aroma of perfume riding on the hot wind saturate me. I train my ears to the creaking of the bridge spamming the gap to her. I throw caution into that wind of passion and continue down the path. The path to the unknown. I'm losing control and I want all of you. I ache to swallow you. I'm losing control, you're body screams for me, it's destroying me! I can not resist the temptress of the night! I'm coming for you!, I want you, I need you! As the earth quakes I will deflower you! Oh how my head swims, oh how my heart yearns! I'm coming for you! Our flesh will become one and we'll never speak of what we've become! It's what you want. I'm gone! I'm gone! I'm gone! So it seems that we were nothing. I'm giving up! Are you happy now that I've figured out that I was just a victim?! In a game of lies and lustful tension? I can't believe I fell for you! I was wrong, I am confused. A foolish mistake.

Circle VII: Sins Of The Lion

Oh the violence.. The ocean beckons with it s gaze Pulling me beneath the waves Their fury is second to none! It s clawing at my burning skin Filling my heart with it s sin, human reason is washed away! Am I the first to be fooled by your dirty little trick? I guess I should have seen this coming, I will not forget (Is washed away) I m the one who has to swallow water, that s what I get for chasing after you! You should be hanging by your neck, swinging there silently! I can t stop the bleeding Tell me that you want me if you need me.. Tell me that you love me if you want me.. Your dying eyes tell a story of poisonous passion Telling me you want me, do you want me? Telling me you want me, do you love me? It is quite clear you despise me by showing your face here And you never even told me why you disappeared! (Is washed away) A bone chilling cry erupts! (I ve seen those eyes but not that smile) A bone chilling cry erupts! (I ve seen those eyes but not that blank stare) A bone chilling cry erupts! (I ve seen those eyes but not that stare) The tides of sin are stained with blood! You will be sorry when He spills the blood from your throat! You ll be torn limb from limb, tramp! There will be hell to pay, hell to pay!

Vestige
Washed on a shore enchanted lies and I am breathless Struggling for reason How could it be such a wondrous place is trapped in silence Give them redemption Time is melting away, I can t explain but my eyes are begging to stay I must say a sunny day helps to push the memories away I can t imagine my leaving here.. It sounds so peaceful living in solace A perfect vision of ecstasy, a dreamy palace Home to the soulless.. Time is melting away, I can t explain but my eyes are begging to stay I must say a sunny day helps to push the memories away Walk along the shore of an ocean of rage.. Gazing in amazement at each screaming wave Everywhere I look there s agony and pain.. What s the point of fighting when there s nothing to save? Time is melting away, I can t explain but my eyes are begging to stay I must say a sunny day helps to push the memories away Caution must be obeyed on an island of decayed..

Lullaby Of The Crucified

My angel close your eyes, I'll be your lover tonight. Pitiful lullaby, I'll be your lover tonight. My own misery is taunting me. The air stings my lungs, I can barely see. Wicked eyes surrounding me, the trees are watching silently. I could try to run but baby what's the point? I may never know (I don't see the point.) why I let you go. My body is aching. I'm losing my mind! There's nothing to hold onto. My angel close your eyes, I'll be your lover tonight. I'm tired of trying. I'm sick of waiting! If there's nothing that I can do. A pitiful lullaby to sing the tortured to sleep We could settle down and change the end. Nothing but time, start over again. All the little things you do that make me fall in love with you. Have led me to this, a bittersweet abyss. I may never know (a vexatious kiss.) why I let you go. I will follow you into the night my darling eyes. I would do anything to be lying with you as I watch you dream. I have been reborn! I have broken free! I'm free! I'm free! You can't deny me, do not defy me! I'm drunk on lust and sovereignty! Abandon all hope for beyond time I can stand! I have been reborn! Darling, tonight we say goodbye! Sing a touching lullaby and we'll watch the angels cry.

Before Him All Shall Scatter

Vid'io pi di mille anime distrutte. Fuggir cos dinanzi ad un ch'al passo. Passava Stige con le piante asciutte. Dal volto rimovea quell' aere grasso. Menando la sinistra innanzi spesso; Ahi quanto mi parea pien di disdegno! Venne a la porta e con una verghetta. l'aperse, che non v'ebbe alcun ritegno. O cacciati del ciel, gente dispetta, Cominci elli in su l'orribil soglia, Ond' esta oltracotanza in coi s'alletta? Poi si rivolse per la strada lorda, E non f motta a noi, ma f sembiante. D'omo cui altra cura stringa e morda.

Labyrinth
I'm getting stronger and I'm no longer fighting by myself. For now locked doors are opening for me! No turning back, I have to get out, get out, get out! Before it's too late. My child, I am the way! Do you think it's wrong of me to long for you despite how you taste? I'm not the one to give up on you now. I'll never leave the ground without having to let go, yeah! Every time I try I'm further from the sky. I wish that I could let go, I'm lost in your beautiful trance. Grit my teeth, you're mine, I'll make it painless! Say your last goodbyes, I'll make it painless! Take a breath and I will make it painless! Guess again, guess again, guess again! I'm exhausted. I have to get up, get up, get up! Get up on my feet. My sweet, I am the light! Do you think it's wrong of me to long for you despite how you taste? I'm not the one to give up on you now. I'll never leave the ground without having to let go, yeah! Every time I try it just gets harder to find. Darling cry for me! Call to me, there's nowhere to run! Sing to me, there's no way to climb! There's nowhere to hide, this is where I'll die! My God, why!? In reverie I smile imagining when I will lie close to you. And we won't have to worry but watch the sky dance for us instead. I think I want to I want to sing you to sleep, with you I want to dream. I'm not the one to give up on you now. I'll never leave the ground without having to let go, yeah! Every time I try I'm further from the sky. I wish that I could let go, I'm lost in your beautiful trance. Suddenly I'm floating so far from you.

The Fiend
Blessed smoke bellows from the beast! Bow to the gears and worship the machine! Is it so? This can t be happening.. Why can t they see? Seas of children are bound, gagged, and led into the flames Blind are leading the blind into a disaster I m the only one who seems to care If you decide to worship the chaos.. I will not wait and watch as you burn All must kneel before the alter, the veiled will be exalted We are the flock! They do not hear a word I say In the God s harbor all shall rest, become part of the master We are divine! I can not save them all! Blind are leaving the blind into a disaster I m the only one who seems to care If you decide to worship the chaos.. I will not wait and watch as you burn Should we go? They all seem so content We should go and become part of him I need you to trust me now Don t move, I ll figure this out Forget what anyone said Just take my hand or we ll both be dead Blind are leading the blind into a disaster I m the only one who seems to care.. If you decide to worship the chaos.. I will not wait and watch as you burn.. They ll never be able to see that they grave this captivity..

Welcome To The Vanity Faire

I search high and low but I can t find you Still your vexing laugh entices me Close enough to touch but then you run away I m about to quit and then you say, lose yourself in the vanity faire! Insanity is whispering to me, woah! What I believe is just not making sense of what I see Show me your reflection, a sly disguise, is it the girl you want to be? A porcelain smile, you re a knockout, baby? Drape yourself in fragile fantasy I see your reflection, a sly disguise, and it s not the girl your want to be? A fraudulent smile What you see is what you ve asked for,but it s never what you are A cold-hearted tale Lost in a maze of beautiful deception And just like before I m at the mercy of a phantom When will it end? How will it end? And will you be in arms? I just can t take anymore of this pointless search for nothing Hey hey hey! Silence, oh cruel harlot! Silence! Your filthy tongue will be stilled! Laughter echoing, I m unraveling tonight Silence! I ve had enough! Silence! No longer will you stop me! Your vanity so patiently will steal your soul You re hideous.. Mirror, mirror on the wall, a liar to us all, you ll be the one to fall The eye of the beholder knows the truth What you see is what you ve asked for, What you see is what you get A cold-hearted tale Attack the mirrors, shatter the prison One by one reflections fall, come on come on come on come on! Until I destroy them all, come on come on come on come on!

The Wanderer
A few prisms of glass offer litter comfort in the blackness The desolate emptiness drinking every last drop of life that s left in me I pray for absolution, let me return to the path of a tempting lie Lead me towards the light Truly I ve run awry My compass is spinning in the shadows It s funny how we believe the things that we tell ourselves to And our hearts simply follow I pray for absolution, let me return to the path of a tempting lie.. Lead me towards the lights I pray for the absolution, let me return to the path of a tempting lie.. Lead me towards the light

A Gilded Masquerade
As the water drips from the sky I start to wander.. If I m still alive then I have to find the answer.. Could it be that it was a dream and I m still beside her? Right before my eyes a tragic surprise, the water stops.. Wickedness will rain and drown us in her Sorrow and her thirst! If I hope to survive I must think faster, I m losing ground Should I pull back the veil? You have the best of me, now taste the worst! All the glimmers is not gold I may be wrong but your brilliance is my darkness You had me convinced that together we could fly Until I started scratching at the surface And I saw beyond your masquerade! Your body is an illness.. Temples crashing down all around me, Panic chokes the streets! The golden city falls And with it our lives go up in flames Should I pull back the veil? You have the best of me, now taste the worst! All that glimmers is not gold (All shall be made clear) (We ve been watching you wander) My blood runs cold (There s no need to run farther) I fear I know the truth (Come into our arms, brother) I tear back to cowl and stare into my own eyes! Who are you? Who are you? Who are you!? Yeah! Hey Hey Hey Hey I pull back the veil You have the best of me, now taste the worst! All that glimmers is not gold And I m sickened by the though of you! I may never be the same again (I may never be the same again)

The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Marionettes

There's no escape from this awful place! Hey, stranger what's your name? Have we met before? Take a look around, the scenes are all the same. I can see the veil right behind me. I'll close my eyes and this will go away. Have I ever said this before!? If I just keep moving will I be okay or panic in the mayhem!? I can't take it, I'm battered and broken, abandoned forever! It's round and round and round we go. Somebody please let me know just what it takes to begin to start all over again. The truth has finally shown it's face. How long have I been in this place? I never had a choice, you blinded me and stole my voice! I will see you soon. Do I ever dare to question fate's design or submit to such a bleak destiny? There has to be another way than this, It's a hopeless fight anyway! I will not give up and wash away the sin, I'm thirsting for the carnage! I can't take it, I'm battered and broken, abandoned forever! I will no longer take flight from you... Now that you've got me, what's next?! Let me help. Now I destroy you, demon! Sinew is ripped to shreds! Stripped form your body, crimson! Fury of righteousness will now consume you in death! It's the sweet, sweet song of your heartbeat. All I feel is a memory. Of the night I laid in bed with you. It's the easy sound of your breathing. Telling me what I should've seen. Where was I when you fell fast asleep? I can't live without you by my side. It's round and round and round we go. Somebody please let me know just what it takes to begin, to start all over again!

And Now For The Final Illusion

Wake up... Wake up... Wake up... My eyes open wide as I wake, panting, some say that dreams have deeper meaning. That they are cries from our subconscious. I feel strangely compelled to recount this one to my love, My Annabel, shaking her gently, I wonder why her flesh has the chill of virgin snow. My thoughts are disrupted as reality hits me like a bold of lightning and I scream. We are the crucified, we are the virtuous, we are the damned. We are the crucified, this is our nightmare, let's pray we never fall asleep. Imprisoned beneath the world where the soulless dwell. Lies a place that the damned call home. A place where the virtuous hide in fear. A place we see only in our nightmares. A place where the sun is silent.