El goes to the Kholinar palace vault, where four Regal guards open the doors for him without resistance. Their obedience pleases El, but it also confirms that the Nine failed to warn them about him after his rebirth. Inside, the envoyform guard Heshual follows El as protocol demands, and El questions Heshual about his old and new names. That conversation leads El to reflect on how singer society has become timid and disordered under the Fused, and on his belief that his own kind can no longer rule properly.

El searches the vault until he finds the object he came for: Jezrien’s prison, the gemstone and dagger used to trap the Herald’s soul. Using one of Raboniel’s anti-Light gemstones, El transfers anti-Light into the prison and destroys what remains of Jezrien forever. El calls Jezrien an old friend and insists that trapping a Herald is a shameful punishment, while annihilation is a mercy. Heshual is horrified by the loss of the vault’s most valuable treasure, and El calmly advises the Regal to run and report what happened.

After Heshual flees, Odium manifests before El. El immediately senses that this is not the same Odium as before and openly challenges him, which the new Odium finds intriguing instead of enraging. Their conversation turns strategic: Odium explains his confidence about Shinovar, Thaylenah, and Azir, but admits the Shattered Plains remain a problem. Because Odium has already committed major forces there, El concludes that the Shattered Plains matter more than they appear and suggests the dangerous Dai-Gonarthis as the only practical way to create the needed passage for reinforcements through the Horneater Peaks.

Odium accepts El’s counsel and elevates him rather than punishing him for destroying Jezrien. At El’s request, Odium grants him rulership without a title, places the Nine beneath him, and orders him to travel to the Peaks, use Dai-Gonarthis to seize the garrison there, and then claim the Shattered Plains. Odium also hints that his ambitions extend beyond Roshar to many worlds. El leaves the meeting exhilarated: instead of execution, he has gained an army, authority, and a new god he believes may finally achieve universal conquest.