(spoken, soft, unwavering) They called you wicked.
But I remember someone who was hurt long before they became feared.
[Verse 1] They found you in the ruins they created with their hands A child left alone inside a world too cruel to understand They pointed at the darkness growing underneath your skin But never once admitted they were the ones who let it in
Yes they built the crossroads Yes they lit the flame But pain does not erase the truth That you still had a name
[Pre-Chorus] So I learned the cost Of what hate can do How the wounded often become What wounded them first
[Chorus] Call it mercy Even if the world thinks mercy’s weak Call it mercy Even when revenge would come easier to me I’ve seen your fury, seen your grief Seen the child beneath your teeth And I refuse to let your suffering Become the only truth you leave
Call it mercy Go on, call it mercy But look who’s dropping the match
[Verse 2] I know the fires hidden deep beneath abandoned hearts I know how shame can spread until it tears a soul apart I know what happens when a person learns they’re only feared The world stops seeing who they were And only sees what they became
But every curse can still be broken Every wound can still be faced And every hand taught only violence Can still choose not to pass it on in hate
[Pre-Chorus] So I opened my eyes And looked at you Not the legend Not the weapon Not the ruin You
[Chorus] Call it mercy Even if forgiveness terrifies you Call it mercy Even if healing feels impossible to do You wore the monster like a crown Because the world would give no other one But I still believe beneath the smoke There’s something left worth saving from the fire
Call it mercy Maybe that’s what scares you
[Bridge — piano and voice only] I know you weren’t born this way
No child enters the world wanting to become feared wanting to become hatred wanting to become a warning
Someone hurt you Until surviving became indistinguishable from destroying
And maybe vengeance feels powerful Maybe rage feels safer than grief
But if pain is all we pass to each other
Then the fire never ends
[Choir Rise][Celestial Harmonies][Emotional Vocal Lift]
[spoken, soft] You wanted the world to feel what you felt.
I understand.
[Final Chorus — massive orchestra + choir, key lift] Call it mercy I will not answer suffering with more suffering Call it mercy I will not let the fire decide what’s human Yes they made you into something Yes the world failed you first But I still believe the soul beneath the ashes Is worth more than what the pain reversed
Call it mercy While you became the storm I stayed behind To shelter what’s still fragile
Call it mercy
Because someone should have shown you Mercy too
[Outro — whispered] Were we born this way?
Or were we just children who needed love before the fire found us?