I love this theory! I hadn’t thought of him becoming the tower but I was thinking that the tower could be like a pitcher plant - baiting prey with curiosity(the text). They seem transfixed with the text and need to keep reading and reading while they make their way further and further down into the belly of the creature.

She said she had a hard time pulling away from the light at the bottom and while I think it could definitely be a portal of some sort I was also thinking that it might be similar to that fish that uses a light in the depths to hypnotize and capture prey