Anne had only just fallen asleep.
The moment exhaustion finally claimed her, the tension in the room seemed to shift.
Rachel, who had rushed in right behind Lucien, nearly ignored the chaos still happening outside. The furious director, the stunned crew, the whispers spreading through the set—none of it mattered now.
Her entire focus was on Anne.
By the time she entered the resting area, Lucien had already laid Anne carefully on the sofa in the living room instead of taking her to one of the smaller private rooms.
It was a deliberate choice.
He needed to keep her within sight.
Anne's face was pale, almost bloodless under the soft light. Her brows were tightly knitted together, and even in sleep, fear had not left her expression.
Her body trembled from time to time.
One of her legs jerked violently, as if she were trying to run from something unseen.
It was the kind of restless movement only someone trapped in a nightmare would make.
Even in this exhausted state, Anne still carried a fragile kind of beauty—one made sharper by the helplessness on her face.
But Lucien had no interest in admiring appearances.
His focus remained entirely on the thing hunting her.
Without wasting another second, he reached into his coat and drew out another talisman.
This time, it was not the purifying one that had shattered outside.
It was an evil-repelling talisman.
With steady fingers, Lucien pressed it against Anne's forehead.
Then he watched.
Dream invasion was different from possession.
A ghost inside a dream did not always follow the same rules as a spirit clinging to the physical body.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then Anne's breathing gradually slowed.
The violent trembling in her limbs weakened.
The fear still lingered on her face, but it was no longer as intense as before.
Slowly, her body relaxed.
It worked.
A small flicker of confidence passed through Lucien's eyes.
At that moment, Jamie and Rachel finally arrived at the door.
"Anne!"
Rachel rushed forward in panic, instinctively wanting to wake her.
But before she could reach the sofa, she froze.
Anne was sleeping.
Peacefully.
No screams.
No violent twitching.
No terrified gasps.
Rachel stared in disbelief.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Anne looked like someone simply resting.
Lucien rose from his chair and motioned for the two of them to step outside.
Once the door was closed behind them, Rachel finally found her voice.
"That talisman…" she said, lowering her voice instinctively. "She's sleeping because of that, isn't she?"
Lucien nodded.
Hope instantly lit up Rachel's exhausted face.
"So it's over? The ghost is gone?"
Lucien shook his head.
"No."
The single word made her expression stiffen.
"The talisman only blocks the entity from harming her inside the dream for now. It doesn't destroy the ghost itself."
His tone remained calm.
"It's a temporary solution."
Rachel's throat tightened.
"How long?"
Lucien glanced toward the room.
"About three hours."
The meaning behind his words hit her immediately.
After that—
the nightmare would return.
But instead of despair, something closer to desperate longing appeared in her eyes.
She stepped forward quickly.
"Please… can you give me one too?"
Her voice trembled.
"I haven't slept properly in days."
There was almost pleading in her tone now.
"I'll pay whatever you want."
Lucien let out a quiet breath before taking out another talisman.
He handed it to her.
"We'll discuss money later."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"Go to sleep. I'll stay here and keep watch. If anything changes, I'll wake both of you."
Rachel's eyes reddened.
For someone in her current state, those words were almost salvation.
"Thank you… thank you so much, Master Lucien."
Her voice was filled with genuine gratitude.
The exhaustion in her body clearly could no longer be resisted.
A moment later, she placed the talisman against her forehead, sat down beside the sofa, and almost instantly drifted into sleep.
Jamie looked at the two women with a complicated expression.
Pity.
Fear.
Relief.
Lucien turned toward him.
"Jamie, go to the car and bring me the suitcase I brought."
Jamie immediately nodded.
"Got it."
Inside that suitcase were the tools Lucien needed for talisman work.
As Jamie left, Lucien's gaze darkened.
By now, he had already pieced together the likely identity of the entity.
Nightmares.
Dream invasion.
Physical wounds carried into reality.
A predator that enjoyed tormenting its victims through fear.
There was only one name that fit.
Freddy Krueger.
The nightmare butcher from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
A dangerous opponent.
Lucien leaned back slightly, letting the silence of the room settle around him.
During that brief calm, his eyes swept across the rest area.
Most of the rooms were ordinary.
But one locked door immediately caught his attention.
It was covered in all kinds of desperate protective items.
Crosses.
Mirrors.
Garlic.
A small Buddha statue.
Even random charms and religious symbols from different beliefs.
It was obvious Anne and Rachel had already tried everything they could think of.
Nothing had worked.
Lucien pulled over a stool and sat down, his thoughts turning deeper.
He knew enough about Freddy to understand the danger.
Inside dreams, Freddy was nearly omnipotent.
He thrived on fear.
The more terrified the dreamer became, the stronger he grew.
That was what made him so dangerous.
The only reliable way to destroy him was to drag him into the real world.
Once outside the dream—
Lucien could deal with him.
The real problem was getting there.
To do that, he would have to willingly enter the dream himself.
That was the true risk.
Inside Freddy's domain, ordinary people had no control.
Even Lucien would be fighting on the ghost's home ground.
His fingers lightly tapped the arm of the chair.
Can I bring talismans into the dream with me?
That question lingered in his mind.
The room fell completely silent.
Then—
Anne stirred.
Lucien's eyes snapped up immediately.
A soft sleepy sound escaped her lips as she slowly sat upright.
Still half-awake, she rubbed her eyes and suddenly touched the talisman stuck to her forehead.
Her expression turned confused.
She peeled it off and looked at the strange symbols written across the yellow paper.
Naturally, she couldn't read any of it.
So she simply placed it aside.
Then her eyes lifted.
And met Lucien's.
She froze.
A startled sound escaped her.
"Ah—!"
Her gaze immediately dropped to herself.
Only after confirming that her clothes were still intact did the panic in her expression ease.
Then confusion replaced it.
"Excuse me…"
Her voice was cautious.
"Who are you?"
Lucien remained seated, his expression calm and reassuring.
"My name is Lucien."
His voice carried a steady confidence that naturally soothed the atmosphere.
"Your manager hired me to solve your problem."
Anne blinked.
Then asked hesitantly,
"An exorcist?"
A faint smile touched Lucien's lips.
"You could call me that."