The chap­ter opens in the after­math of a cli­mac­tic bat­tle in Kir­il Thren­dor, where the cav­ern is now qui­et and dim­ly lit by rem­nants of rock­light. Lin­den Avery cra­dles the life­less body of Thomas Covenant, her grief pal­pa­ble as she reflects on his sac­ri­fice. His face bears an expres­sion blend­ing defeat and vic­to­ry, a tes­ta­ment to his final act. Covenant’s spir­it, now a revenant, hov­ers near her, radi­at­ing empa­thy and sor­row. He apol­o­gizes for his actions, explain­ing he had no choice but to stop Lord Foul, though Lin­den under­stands and mourns his loss deeply.

Covenant’s spir­it urges Lin­den to pick up his white gold ring, which lies pow­er­less on the dais. He insists the Land is still in per­il, as the Sun­bane per­sists and Foul’s influ­ence lingers. Lin­den resists, fear­ing her own capac­i­ty for dark­ness and the cor­rupt­ing effects of pow­er. She clings to Covenant’s body, unwill­ing to let go, and ques­tions the pur­pose of the ring now that its wield­ers are gone. Covenant press­es her, empha­siz­ing that only she can heal the Land, as he is no longer phys­i­cal­ly alive and can be dis­missed by those who know how.

As Linden’s con­nec­tion to the world begins to fade, Covenant warns her that she is being pulled back to her own real­i­ty. He implores her to act before it’s too late, reveal­ing that Foul could return through the Sun­bane. Despite her despair, Lin­den resolves to hon­or Covenant’s plea, though she moves slow­ly, weighed down by grief. Just as she pre­pares to reach for the ring, an unex­pect­ed voice interrupts—a com­mand­ing pres­ence that dis­miss­es Covenant’s spir­it against his will.

The chap­ter ends abrupt­ly as Covenant’s revenant is forcibly ban­ished, leav­ing Lin­den alone and bereft. His final cry of her name echoes as his pres­ence van­ish­es entire­ly, strip­ping her of any remain­ing solace. The sud­den dis­missal leaves the fate of the Land uncer­tain, with Lin­den now fac­ing her next tri­al with­out Covenant’s guid­ance. The unre­solved ten­sion sets the stage for the next phase of her jour­ney.