Adolin wakes from beneath the thunderclast and realizes Rahel saved his life but could not preserve his right leg below the knee. May explains that his Plate shattered and the limb was destroyed, though a stronger Radiant might later restore it. Despite shock, pain, and the apparent collapse of Azimir’s defenses, Adolin insists on returning to command because Kushkam may have fallen and the remaining soldiers need direction.

Supported by Hmask and another soldier, Adolin makes his way toward the breach in the dome. On the way, he joins scattered defenders and finds Yanagawn and the imperial honor guard near the medical quarter, facing an eerie field of corpses. The plaza is strewn with hundreds of dead singers and many Fused, while Kushkam is discovered barely alive. Notum reports that Kushkam’s firebombs burned the dome and forced ordinary enemy troops back through the Oathgate, but the dead Fused outside the breach clearly were not killed by the fire.

Adolin climbs a mound of enemy bodies near the broken wall and discovers the truth. Taln has died upright, pinned by lances while still clutching a crushed Fused skull, and Ash lies mortally wounded beside him after fighting at his side. With her last words, Ash says that this time she will not let Taln go alone, confirming that the two of them made a final stand that slaughtered the Fused massing at the breach. When Colot arrives with reinforcements, the shaken enemy inside the dome does not press the attack, and Adolin realizes that Azimir has survived one more day at terrible cost.

The chapter then shifts to Dalinar, Navani, and Gav inside a vision from the False Desolation. Dalinar quickly realizes he is witnessing a peace parley, not a battle. The Windrunner Garith leads negotiations with Regal singers, who demand more fertile land and openly speak of serving Mishram and the Unmade. Dalinar observes that Garith is deeply committed to peace, that Honor no longer intervenes directly except through Melishi, and that some singers have already rejected forms rather than submit to Mishram.

As the talks break up, Dalinar senses tension around Garith. Other Radiants defend Garith’s leadership, but Melishi believes Garith is betraying them and privately tells Dalinar that the truth will be revealed that night. Dalinar uses Connection to follow Melishi, Navani, Gav, Kalak, and others to a hidden stakeout near a rocky clearing where Garith secretly meets a small group of singers.

Dalinar accidentally slips into Garith’s place in the vision just as the clandestine meeting begins. Expecting proof of treachery, Dalinar instead faces the same direform singer who argued during the parley. Her expression softens, and she steps close and kisses Garith, revealing that the secret contact is intimate and personal, not simply military collusion, and sharply complicating the accusation that Garith is a straightforward traitor.