Lucien noticed the slight, embarrassed movement in Annie's hands and couldn't help the faint smile that curved across his lips.
"Just a moment ago you were so full of energy," he said lightly, his dark eyes resting on her flushed face. "Why are you suddenly embarrassed now?"
Annie froze for a second, clearly caught off guard.
"I… I thought you weren't waking up," she said awkwardly, her voice softer than usual. "I didn't know what else to do."
For once, the usually confident actress looked genuinely flustered.
Lucien let out a quiet chuckle before pushing himself up from the bed and glancing around the room.
Rachel quickly stepped forward and explained, "When Jamie and I came back, you were already asleep. I told him it would be better to move you to Annie's resting room so no one would disturb whatever… exorcism you were doing in your dream."
Lucien gave a slight nod.
"And Jamie?"
Rachel sighed in relief now that Lucien was fully awake.
"He was worried paparazzi or some obsessive fans might somehow sneak in after all the chaos tonight, so he took one of your talismans and went outside to keep watch."
Hearing that, Lucien's expression softened slightly.
Jamie might have been powerless against something like Freddy, but the man had still done everything he could to help. That kind of loyalty was rare.
Rachel then turned toward Annie, her curiosity finally overcoming her.
"Now that he's awake, can you tell me why you were so panicked earlier?"
She still hadn't recovered from Annie's earlier breakdown.
Normally Annie carried herself with the grace and composure of a rising star. She was careful with every word and every expression.
Seeing her almost in tears had been shocking.
Annie took a slow breath and began recounting everything that had happened in the nightmare.
She spoke of the shifting dreamscape, Freddy's deception, the false victory, and the horrifying moment when Lucien had seemingly died in front of her.
Even though she left out many of the finer details, Rachel still covered her mouth several times in shock.
"That monster…" Rachel whispered. "He was even worse than we imagined."
Annie placed a hand over her chest, the memory still making her heart race.
"I was afraid Lucien had fallen into another dream inside the dream. I thought Freddy had trapped him deeper and was trying to kill him without him realizing it."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I really thought…"
She didn't finish.
Lucien, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
"Your guess wasn't wrong."
Both women instinctively stiffened.
"He really did create multiple dream layers specifically to kill me."
Rachel stared at him wide-eyed.
"What?"
Lucien walked slowly toward the window, his expression calm, as if discussing the weather.
"The moment we broke through the wall and saw that white light, we had already entered the second dream layer."
He turned slightly, his sharp gaze settling on them.
"The deeper the dream, the harder it becomes to maintain a clear sense of self. That's why Annie almost began doubting what was real."
Annie frowned, still trying to piece everything together.
"But… after you broke out of the second layer, shouldn't that have been the end of it? How was he still able to keep creating more dreamscapes?"
Lucien's lips curved faintly.
"Because he was never as weak as he appeared."
He paused before continuing.
"The earlier defeat was deliberate. Freddy was pretending to lose so he could prepare for the final deception."
Rachel's eyes widened even more.
"How did you realize that?"
Lucien's gaze darkened slightly as he recalled the details.
"Because the dream was largely built using my own subconscious as its foundation."
He explained calmly, his tone almost analytical.
"A normal mind can barely sustain more than two or three layered dreams before flaws begin to appear. Beyond that, the structure becomes unstable."
"But that nightmare remained nearly perfect."
That alone had made him suspicious.
Then there had been the small inconsistencies.
His dream constructs had worked too smoothly.
Too perfectly.
Every weapon he manifested obeyed without failure.
That wasn't normal.
Even his talisman techniques had failed occasionally in reality.
Perfection itself had become the flaw.
Then there was the missing director and Elizabeth.
Among all the unconscious people, those two had never once appeared.
Freddy had intentionally kept redirecting his attention every time Lucien got close to noticing.
Especially during the hellscape.
Every time Lucien began thinking too deeply, Freddy had immediately escalated the situation.
The black pit.
The serpent.
The false rescue.
Everything had been designed to manipulate his emotions and force him toward a false sense of victory.
Lucien let out a faint, almost amused breath.
"He wanted me to believe I had already won."
Rachel slowly exhaled.
"And then crush you at the last moment."
Lucien nodded.
"Exactly."
Freddy had wanted the pleasure of watching hope turn into despair.
That obsession had ultimately become the reason for his downfall.
"He was too obsessed with manipulating fear," Lucien said. "If he had simply chosen to kill everyone directly, most of the people outside would already be dead."
Just then, Lucien's gaze shifted toward the door.
His expression turned faintly amused.
"You can come in now. There's no point hiding."
Annie and Rachel both turned in surprise.
The door slowly opened.
Megan and the script supervisor stepped inside awkwardly, both wearing sheepish smiles.
"We… we came to thank you, Master Lucien," Megan said nervously.
The script supervisor quickly nodded.
"We didn't dare interrupt while you were talking."
The two of them had spent the most time with Lucien inside the nightmare, which was exactly why the others had pushed them forward as representatives.
After witnessing that battle, the rest of the crew had been too intimidated to approach.
Lucien found it mildly amusing.
Megan lowered her head respectfully.
"You saved all of us. We'll never forget it."
Lucien studied them for a moment.
"So no one believes it was just an ordinary nightmare anymore?"
Megan shook her head immediately.
"At first some people doubted it. But after seeing the real burns and injuries on everyone's bodies…"
She trailed off.
No one needed more proof.
Lucien gave a small nod.
"In that case, collect fifty thousand dollars from each of them."
The room fell silent.
Even Annie blinked in surprise.
Lucien's expression remained completely calm.
"For their lives, that's a bargain."
Megan and the script supervisor immediately nodded.
"No problem."
They hurried out.
To Lucien's mild surprise, it didn't take long before the money arrived.
A check worth seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars was delivered into his hands.
Clearly, after surviving something like tonight, no one wanted to offend the man who had saved them.
Lucien looked down at the check, and for the first time that night, genuine satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
After a quick mental calculation, tonight's earnings had already crossed a million dollars.
Not bad.
A dangerous night, but a profitable one.
An unexpectedly fortunate outcome.
After pocketing the check, Lucien turned toward Annie and Rachel.
"It's late."
His voice softened slightly.
"We'll discuss the rest tomorrow. You both need sleep."
Rachel immediately stepped forward.
"I'll drive you."
Her sincerity was obvious, though the exhaustion under her eyes was equally clear.
Lucien shook his head.
"No need."
He walked toward the door.
Just as he was about to leave, Annie's voice stopped him.
"Lucien."
He turned back.
For a moment she hesitated, as if wanting to say something important.
But in the end, all that came out was a quiet—
"Goodnight."
Lucien looked at her for a moment.
Then a small smile touched his lips.
"Goodnight, Annie."
With that, he stepped out into the night.
Behind him, Annie remained standing in the doorway, watching his figure disappear down the corridor, her heart still beating a little faster than it should.