In London in October 1873, Prospero the Enchanter returns for a rare, sold-out week of performances. The audience roars over his seemingly impossible tricks—fans turning into birds and back again—while a man in a grey suit watches from a box without applauding or reacting.

After the show, the man in the grey suit slips unseen into Prospero’s backstage dressing room. Prospero, revealed as Hector Bowen, greets him like an old rival and argues that public performances are harmless because audiences assume everything is illusion, even when he uses real magic.

Hector announces a proposition: a “game” like they have played before, but more complex. He calls in his young daughter Celia and insists she demonstrate her abilities. Nervous and objecting because Hector previously forbade her from performing for others, Celia obeys; she levitates Hector’s pocket watch, then—angered by being dismissed as “basic”—shatters it and repairs it in midair.

The man in the grey suit, whom Hector calls “Alexander,” appraises Celia’s control and temper. Hector proposes wagering their students against each other; the man questions Hector’s willingness to risk his own child and warns she could be “lost” if she fails. Hector accepts the risk and pushes for an open-ended contest with minimal restrictions and no time limit, offering the man the first move.

To mark Celia as his chosen player, the man in the grey suit forces a silver ring onto her finger; it magically shrinks until it burns away, leaving a red scar. Hector provides a gold band for the man’s future player, and suggests a possible public venue via a London theatrical producer, Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre. After the man leaves, Celia remains shaken by the scar, and she tells Hector she knows “Alexander” is not the man’s true name—only one he wears—before Hector covers her eyes with his top hat.