7. Open Flame

Assassins break into Shallan's cabin on the ship and murder Jasnah in front of her. Desperate to save the captured sailors being executed one by one, Shallan draws on her newfound Surgebinding powers and Stormlight to Soulcast the ship into water, sinking it and creating chaos. She enters Shadesmar and convinces the ship's essence to transform, but is dragged into the dark depths as the transformation completes.

Shallan awakens to smoke and discovers three axe-wielding men attacking Jasnah's cabin. She watches in horror as they kill Jasnah, stabbing her through the chest. When one of the men notices Shallan, she slams her door and bolts it. As the men break through, Pattern urges her to use her Surgebinding abilities. Panicked but resolute, Shallan draws Stormlight from nearby spheres and creates an illuminated illusion of herself that distracts the assassins, allowing her to hide in shadow. Pattern reports that the sailors above have been captured and one is already dead. Realizing the assassins are executing the crew members one by one, Shallan decides her only option is to create chaos by sinking the ship. She gathers Jasnah's spheres, draws in vast amounts of Stormlight, and Soulcasts the vessel. This action transports her to Shadesmar, the Cognitive Realm, where she encounters Pattern in his true form and confronts the ship's essence, manifested as a heavy bead. She persuades the ship to transform by emphasizing that the sailors are dying and that change is their only chance for survival. The Soulcasting completes, the ship transforms to water, and Shallan finds herself plunged into dark, freezing depths. Something unseen pulls her deeper into the abyss.