Kaladin is shocked when Shallan summons a Shardblade; touching it brings no screams, unsettling him. Despite his aversion, he accepts the weapon to protect Shallan, agreeing to draw the chasmfiend left so she can retrieve her satchel and its vital maps for Dalinar.

In the dim chasm, Kaladin spars with the massive creature, his cuts mostly superficial. He drops the Blade during evasions and suffers a severe leg wound when the beast bites him. Attempting to draw Stormlight fails, and he briefly sees an illusory double of himself shattered by a blow. Seizing an opening, Kaladin dives close and thrusts the Blade up through the chasmfiend’s mouth into its brain.

The chasmfiend collapses onto Kaladin. Shallan, cloaked in darkness from an illusion and having used decoys to distract the beast, locates him and hacks away mandibles to pull him free. She binds Kaladin’s wounds as night and an approaching highstorm threaten their lives.

Determined to survive, Shallan uses her Shardblade to cut a ladder of handholds and hollow a shallow cubby above the flood line. Exhausted, she hauls Kaladin onto the fallen chasmfiend, tosses him a vine, and starts him climbing. Water begins to surge and the plants retract as the highstorm arrives; Kaladin reaches for Shallan’s hand as the stormwall hits.