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Are you out of you mind?!

Not only did you interrupt the shot by screaming out of nowhere, you didn't even budge when that thing was about to fall on you!

What could have spooked you like that? Is this your first time seeing a wire rig or what?!

No... Seeing Melanie and Michael brought back memories of that fall five years ago—

Go take a break, Shelly. You're getting in the way of the shooting.

(Leaps over a prop box)

(Brushes against Lucian)

N-No, I mean, I was just spooked by that mysterious black creature running around over there...

Sorry. Please continue.

(Unhappily swishes tails)

You know, Shelly's not half-bad looking, but she's always so jumpy, and it makes me uneasy.

A shame the scene was interrupted. I was just getting into my role...

'Getting into your role'?

You ought to be thanking her for interrupting that take, because I was about to chew your head off.

Your delivery, your posture, your expressions... We've been at this for two months, and you've shown no sign of improvement. That rookie could act circles around you on his first day in front of a camera.

I thought I told you to keep your private life off the set. It would seem Greta was wrong about you.

It was a mistake to give the leading role to a pretty boy who gets cast from the color of his ears alone. And three different roles in the same film, no less.

You're right.

Hmph. Why the sudden modesty?

Normally, you'd be coming up with all sorts of flippant excuses by now.

I was just thinking about poor old Dalton...

I don't have anywhere near your experience. And Shelly's close call just now has left me a little shaken.

Be professional.

Accidents, failures, bad reviews... You'll never make it in Wrankwood if you let little things like that affect you.

I could learn a lot from you in that regard.

I heard you were standing right behind Marianne when she swept the Wrankwood Awards with a film completed in just twenty-eight days?

And that after coming home empty-handed and being ridiculed by the press, you went back to the set the very same day to continue shooting.

I'd have quit ages ago if I had to compete with a superstar like that.

And what's that supposed to mean?

I... oh!

No no no, I didn't mean it like that! You've just been so calm in the face of Dalton's death, and I wanted to know your secret. That's all, I swear!

Secret? There's no secret. It's only because I didn't know him that well, and had nothing to do with his accident.

You, though.

Why is his death affecting <i>you</i> so much? Were you involved in it?

Could it all be a coincidence?

Am I just imagining things?

Should I see a psychiatrist?

You shouldn't use Miss.Christine as an excuse.

Who's there?!

She wasn't where you said she was, and wouldn't have run around in a way that would disturb you.

I...

Please apologize to her on my behalf.

I will.

What is it you're so afraid of?

...What I'm NOT afraid of, after that accident on set five years ago?

I know that look. Curiosity.

I mean, I can tell you—it's not exactly a secret. You could find out with just a little digging.

Her name was Laura.

She was a rookie actress in Wrankwood who caught Greta's eye. Extremely passionate about her work, but knew nothing about the unspoken rules of the business.

Dalton was already an alcoholic at the time, but he was still a big name. He decided to put her in her place, by adding extra scenes that kept her in a wire rig for six, seven hours.

Until the wires broke... and she fell to her death.

The way the blood spread out from under her... It was just like what happened to Dalton...

Lucian looks at Shelly's arm. There are marks of self-harm all over it, signs of the impact the incident has had on her.

Shelly pulls down her sleeves, her face filled with anxiety.

But I can take care of my own problems.

You're underestimating those problems.

This will only become more frequent. At first, only similar sounds would trigger the hallucinations, but now, even the sound of a chair being dragged can take you back into the past.

Gee, thanks for the concern, 'Doctor Lucian'.

I've dealt with these wicked voices in my head for five years. I know them better than anyone.

All I can do is outrace them. Do as much as I can before fear and irrationality take over.

Maybe Dalton's death really was just an accident. But either way, I have to eliminate any possible risk, any possible threat, to prevent that incident five years ago from happening all over again.

Even if the threat is coming from the film crew itself...

There's something else you're concerned about.

Greta's hiding something.

We share an office. I saw a strange document on her desk before the plate left central Wrankwood. She stopped me when I was about to open it.

The riddles just keep piling up, but everyone I know who was there back then and went through the same thing would rather not bring it up. No way can we talk about this with each other openly.

And now, I'm being constantly interrupted by these voices and hallucinations...

Pain can mitigate them.

...What did you say?

I said 'pain'.

It won't rid you of your anxiety or panic attacks, but it will give you time to breathe, to do what you really want to do, and solve the unsolved mysteries.

The voices and shadows hide in tiny corners, impeding and distracting you as you try to find yourself...

Pain is one form of resistance, though fingernails alone may not be enough.

The tip of a pen, or a knife... With the proper application of force, any sharp object can be of help.

The tongue, the back of the hand, the top of the thigh... Those areas are more sensitive to pain.

You... You're a weird guy, you know that? But you sound like you know what you're talking about with hallucinations.

Have you ever had to calm yourself like that?

Who are you?

Pain is a form of mitigation.

Strange whispers, strange sights...

Except, unlike Shelly, the problem he faces is not the fear of these things, but the desire for them.

Lucian hasn't returned the Originium phonograph yet?

Nope.

He must be anxious. Didn't Whiteflower say he's had trouble sleeping?

Too much superficiality in his ecstasy and anguish. He doesn't understand more complex, more extreme emotions. It limits his performances.

But he's young. Why the rush?

It's been six or seven years since Lucian joined. With his beautiful voice, he was considered a rising star at first, and the leader instructed him personally.

But he's hit a wall now that he's finally in a lead role.

Listening to those records won't solve anything!

Emotions are an actor's weapons. The first step is to understand them.

Master said your ecstasy and anguish are merely superficial. That imitation will only compromise your perception of more complex emotions.

But how...

Despair. True despair will cost you what you hold most dear, yet at the same time open a new door.

You will listen to the whispers you have never listened to, witness everything you have never witnessed, and understand all the emotions that you never understood...

You shall become drama itself, the mirror of all things.

Like this—

*cough* *cough*—

Lucian destroyed his own voice.

Originium pours into the wound, and he is inundated in pain and despair.

Blood...