That softly played finale will just have to await judgment (4)
I believe the answer is:
pend
'to await judgment' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'that softly played finale will just' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'softly' could be 'p' (short for piano, musical term for softly) and 'p' is located in the answer.
'finale' could be 'end' (the end of a story or show) and 'end' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'have' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pend that I've seen before include "Hang; remain undecided" , "Hang, as in a balance" , "Loom" .)