Chapter 236

Shallan defeats and kills Mraize by manipulating his perception, then integrates with her alternate persona Radiant. Meanwhile, Renarin and Rlain prepare to shatter the gemstone prison containing Mishram, while Kaladin, Szeth, Sylphrena, and Nale all struggle against overwhelming despair imposed by Ishar—but Kaladin ultimately overcomes the darkness by recognizing his core identity and values.

Shallan kneels beside Mraize's corpse after successfully killing him through misdirection with illusions and a knife infused with anti-Light. Pattern, wearing a Lightweaving of Shallan, and the persona Radiant appear beside her. Radiant, who has carried Shallan's capacity for violence since her emergence after Tyn's death, acknowledges the difficulty of what Shallan has done. Shallan recognizes that while she killed Mraize, she bears no responsibility for his choices or their consequences. As Radiant merges back into Shallan's unified consciousness, Shallan notes that healing is not complete erasure but ongoing management of her mind's inclinations. Mraize's body releases a Cryptic spren—bone-white with an irregular head pattern—who is injured, burned away on one side where anti-Light destroyed the Stormlight aspect rather than the Voidlight. The spren expresses hatred for Shallan despite their connection. Shallan helps the wounded spren and moves toward a nearby room, where she witnesses a horrifying scene: Renarin and Rlain stand with a gemstone raised, positioned to shatter it and release Mishram. Simultaneously, in a separate sequence, Ishar torments multiple characters with overwhelming darkness. Nale, stripped of his protective shields by Ishar, drowns in guilt over his murders. Sylphrena experiences agony as she empathizes with suffering, feeling isolated and emptied of purpose. Szeth, exhausted and surrounded by darkness, questions whether anything matters. Kaladin grapples with intrusive thoughts of his failures and those he has lost, but breaks through by recognizing his own identity: across multiple incarnations—young volunteer, squadleader, bridgeman, captain, and Radiant—he has consistently embodied the desire to protect others. Understanding this as his true self rather than a flaw, and having learned boundaries through helping Szeth, Kaladin stands up against the darkness.