Chaol is dragged into darkness and pain while Yrene works within the scar in his spine. The darkness assaults him with memories and images of fire, death, failure, his family, his father, Dorian, and the people he believes he abandoned or could not save. As the torment intensifies, Chaol begins to wonder whether dying would be easier, and the darkness seems to feed on that despair.

A clean white light suddenly breaks through the void and wraps around Chaol, holding the darkness back. Chaol wakes to find Yrene pulling away from him and trying to hide heavy bleeding from her nose and mouth. Chaol realizes the healing attempt has harmed Yrene, orders her to rest, and watches while the bleeding slowly stops.

Afterward, Yrene explains that she entered the site of the scar and again found the unbreakable wall. The darkness showed Yrene Morath: a black fortress, horrors within it, and an army in the surrounding mountains. Yrene then heard Chaol screaming inside the darkness and understood that the wall might have been a diversion, so Yrene followed the sound and shielded Chaol with her magic, though Yrene fears the sentient darkness may be ready for her next time.

In the quiet after the healing, Chaol apologizes for what happened to Yrene’s mother. Yrene says her mother was everything good in the world and confirms that her mother saved Yrene’s life. Chaol then shares his own guilt: Chaol watched the King of Adarlan murder the woman Dorian loved, then fled when Dorian defied his father to save Chaol and the rebellion. Chaol admits Dorian survived, but Chaol does not know if Dorian is truly whole.

The shared confession softens the space between Chaol and Yrene. When Kadja quietly enters the suite, Yrene looks away, but then suddenly notices something below. Chaol and Yrene both look down and see Chaol’s toes slowly curling and uncurling, the first clear sign that Yrene’s dangerous healing has changed something in his body.