At the Dustbringer monastery, Szeth feels an unexpected peace in returning to a place he once loved, but that calm sharpens his doubts about Nale’s pilgrimage. Concluding that endless killing is destroying him and that no one has explained what the Honorbearer trials are really for, Szeth refuses Kaladin and Syl’s help, dismisses his Blade, and enters the monastery determined not to fight unless forced.

Inside, a new Dustbringer Honorbearer attacks with Division-fueled intimidation tactics, but Szeth’s experience lets him evade everything without striking back. As the duel continues, Szeth realizes the attacker is holding back and then recognizes the voice and face beneath the wrappings: his sister, Elid. Elid vents her bitterness over Szeth’s disgrace ruining their family, tells Szeth that their mother died and their father was taken by the Voice, and admits that she too has been claimed by the same darkness. Because Szeth chooses surrender over violence, Elid cannot kill him, and the two finally embrace.

As Elid begins dissolving into smoke like the other Honorbearers, she reveals the truth: the Oathpact is broken, the Heralds are failing, Jezrien is dead, and the pilgrimage is an audition to find someone to replace him. Nale confirms that this is exactly his goal and coldly admits that Szeth has been fighting the dead, not the living, and that Szeth’s father waits at the last monastery. Syl challenges Nale’s plan, arguing that a restored Oathpact might no longer work because of the Everstorm, while Nale insists the Fused returned because Taln broke and that trying to rebuild the pact is still necessary. Horrified at the idea of becoming a Herald, Szeth calls it impossible, yet continues on because his life has repeatedly shown him that impossible things can happen.

Elsewhere at Narak, Sigzil meets with the coalition’s battlefield leaders as the siege worsens. Heavy Radiant casualties, dwindling Stormlight, enemy reinforcements, and the storm itself convince most of the commanders that they are unlikely to hold Narak for the two remaining days Dalinar needs. Sigzil keeps the meeting focused on survival rather than despair, and afterward privately tells General Winn and Vienta that he may have a desperate idea based on the precise terms of Dalinar’s agreement with Odium, though he is not yet sure it can work.

Deep beneath Narak, Venli, Timbre, Thude, and Bila reach the tunnel’s end and discover a brilliant golden pool hidden in a cavern under the main plateau. Venli identifies it as a godly gateway like Cultivation’s pool and realizes it may be Odium’s long-hidden perpendicularity, perhaps concealed through some interaction with Honor. The discovery explains why Odium is so determined to hold this exact ground and links the site to ancient destruction and the explosive clash of storms. Before Venli’s group can decide what to do with this knowledge, a guard arrives with urgent news: their Heavenly Ones have been discovered by the singers and by a terrifying Fused.