Hilo walks for hours behind Lan’s hearse as No Peak holds its funeral procession to the Kaul family burial ground in Widow’s Park. The city is tense but temporarily calm while both clans bury their dead, and No Peak’s territory displays spirit lamps honoring Kaul Lan. Exhausted by vigil and grief, Hilo privately doubts the comforting rituals and hears his own fears in an imagined version of Lan’s voice, questioning whether Hilo can truly be Pillar.

At the gravesite, Hilo greets his mother, Kaul Wan Ria, who is devastated and nearly unresponsive, and his grandfather, Kaul Sen, who is frail, confused, and still asking after Doru. Hilo realizes that Sen’s diminished condition may help prevent old-guard loyalists from pushing the former Torch back into leadership. As mourners arrive, Hilo watches carefully to see who acknowledges him as Pillar first and who still gravitates toward Sen, confirming that Hilo’s authority remains uncertain.

Wen briefly reassures Hilo that the clan’s Fists rally to him and that Lantern Men need protection more than politics during war. Hilo brings a grieving Anden to stand with the family, while the religious rites proceed and Lan’s coffin is lowered. Hilo surveys the prominent Lantern Men and recognizes that their public tribute is only a gesture; their future loyalty will depend on whether Hilo can defend the clan and win the war.

Chancellor Son offers condolences while pointedly praising Lan as a reasonable, wise leader, making clear his reservations about Hilo’s youth and violent reputation. Hilo understands that losing Lantern Men to the Mountain would endanger No Peak more than any lack of loyal fighters. After the crowd thins, Anden tries to confess that Lan had secretly sent him to retrieve vials and that Lan had seemed altered, but Hilo cuts him off before Anden can name SN1.

Hilo orders Anden never to repeat what he knows, insisting that Lan must be remembered as the clan’s fallen Pillar, killed by the Mountain, with no stain on his memory or the family’s strength. Hilo then softens, telling Anden that Lan’s death was not his fault and encouraging him to graduate from the Academy. Hilo frames this suppression as necessary because the clan’s legacy is its spine, and any doubt about Lan would weaken Hilo’s own authority.

After sending the remaining mourners away, Hilo watches Kaul Sen break down over Lan, and Hilo feels pity for his grandfather’s long grief and decline. Hilo recalls having some of Sen’s jade removed for safety and realizes the old man may not have long to live. Alone at Lan’s grave, Hilo says that Lan’s jade was sewn into the coffin so no one else will wear it, then promises to keep his oaths, prove himself, and prevent No Peak from falling.