In rough seas aboard the First Dreams, Kaza refuses to shelter below, intent on her purpose. The sudden, unnatural storm falls silent as they near Aimia, and Captain Vazrmeb boasts the new storm came from these isles. Kaza, already disfigured by years of Soulcasting that turns her to smoke, clings to the hope of a cure rumored to exist on Akinah.

Approaching Akinah, they find the island encircled by towering, Soulcast stone spearheads that churn the waters. In dinghies, Kaza dons her Soulcaster—limited to smoke—and dissolves several submerged tips, nearly losing herself to the lure of transformation. She then opens a hole through the tightly packed wall of spires, glimpsing dark, citylike rock formations beyond.

As the boats slip inside, sailors begin collapsing. Vazrmeb goes limp, and the other crews drift, unconscious. Determined to act on her own will, Kaza rows alone to shore, finding gemhearts among greatshell remains before collapsing from the drug taking hold.

The Reshi cook confronts Kaza, admitting she drugged the crew to prevent discovery of Akinah. She warns that revealing its secrets could lead to the ends of worlds, then sheds her human guise, crumbling into a swarm of cremlings—a Sleepless. As the cremlings try to take her Soulcaster, Kaza asserts her choice: she Soulcasts the stone beneath her into smoke and goes with it, dying to protect Aimia’s secrets rather than be used.