As the highstorm crashes over the Shattered Plains, Shallan heaves Kaladin into a shallow westward alcove. Floodwaters surge past, littered with torn vegetation and corpses of men and Parshendi. With their light lost and the river threatening to pull them free, they cling together, witnessing eerie lightning and a distant, steady glow above—immense, inhuman figures striding the storm.

To drown out the terror, Shallan asks for Kaladin’s story. He recounts Amaram’s betrayal, enslavement, failed escapes, despair, and the birth of Bridge Four through brutal bridge runs and hard choices, culminating in saving Dalinar and facing the Parshendi Shardbearer. Shallan listens quietly, offering no interruptions.

In turn, Shallan confesses she murdered her violent father and describes her family’s collapse, her naive plan to steal Jasnah’s Soulcaster, being accepted as a ward instead, and the protective idea of betrothal to Adolin. Kaladin withholds that he killed the Shardbearer who may have been her brother, Helaran, sensing her lingering anger and not yet revealing the link.

Abruptly, Kaladin is drawn into a vision before an infinite face: the Stormfather. He infers Shallan is a Surgebinder, then begs about Syl. The Stormfather, furious, pronounces Syl dead and blames Kaladin, declaring he will not ride the winds again. The vision collapses; both Kaladin and Shallan have seen the vast face. A sphere that had gone dun now glows anew.

As the highstorm eases, the flood reverses and drains eastward, exposing the wedged chasmfiend carcass. With no immediate way to climb safely and their strength spent, Shallan falls asleep in his arms. Numb with loss over Syl and unable to draw Stormlight, Kaladin finally succumbs to exhaustion beside her.