Over five days of negotiations, Kesath and Nenavar hammered out a mutual defense pact and trade agreement. Throughout these sessions, Alaric found himself distracted by memories of his moonlit encounter with Talasyn in the garden—the feel of her skin against his bare hands and her fierce defiance among the orchids. He tried to counteract these feelings by recalling her cutting remarks, reminding himself that his reactions to her were dangerous and required caution.

On the fifth day, Alaric requested that Kesath be allowed to purchase aether hearts and gain access to the Void Sever nexus point. Talasyn vehemently objected, arguing that granting the Night Empire access to death magic was reckless. Queen Urduja then revealed the true reason behind the marriage alliance: the Void Sever was becoming volatile as a sevenfold lunar eclipse—the Night of the World-Eater—approached. Every thousand years, the Voidfell breaks free and devastates Nenavar, and this time calculations showed the destruction would extend across the Eversea to the Northwest Continent, threatening Kesath itself. Urduja explained that the light-and-shadow shield Alaric and Talasyn had accidentally created at the Belian garrison could be the key to containing the catastrophe, and she demanded they train together to replicate and refine this barrier as a condition of the alliance.

Talasyn was stunned and betrayed to learn that this had been her grandmother's plan all along and that she had been deliberately kept in the dark. Even her father Elagbi, who appeared contrite, had been ordered by Urduja to withhold the information. As the Dominion nobles avoided Talasyn's gaze one by one, she slumped in defeat. Alaric, recognizing in her pain an echo of his own experiences with his father Gaheris's public humiliations, felt unexpected empathy. He stepped in to formally agree to the arrangement and insisted that both sides share all necessary information going forward, sparing Talasyn further exposure.

That evening, Talasyn lay numb in her bed, refusing visitors. The next morning, she and Alaric met in the Roof of Heaven's atrium with Daya Ishan Vaikar and a group of Nenavarene Enchanters from Ahimsa. With the sariman cages removed, they attempted to recreate the light-and-shadow shield against a fired void bolt. The attempt failed—their conjured daggers of light and shadow sparked and were devoured by the void blast. Alaric tackled Talasyn to the ground to save her, shielding her with his body. In the aftermath, Talasyn noticed his scent and heartbeat against her before pushing him away.

Alaric deduced that their shield had only worked previously during a lunar eclipse, and Ishan confirmed this theory, noting that many feats of aethermancy are tied to natural phenomena. They agreed to try again during the next eclipse in a fortnight. Ishan also suggested they craft defensive shields rather than offensive daggers. When Talasyn admitted she couldn't form shields due to her incomplete training under Vela, Alaric offered to teach her. Despite their mutual hostility, Talasyn grudgingly acknowledged the arrangement, finding that her anger toward Alaric at least cut through the emotional numbness left by her grandmother's betrayal.