Dalinar jolts into another vision and finds himself inhabiting Elhokar at the warcamps, seeing Elhokar’s face in the mirror and sensing the king’s fear, frustration, and desperate wish to live up to Gavilar and Dalinar. A Cryptic-like voice suggests the vision is seeking truth, and Dalinar realizes Elhokar’s paranoia may have been tied to his path toward Radiance. As Dalinar feels more of Elhokar’s inner uncertainty, he understands how badly Elhokar needed someone to listen instead of judging him.

The younger Dalinar enters, and the vision recreates the confrontation where he tried to dominate Elhokar rather than reassure him. Furious at his past self and at what his choices did to Elhokar, Dalinar fights back, but younger Dalinar is stronger and more practiced. During the beating, Dalinar feels Elhokar’s resignation and realizes Elhokar had accepted that his own death might benefit Alethkar because Dalinar would be the stronger ruler. Dalinar tries a different tactic by calling for guards, but younger Dalinar shatters his breastplate and leaves him helpless. Dalinar then notices that one watching guard is Gavinor, and he understands the vision has been arranged to show Gavinor his father broken on the floor by Dalinar’s hand.

Elsewhere, Jasnah confronts Taravangian, who appears in a small temple and confirms that he became Odium after Szeth came to kill him with Nightblood and he used the chance to slay Rayse and Ascend. Taravangian claims Cultivation’s planning enabled the event and says he is speaking to Fen at the same time. Rather than threatening Jasnah directly, he proposes a contest of persuasion: tomorrow he will argue that Queen Fen and Thaylenah should willingly join him and a reborn Dawnsinger nation, and Jasnah may offer the counterargument. He frames this as a gentler strategy than Rayse’s, but makes clear that he expects victory.

In Narak, Venli is brought before a strange, horned Fused named El after she and the others escape the hidden tunnel and are rounded up. El treats rebellion against Odium as a sign of strength instead of treason, offers Venli elevation to Fused status, and promises pardons and rewards for Leshwi and the other rebels because he values their edge against humanity. He also reveals that Odium knows about the listener refugees at the edge of the plateaus and threatens that they can be destroyed soon, making his offer one of survival as much as alliance. After Leshwi warns that El is uniquely dangerous but may be truthful about a changed Odium, Venli regathers her companions and the chasmfiends and admits that, however much she distrusts Odium, they must seriously consider the offer to save their people.