Days pass as Navani immerses herself in controlled experimentation, savoring order over chaos. Using black sand to detect static and kinetic Investiture, she measures Stormlight, Voidlight, and spren presence. Her partnership with Raboniel remains tense but productive, their shared notebook—Rhythm of War—capturing incremental progress.

Raboniel casually reveals offworld travel via Shadesmar and her imprisonment to Braize, widening Navani’s perspective. With Mizthla’s stormform lightning, they attempt to alter Voidlight within a coiled copper housing by changing magnetic polarity. The gemstone shows no change; the anti-Voidlight attempt fails. Raboniel, weary of endless war yet resolute, admits she is not killing but unmaking the Sibling and refuses to abandon her plan.

Seeking to encourage Navani, Raboniel brings nimbleform musicians and resonant metal plates that produce shifted tones of Honor and Odium. The performance echoes their Rhythm of War, both discordant and beautiful. Impressed, Raboniel formally names Navani “Voice of Lights,” honoring her discoveries, though Navani feels conflicted amid the tower’s ongoing loss.

Driven by doubt and urgency, Navani appeals directly to the Sibling through a crystal vein. The Sibling answers faintly, terrified, saying that being unmade is death and that the barrier prevents bonding the singer Navani promised. Their voice fades, underscoring the dire stakes.

Returning to her desk, Navani notices patterns formed in the black sand by the vibrating plates: distinct figures for each Light and a mixed pattern when combined. She realizes Stormlight and Voidlight are fundamentally sounds—vibrations—and concludes that understanding their tonal opposites is the key to creating anti-Lights.