The owl haunts him, as an apparition that only he can see.
When the owl opens its eyes, it pulls the soothsayer out of consciousness and into an ashen dreamscape where visions of the past present themselves as metaphors.
The soothsayer doesn't understand what the owl represents, nor does he see what it's trying to show him. He'd like nothing more than to figure it out, if it means freedom from the apparition's untimely tyranny.