Scorch Cracked [verified] -

If a soldering iron or branding iron is described as "scorch cracked":

: Apply a color-matched topcoat with UV inhibitors to prevent a recurrence.

That night, he dreamed of Darya. She was not dry. She was standing in water up to her knees, and the water was moving.

“The scorch cracks,” she said in the dream. “But cracks hold shadow. And shadow holds what the light forgot.”