6 minutes • November 04, 2016
It is what seems to be the final mission for Halo’s Master Chief, and he is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. His trusted partner, holographic Cortana, will do anything to ensure his survival, even as she faces her own destruction.
Inspired by the ending of Halo 4, this duet explores the blending of duty, love, and fear, with lyrics that evoke poetry of war-torn lovers of the past.
Appears on Song Cycle: The History of Video Games
| MICHAEL SALVATORI | Composer | |
| MARTIN O'DONNELL | Composer | |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | Original Publisher |
| KAZUMA JINNOUCHI | Composer | |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | Original Publisher |
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Master Chief:
Evening sings a lonely sorrow
Far away from all I know.
Ever present is she,
My heart’s companion aglow.
No emotion stirs within me,
Not a flutter in my chest.
On her light I rely
To guide me to life or death.
Cortana:
Brave as the headlong wind
Journeying through the skies to battle
Strong as a river forging ahead
Crossing the blackness vast and impassable
Let me be the voice that leads you.
Both:
Freedom will remain a daydream
‘Til the task at hand is done
‘Til the war is over
The battle truly won.
Cortana:
I am but a sprite among giants,
Flitting this way and that
To discover the pathway which he alone must tread.
Both:
What can one man do, facing such malice?
Cortana:
Would that I could bear the load instead.
Master Chief:
I will bear the load instead.
I see her suffering, as a flickering light she fades
Like a helpless tree split by a lightning flame.
I may die in this gath’ring fire.
Cortana (at the same time):
Sparks fly rampant around me.
Together:
Shall I tempt fate’s indifferent hand?
Will we end as we began?
Cortana:
Now that fleeting hope eludes me,
My beloved I shall spare.
I will forfeit my claim,
My place beside him there.
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