I-4. Kaza

Kaza, a Soulcaster whose body is slowly being consumed by her device, joins Captain Vazrmeb's ship on a dangerous voyage to the island of Akinah in search of a cure. After surviving a mysterious storm and using her powers to breach stone barriers blocking the island's entrance, she discovers the crew has been poisoned by the ship's cook—a supernatural entity guarding the island's secrets.

Kaza clings to the rigging of the First Dreams during a violent storm near Aimia, refusing to go below deck despite her deteriorating physical state. Her body is slowly transforming into smoke due to prolonged use of her Soulcaster, leaving her with a hole in her cheek and disintegrating flesh. The storm mysteriously stops as suddenly as it began, and Captain Vazrmeb reveals their destination: Akinah, a legendary island rumored to hold secrets about Soulcasters and potentially a cure for Kaza's condition. After a brief unsettling conversation with the helmsman Droz, in which she threatens him with her touch, the ship approaches Akinah, which is surrounded by enormous stone spears that were previously Soulcast into place. Kaza uses her Soulcaster to transform the tips of several underwater spears into smoke, creating a passage for the dinghies to enter. As the three dinghies row toward the island's dark, city-like rock formations, all the sailors except Kaza begin to lose consciousness. She discovers they have been poisoned and rows herself to shore, where she collapses. Upon waking, the ship's cook—revealed to be a supernatural creature—confronts her, explains that she has been guarding the island to prevent discovery of its secrets, and begins to crumble into cremlings. Kaza, refusing to be rendered helpless, uses her Soulcaster one final time to transform the ground beneath her into smoke, choosing to become smoke herself rather than be left at the mercy of whatever guards this place.