Adolin, convinced they have died and reached Damnation, awakens on a white platform in a sea of glass beads beneath a black sky. Kaladin draws Stormlight and immediately attracts swarming nightmare spren until Syl warns that power feeds them, forcing him to stop. Pattern identifies the hovering Oathgate spren and a vast Unmade churning beneath the platform. Adolin’s attempt to summon his Shardblade prompts a scream from the scratched-eyed spren—his dead Blade’s soul—confirming it cannot be summoned here.

Shallan takes charge. Drawing Stormlight, she manipulates beads by anchoring to the “souls” of nearby objects, first crafting a small shield, then leapfrogging the group on alternating platforms shaped from the Oathgate building and a large door. She instructs Azure and Adolin while keeping Kaladin moving. Along the route, she senses the lights of Kholinar’s people, notes some stop vanishing as surrender replaces chaos, and edges the group past rising clawlike spines from the depths. Syl observes the Oathgate spren are red-corrupted, explaining why the transfer led to Shadesmar.

Adolin supports a traumatized Kaladin, who laments failing to protect Elhokar. Adolin keeps him engaged with steady talk until they reach a shoreline of black, glassy stone. As Shallan’s concentration falters and a platform collapses, Adolin hauls her from the beads. Azure, exhausted—her hair visibly dimming—follows them ashore.

Kaladin presses to return and help, but Adolin orders a camp, recognizing their limits. They settle in a shallow depression with makeshift bedding, watching the distant glow of Kholinar. As the reality of the city’s fall settles, Adolin reflects on Elhokar’s death, Gavilar’s heir being taken, and Dalinar’s likely abdication, realizing he may now be next in line to be king.