Four days remain before the contest of champions.

Szeth, Kaladin, and Nale head to the Lightweaver monastery. Kaladin and Nale have a philosophical conflict; they strongly disagree about the source of moral authority and have different ideas on how much independence and free will an individual should claim.

In Thaylen City, Jasnah worries that Odium must have some plan or advantage that she has not yet seen.

The Lightweaver Honorbearer, a former friend of Szeth’s named Moss, presents Szeth with a puzzle to solve rather than dueling him. Moss weaves 30 illusions of the Herald Shalash. They seem nearly identical. Moss tells Szeth that all of the representations of Shalash are imperfect, save one; Moss hides behind the perfect one. Szeth must kill Moss by selecting the right illusion to attack. Then, he must escape the monastery with the Honorblade.

Venli leads a group of Parshendi and chasmfiends toward the center of the Shattered Plains, where she senses the presence of a source of power; she hears this source as a song. They travel in the chasms to avoid the battle that is taking place on the surface.