Interlude 18

C ould he destroy the power of Honor?

Odium considered this, perhaps too long. The power was protecting Dalinar. If he attacked it, he might be able to get at his friend. A smaller part of him dealt with other rats in the walls, keeping them occupied—trying to break them—though he could not spare them much attention.

He watched the permutations, and found them clouded. He couldn’t completely destroy the power of Honor, as power could not be destroyed, but there were options. His predecessor had done it several ways. First, by imprisoning the power of two Shards in the Cognitive Realm, which had proved cataclysmic and made it very difficult to access the land. Then by attacking a Shard outright, an action which had left him wounded and had—in the clash—destroyed planets.

Odium thought maybe he could Splinter this power, spreading it out, preventing it from congealing into something that could resist him. It was something his predecessor had avoided, however, because of the threat to himself. To clash with Honor’s power would violate his oath not to strike first against the other Shard, and would leave him vulnerable to an assault from Cultivation.

Odium could not conquer the cosmere if he died. So, he did not attack the power of Honor, though his own power raged at this decision. It wanted a conflict; it wanted to finally be free. Odium had to work carefully, feeding it other emotions, to keep it placated. He was doing that, and weighing his next step, when Honor spat Dalinar out again.

Odium’s old friend returned—emerging straight into the Physical Realm.

Relief. Overwhelming relief. If Dalinar had not made it back, it might have been considered Odium’s fault. Instead, the time arrived as planned, and Dalinar with it.

Odium gave himself a moment of peace. He felt Roshar and its rhythms, and vibrated with them. He felt the singers, so long abused, and gloried in the idea of bringing due vengeance. As his soul vibrated with this …

The power of Honor vibrated along.

In this one thing, Honor and Odium were aligned. These people deserved more. Odium accepted the burden of not just using them, but caring for them. In this, he was better than he thought himself capable of being—for he legitimately began to care for them, as he had for Kharbranth.

There were so many across the cosmere similarly abused. It was the conflux of all Shards to want to help them. He spent an extended moment letting himself revel in the idea.

Peace. A lack of pain. A universe united.

One God.

Him. For, if you wanted to see that things turned out correctly, you had to do it yourself. Taravangian, as Odium, would rule all—and all would recognize what he had done in their name.

It was time.