[Intro]
The bells were quiet on the quay that day
Paint still wet where the years fell away
I held my breath as the light went thin
Learning how to leave the world I'm in

[Verse]
We sailed with hope stitched into our coats
Ink on our hands, prayers in our throats
Gustave smiled, said, "Stay behind my flame"
When the numbers fell, he called my name
I saw him stand where the monsters ran
Gears and courage in a shaking hand
Steel rang once, then the dark came through
He broke like dawn so I could move

[Chorus]
I let the canvas burn to ash and air
Let the colors loosen what we were
If love's a picture, I tore the frame
To save the truth from a painted name
I'm Maelle now, and Alicia too
I chose the end so we could be true

[Verse]
Battles bled into marble halls
Axon hearts and shattered walls
Renoir's house, the masks we wore
Every step, another door
Visions cracked like a silver seam
A girl with a veil inside my dream
White hair watching, time held fast
Immortal grief that couldn't pass

[Chorus]
I let the canvas burn to ash and air
Let the colors loosen what we were
Gustave's voice in the engine's hum
"Go on, little star, the dark will run"
I'm Maelle now, and Alicia too
I chose the end so we could be true

[Bridge]
Verso's hands were tired of years
Of saving ghosts and drowning tears
A mother's warning, numbers as scars
Buying time beneath false stars
When the monolith went quiet, I knew
Some endings heal by seeing through

[Chorus]
I let the canvas burn to ash and air
Let the colors loosen what we were
No more Gommage, no borrowed breath
We faced the light, we faced the death
I'm Maelle now, and Alicia too
I chose the end so we could be true

[Outro]
The old Expedition fades like gold
In a Belle Époque the past can't hold
If you hear my steps where the paint once lay
Know I loved you enough to walk away