"There's no giving up in my blood."
That clear voice lightly touched the high notes two octaves up, instantly piercing through layers of restraint and opening up the entire world.
And then...
Closing his eyes and opening his arms, he seemed to feel the wild wind raging through his arms and fingers. The narrow space endlessly stretched and expanded, and the vast, empty starry sky and sea spread out before his eyes. It felt like... standing on the edge of a steep cliff, teetering, ready to fall and be shattered to pieces at any moment.
Using his body to feel the raging wind and huge waves surging in from all directions, the roaring above his ears stirred up monstrous waves. He opened his chest to embrace the vast ocean, immersing himself in the boundless deep blue, gradually dissolving into it, then slowly becoming smaller, and finally turning into a speck of dust in the deep blue, vanishing into nothingness in the magnificent universe.
"This isn't something I was born with!"
Again!
Ronan's singing easily soared above the roaring melody of the entire venue, truly releasing all the suppressed emotions. The piercing high notes illuminated the entire stage, and the magnificent and powerful force crashed down towards the earth like a violent and unrestrained meteor shower—
He couldn't give up.
He knew, he understood, he comprehended, he was clear, he was aware, everything, absolutely everything was crystal clear. But... he refused to give up, he didn't want to give up, he couldn't give up, he resisted giving up, because this wasn't something he was born with. There was no gene for giving up in his blood. Even knowing that giving up was the right choice, he still wanted to hold on a little longer, just a little bit longer.
Foolishly, hold on a little longer.
Stupidly, run a little longer.
He really... wouldn't and couldn't give up.
Could anyone hear his cry for help?
"Constantly checking messages on my phone, endless anxiety attacks, fear once again drowns me in loneliness, I hate this. I try to find ways to relax, but I still can't breathe."
"Can anyone hear me?"
The drumbeats got faster and faster; his blood flowed faster and faster; his heart beat faster and faster. The frantic pounding made his chest ache faintly, as if his heart was about to explode. A thumping sound echoed in his ears, pulling at the blood vessels in his temples, causing them to twitch incessantly.
Clearly surrounded by a surging crowd, the fear of loneliness and isolation crept up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Chills ran down his spine one after another, unable to stop. The anxiety of tossing and turning was tearing at his soul, and the panicked emotions couldn't find a place to settle or an outlet to vent.
So familiar.
Every audience member present was so familiar with this feeling. Anxiety seemed to have become a part of life. Everyone could find the emotions they experienced countless times every day in the melody, and then slowly climb up with the blood-pumping rhythm, like adrenaline.
"Feels like the walls are closing in, sometimes I just want to give up, no medicine can fix this."
"Someone help me, anxiety is overwhelming, so many times I want to give up, but I can't."
Every word was so real. The lyrics "anxiety is overwhelming (I-am-crawling-in-my-skin)" were so fitting, truly depicting the stinging pain of emotions rolling and struggling beneath the skin, the slightly burning pain just like standing barefoot in the desert in the middle of summer.
Every word was a tearful outpouring. The pain hidden in the piano keys intertwined with the drumbeats and poured down, like vines using thorns to wrap around calves. The bloody, mangled pain had already torn through the protection of the skin, yet it was still tightening bit by bit.
But still, he couldn't give up.
"There's no giving up in my blood; born this way, refuse to give up."
Duncan's eyes welled up slightly, and even his body felt a little hot. Scalding tears blurred his vision, but he couldn't move. His muscles were stiff, and he stood there in a daze—maybe it was the fatigue of five in the morning that made him lose control of his body, maybe it was the completely collapsed and defeated spirit of relaxation, or maybe it was both. He couldn't judge at this moment.
Couldn't give up.
Refuse to give up!
Duncan was the same. He wanted to give up on his dreams, he wanted to give up on his persistence, just lower his head and compromise, accept the guidance of fate, obediently return to ordinary daily life, realistically admit his own lack of achievement, and just become one of the millions of ordinary people.
But... he couldn't do it.
He really couldn't do it!
Deep down, he still yearned to pursue his dreams, he still yearned to have a corner of his heart, he still yearned for the baptism of his soul and the awakening of his spirit, he still yearned to truly live, to burn his life, to release his energy, to live because of love, because of passion, and because of happiness.
There was no giving up in his blood.
Scalding tears broke free from the confines of his eyelids, completely blurring his vision. He stared at the figure in the colorful lights in the center of the stage, and his heart also started to burn.
Ronan, holding the microphone with both hands, a slightly hoarse voice revealing a trace of fragility, the veins protruding on his arms exposing the fact that all his muscles were exerting force. His emotions were fully released along with the melody, without concealment or hiding, truly showing himself.
"Someone save me, someone save me? Is anyone gonna save me? Someone save me."
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The slightly trembling voice poured out in the high notes, like shouting at the vast ocean from the edge of a cliff. However, the echoes never received any response, and the despair of loneliness and desolation rebounded, surrounding him again. The ending sound slightly lost control, and the surge of emotions made the singing less than perfect, but it was precisely this imperfection that could truly touch the softest part of the audience's hearts.
In the dazzling spotlight, Ronan's closed eyes could be vaguely seen, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. A hint of moisture in the light burst forth with colorful halos, gently falling on his cheeks. Those inner vulnerabilities, those pains, those struggles were all revealed without reservation.
The darkest moment before dawn truly touched the deepest part of the soul at this moment.
Then, the melody slowed down, with only the drumbeats like the sound of diving underwater, intertwining with Ronan's singing and slowly pushing forward.
They seemed to have returned to the starting point.
"Save me, feels like the walls are closing in, sometimes I just want to give up, but I can't."
The bass and guitar joined in, and the lights throughout the venue suddenly brightened, filled with starlight.
"There's no giving up in my blood, this isn't something I was born with."
The piano joined in again, and the thickness and layers of the melody reached their peak again. In just three lines of lyrics, the emotions progressed layer by layer, rushing towards the climax.
Ronan, whose voice had just reached the first high note, effortlessly released his emotions further, raising his voice another octave, singing loudly into the microphone.
"There's no giving up in my blood!"
"Born this way, refuse to give up!"
High notes, one after another, the soul bathed in a shocking baptism. Goosebumps instantly erupted all over his body, and he couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably.
Note 1: Born this way (In My Blood – Shawn Mendes)