As the highstorm fades, Kaladin leaves the barrack, hollowed by the day’s death and Syl’s absence. He passes Gaz, who is retrieving infused spheres, and declares he’s going to the Honor Chasm. At the chasm’s edge, he reflects on his failures, Tien, and the seeming inevitability of his crew’s deaths, lifting a foot to step into the void.

Syl returns, exhausted, bearing a blackbane leaf to replace the one Kaladin lost. Misunderstanding its purpose yet remembering his former compassion for raw recruits, she urges him not to give up, asking for “one more try.” Kaladin wrestles with guilt and fatalism, then rejects the poison and the jump, deciding that helping the bridgemen cannot make things worse.

Kaladin strides back through the storm, seizes Gaz by the throat, and declares a new order: he is already “dead” and cannot be threatened. He claims leadership of Bridge Four, compels Gaz’s agreement, and institutes a bribe—one mark in five of his meager pay—to keep Gaz out of his way.

Returning to the barrack, Kaladin recognizes that the men’s despair hasn’t changed—he has. He begins rebuilding by asking for names, starting with the wary veteran Teft, then moving through the crew. The men resist, as if names are their last possessions, but yield under his persistence.

Holding their names like gemstones, Kaladin embraces responsibility in place of hope. With Syl buoyed by his resolve, he plans for the coming hardships and vows to find a way to protect Bridge Four.