The ground shook. A merchant dropped a crate of olives. I didn't blink. I hit the pre-chorus with a vibrato so intense it rivaled the tectonic plates shifting beneath us.

Except, I didn't just sing the words. I became the melody. I did the part, but since it was just my voice, I layered it. I was the lead, the backup, and the synthesizer all at once.

People were screaming and running for the harbor, but I stayed centered. As the pyroclastic flow began its descent, I hit that final, iconic line: "Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?"

I didn’t have a backing track. I didn’t have a microphone. I just had the raw power of my own lungs and a dream.

"I was left to my own de-vi-ces," I sang, my voice echoing off the marble pillars. I didn't just sing it; I lived it. I did the little percussion sounds with my tongue— chk-chk, boom —to really set the mood.

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for. The clouds turned black, the first dusting of ash hit my shoulders, and I leaped onto a fountain ledge for the big drop. "But if you close your eyes!" I roared.