At the top of an Azimir watchtower, Adolin inspects a new Azish fabrial pair of binoculars from Colot. The device can highlight living beings at a distance, and through it Adolin spots four Heavenly Ones in the sky beyond the city. Because even a small enemy reinforcement could signal a larger attack, Adolin orders a quiet alert and asks that Notum be sent to him immediately.

In one of Dalinar’s uncontrolled visions, Navani walks through an ancient Urithiru that is failing but not yet fully dormant, realizing this is the period when the Radiants abandoned the tower. Dalinar and Navani follow a Windrunner to the front of the tower, where a confrontation is underway between him and a large group of Skybreakers. Dalinar uses Connection to place Navani into the role of the Bondsmith Melishi so she can hear the exchange directly.

As Melishi, Navani listens while the Windrunner Garith urges unity because singers with Surges and forms of power have become a real threat again. The Skybreakers reject that argument, accuse Windrunners and Melishi of lies, and demand truth and order instead of secrecy. Most importantly, their leader says their new head has told them the truth of humanity’s origin on another world and that the Skybreakers have revealed this to everyone despite Melishi’s wishes. After the Skybreakers leave, Garith bitterly warns that the tower’s loss, the hidden truth, and the coming war near Iri and Feverstone will deepen the Radiants’ divisions.

Back in Azimir’s present battle, Adolin meets Commandant Kushkam overlooking the Oathgate dome, where the battlefield has become a blood-soaked ring of debris and repeated assaults. They discuss desperate defensive measures such as dumping oil and plugging corridors with Soulcast bronze if the dome begins to fail. Kushkam privately admits that exhausted troops, missing reinforcements, and the possible arrival of more Fused could break their defense, and Adolin has no concrete plan beyond insisting that help is coming.

Adolin tries to steady the people around him as he speaks with the young archer Zabra, trades weary banter with May Aladar, and continues to hide his fatigue. Then Notum arrives and peers into Shadesmar, where he senses not only more Fused but something far worse: the soul of a thunderclast. Adolin immediately sounds the alarm, rushes outside, and sees a massive stone monster rising near Azimir, confirming that the enemy’s most dangerous assault has begun.