Szeth, Kaladin, and Syl enter a rain-soaked Shin city and discover it nearly deserted. Inside one house they find a woman who has only just recovered her mind after the passing of the "shadow" from the monastery. She explains that most of the city’s people were sent away at the beginning of the crisis to the first monastery, where they were armed and then deployed to patrol Shinovar’s borders because they were told someone was coming. From this, Szeth concludes that the Unmade is likely at the final monastery on his list, but he still wants to free as many people as possible along the way.

At the central monastery, Szeth is overwhelmed by familiarity and memory. He walks directly to his old acolyte room, counts to his bunk, and removes a loose stone from the wall. Hidden inside is a small wool toy lamb. Finding it breaks Szeth’s composure, and he weeps openly over an object from the life that was taken from him when he was a child.

Kaladin at first assumes the toy belonged to a younger sibling, but Syl realizes the truth: the child in Szeth’s story was Szeth himself. Kaladin suddenly understands Szeth not as a version of himself, but as someone more like Tien: an innocent child taken from home and shaped into a killer. That change in perspective breaks Kaladin’s frustration and replaces it with genuine compassion, because he sees that Szeth’s cruelty and instability grew out of deep damage rather than simple malice.

When Szeth regains control and tries to move on, Kaladin stops him and insists that Szeth is a person, not a weapon or object. Kaladin argues that Szeth has always known right from wrong, that his past explains his crimes without excusing them, and that he still deserves happiness because he was loved by his parents. Forced to answer what he truly wants for himself, Szeth finally admits that he wants to stop killing, stop causing pain, and never be forced to take another life again. He fears that choosing for himself means accepting uncertainty, but Kaladin promises they will try to find another way. Szeth takes Kaladin’s hand and collapses into a hug, openly voicing his desire to be done with violence.

Afterward, Szeth still doubts that his wish can be made real because he believes Shinovar needs him to destroy the corrupted Honorblades. He also reveals that his highspren left earlier that day. Syl quietly retrieves Szeth’s hidden toy so Kaladin can carry it for him, a small sign that Szeth’s buried self is being preserved rather than abandoned. When the group exits into the sunlight, they are met by Nalan’Elin, Herald of Justice, flanked by two highspren. Nale announces that he will accompany Szeth’s quest and pointedly adds that Kaladin needs watching, revealing that Szeth’s spren had not fled in shame but had summoned reinforcement.