[Verse 1] Between Level twenty-nine and Level one The path should have been clear
It was not clear
The air changed first The temperature The quality of the dark Castor felt it
Cygnus felt it differently The way Cygnus felt things since Level thirty-four
Herc said: this is not a regular hollow Cassie said: no The Hero said: should we— The Hunter said: probably not
But it stopped moving And it looked at them Which hollows do not do
[Pre-Chorus] Not a random hollow Not a remnant Not a fragment drifting through a level
Something that remembered them
Something that had been here Before the levels were numbered Before the folds were named Before SOLARA replaced What came before her
[Chorus] The Old The One Not the current one The one before The one who built the system that SOLARA inherited The one who understood what the hollow was Because he had been one The Old The One
He said: I remember all of you
[Verse 2] He told them about Level negative forty-five
He said: your captain is there He said: the others who were with her are there He said: the hollow brought them as it brought you here But the hollow at forty-five is different It has been there a very long time
He said: I cannot reach it He said: it is past what I can touch He said: you will have to go
Cassie said: we know Herc said: we were already going The Old The One said: I know you were That is why I am here
[Pre-Chorus 2] The Hero stepped forward He said: we want our names back The Hunter stepped forward He said: what he said
The Old The One looked at them For a moment that was longer than moments usually are
And then he made a sound That may have been the hollow version of a laugh
[Bridge] He said:
You have not changed at all
He said it like he had said it before Like he had said it many times before In many levels Before the names were taken
He said: Persy
And then: Rion
And nothing else
The Hero said nothing The Hunter said nothing They looked at each other
The Hero said: Persy? The Hunter said: Rion? The Hero said: I thought it was Perseus The Old The One said: it is Everyone who loves you calls you Persy
The Hunter said: and Rion is Orion The Old The One said: yes Everyone who loves you calls you Rion
Castor said quietly: did you just get your names back from a hollow Cygnus was already dancing A small one Just to mark the moment
[Final Chorus] Level negative forty-five SOLARA is waiting Level negative forty-five The captain needs us Persy, Rion, Cygnus, Herc, Cassie, Castor
Six names Six directions One place to be
Negative forty-five We are coming
[Outro] They had turned to go
When the light changed
Not hollow light Not level light Something else
She landed quietly She looked at them She said: my name is Lara She said: I have been looking for you She said: we need to talk about Level negative forty-five
And the hollow that was The Old The One Went very still In a way that meant He had not expected her
[END]
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