Tim seems to be wandering through a strange land in the midst of a massive storm, and sees a magical tower. He finds a man there, who lets him in and says he himself can now leave. He says Tim is the storm, and that he is not ready for what he will find. Tim says he can't wait, because his father needs him (not knowing he is dead).
Inside, he finds a spider with a woman's head, who calls herself one of "We Who Wat." She says Tim will come to this tower 5 times, and asks what he wants. He wants his power, and she says that while his magic is everywhere, his power is below. The floor falls out into an abyss, and as he falls, she says he must name the place he is.
Back in the real world, Thomas Currie finds Tim in a semi-conscious state, hung by wires to the magical machine that contains his magic; Tim is being drowned by the immensity of his magic. Tim says the serpent in the abyss is named Chylde.
Currie considers killing him, or letting him die, but in the end alters the machine's cords to let the magic flow more controllably into Tim, so he will be OK.
Cyril goes back to Bardsey, but is humiliated in front of everyone when the headmaster informs him that they know he had been cooking the books, and that his tuition was not paid. He is no longer a Bardsey boy, which is all he had wanted to be.
Thomas tells Tim that they must create another copy of Tim, and give him a bit of his magic, so the Other can kill him. Then the Other will think he has won, and won't look for the real Tim. Once the Other becomes the "real" Tim, he will make the mistakes that Sir Timothy once told Molly would happen to Tim--selling his memories to demons--and eventually become Sir Timothy. The actual real Tim will be saved from these consequences.
Thomas then lies to Tim and makes it sound like Tim's dad killed himself. The trauma of hearing this causes Tim to split off a bit of himself, as he used to do when he created multiple worlds. But now Thomas captures that split-off energy and uses it to make the copy-Tim.
When Cyril goes home, he finds an eviction notice. He blames Tim for all his problems, obsessing about being kicked out of Bardsey.
Cyril breaks into Tim's old house using a ladder, where Tim and Thomas are downstairs. He finds Thomas's glamour stone, and after putting it on looks like a troll. He urinates on the bed, to soil it.
Thomas tells Tim they need to once again put his magic in a container and hide it from the Other. Tim, frustrated, asks if Thomas can't just kill him to end the Other as well--as Thomas was going to do earlier when Tim was unconscious. Thomas says he'll do it if Tim wants, but Tim says he wants to live.
Cyril accidentally kicks a bottle downstairs, and Thomas picks it up to use as the container for the magic. They put the magic in it. Thomas says he'll help the copy-Tim against the Other, then will meet Tim later.
Cyril leaves, saying he's tired of magic.
Thomas says the magic Tim has lost is just his natural Opener ability--he can still learn normal magic just like anyone else. Thomas says he will hide the bottle so Tim can find it later. Thomas thinks that Tim is unworthy of being his creator, but by letting him live, he hopes that Tim will grow into worthiness. He must now choose who he is.
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