Kaladin runs the dark tunnels of Urithiru with Teft on his shoulders, defying the order to surrender. Low on Stormlight, unarmed save a scalpel, and guided by Syl at intersections, he searches for higher, unoccupied floors while wrestling with exhaustion and the weight of recent failures.

He hides as a red glow approaches: the Fused he previously killed in Hearthstone, now reborn—the Pursuer. Kaladin has Syl lure the Fused away; the Pursuer drops his body like a husk and chases her as a red ribbon of light. Kaladin seizes the moment to retrieve Teft and move, but soon realizes multiple squads are sweeping the level to encircle him.

With stairwells and corridors blocked, Kaladin reaches a dead end. He prepares to ambush the first soldiers to break through, considering taking a weapon from them. Syl quietly asks if they should surrender; Kaladin refuses, believing the Pursuer intends to kill him. Light from approaching searchers grows as he braces for a final stand.

Then a faint violet glow traces along a garnet vein in the stone. Kaladin follows it to a near-invisible embedded gemstone and, spending precious Stormlight, infuses it. A silent slit opens in the wall, revealing a hidden passage. With voices just outside, he slips through; the door closes without a trace.

Kaladin follows the moving light through secret corridors to an undefended stairwell, climbs to the eleventh floor, and uses his last Light to open another concealed doorway. Inside the absolute darkness beyond, he sets Teft down as the entrance seals. Exhausted but safe for the moment, Kaladin finally collapses into sleep.