“How far is the water lily from Lang Town?” Master Brightflame asked.

“If you travel by daylight, it will take three days at the longest.”

Master Brightflame gave him a strange look. “It is suicide to travel by night.”

Lem’s attention was suddenly riveted to the conversation.

A martial elder was afraid of the dark?

He knew that he was about to learn something important. In the course of all of his simulations, Lem had yet to be attacked by a beast at night. This was a matter that had been somewhat puzzling to him.

Was Master Brightflame about to reveal the reason?

His simulated self was also stunned. “Why?”

“Did your village elders not tell you why you were staying within closed doors when the sun fell?”

“Yes,” he replied immediately. “Are beasts really so active at night?”

Lem was cast into thought. It was true that there were strict rules in the village about staying indoors at nighttime. He had always assumed that it was due to the dangers of being attacked by a beast, but he did not remember if he had ever been told this explicitly.

“To the contrary, even the most powerful beasts will be dormant at night, because that is the time that anomalies and evil become prevalent. There are some weak creatures that are active, but it is far too dangerous for any creature with significant spirituality.”

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Lem was surprised. Anomalies and evil became prevalent at night?

He could not speak for evil, but if the plant was truly an anomaly, had it not affected him during the daytime?

Of course, Lem’s simulated self could not reveal this information. “Is that true?” he asked instead. “Why couldn’t anomalies attack at other times.”

Master Brightflame paused, as though he was considering how much to reveal. Eventually, he spoke. “These strange things do not operate by the rules of the world, and so they are strongest when the world is operating at its weakest. There is vital energy in light and in lifeforms, so anomalies are most likely to appear outside of these conditions.”

Lem’s simulated self was still confused. “Did you not say that the plant anomalies are harmless. Why would powerful beasts fear such creatures?”

Master Brightflame shook his head. “It is not anomalous lifeforms that are concerning. It is when an anomaly corrupts the rules of an area that it becomes dangerous. We call such situations anomalous phenomena.

“Fortunately, as I have mentioned before, most wide-scale corruption cannot survive the presence of light, and cannot come about in the presence of lifeforms. For anyone, be they beast or man, so long as they do not move at night, the chances of encountering anomalous phenomena are low, as they will form in desolate places at night and disappear in the morning.”

Master Brightflame’s voice became grave. “However, if you ever do encounter an anomalous phenomenon, know that the basic rules of the world will cease to function as you expect them to. Often, there is a path to safety, but it is embedded within the very differences in rules.”

“Is evil related to anomalies?” Lem’s simulated self could not help but ask.

Master Brightflame did not answer immediately.

“This, there is much speculation, but who can say that they truly know the answer to that question? Now stay here, I need to fetch a few things from the town.”