Liam—Lukas Fox—was born in a town by the southern border of Kyokoku.
It was once a thriving coal town, but the mines had since closed.
The town still looked as if it had come straight out of Kyokoku’s good old days.
The boy’s parents had not always lived there—his mother was a local, but his father was a wandering cook.
His father had put down roots in the town after one of his acquaintances, the owner of a restaurant for tourists, had asked him to take over.
Eventually, he met his wife, and so began the Fox family.
Lukas had one older brother, three younger brothers, and two younger sisters.
Ever since he was little, he’d always liked sitting at the counter. He would stop crying the moment he sat there, and so it became his spot.
The restaurant regulars called him Luke, and they left bigger tips whenever he was around.
The boy always returned the patrons’ affections, and he loved his parents, too.
If nothing had happened, Lukas Fox would most likely have become a cook after graduating school.
His older brother had talked about it, too. He was smart, so he would manage the place.
How about you take over the kitchen, Lukas? You’re handy.
You and I will expand this place and make Mom and Dad proud. Maybe we can even make it a chain.
The brothers had talked all about it, and Lukas was excited about the plan.
They had their whole lives planned out.
But life was cruel, and it turned their plan on its head in a single instant.
Lukas became the God of Autumn after the previous one was killed at the age of thirteen.
The Agent had died in the middle of manifesting the season, so the world needed to find a replacement quickly.
Lukas’s parents’ restaurant, which he’d loved deeply, had been damaged by the first release of his Autumn powers.
Both of his parents suffered severe burns, as the incident had happened when they were in the middle of cooking.
His brothers had been spared, since they were out running errands, but a strange smell led him to find his sisters crying.
Autumn hadn’t reached Lukas’s town yet, but the trees around the restaurant had begun to dry up anyway, and a cursed silence fell over the surroundings. Lukas had cried for help, and as his parents ran up to him, his powers of Life Putrefaction had made them lose consciousness.
The Agent of Autumn was famous for having the worst successions among the Four Seasons.
It didn’t take long for staff from the Four Seasons Tower to arrive.
The town had reported the incident to the police, who then reported it to the Tower. Within six hours, Lukas and his family were under custody of the Tower.
By the time Lukas had woken up, almost everything was decided.
He could no longer live in that town, and he and his family, being descendants of the Four Seasons, had to abandon their identities and start a new life.
Lukas had to train for one year before beginning the journey of the Agent of Autumn, so in the meantime, he’d needed to live separated from his parents.
All of this was decided without his input.
His siblings were afraid to even get close to him, but not his parents.
When they left, they hugged him and reassured him.
He had healed their burns unconsciously.
They showed him their undamaged arms and told him, “You were meant for greatness. We’re proud of you.”
Lukas wasn’t told where his family had moved to.
He was allowed one call a week, and they could text him whenever they wanted.
After he became a god, only his father and mother took advantage of this.
His siblings looked at him with confusion and fear until the very end.
They seemed resentful, too.
After all, not even they would get to go back to their hometown.
And so, Lukas became Liam.
The child who was supposed to become a cook in an old mining town had become a god.
Liam was given many things: a spotless room as well as personal attendants. He could have anything he wanted, but he had never been interested in physical possessions.
He didn’t care if his room was always clean; he preferred the small one packed with his siblings, everyone arguing over everything and jumping on their bunk beds. He would rather be helping his parents with their cooking.
His attendants were scared of his Life Putrefaction powers and would not speak to him.
He had different teachers every day, and the training didn’t make any sense to him.
He cried into his pillow every night…until someone appeared before him.
Jude.
A descendant of the Four Seasons sent by the Church of the Living Gods.
Jude filled the hole left by Liam’s loneliness.
“Nice to meet you. I know your real name, but we’ll follow tradition and use your alias. You can call me Jude.”
Liam didn’t know Jude’s real name, but he knew that Jude was the friendliest person he had met since becoming a god.
“Liam, you must feel lonely being away from your family, but you’ll see them again once the Season Descent is over. The harder you train, the sooner you’ll see them. I know they’re putting you through the wringer to improve your powers… It’s a stupid tradition invented by people who aren’t gods themselves, but please try to endure it.”
Jude explained what was taking place and what Liam had to do.
“We’ll be meeting the Church of the Living Gods’ deputy branch chief, and you can’t afford to disobey him. If you upset him, it’s over for you… So just do as I say.”
Liam knew nothing about the world of the descendants of the Four Seasons. Jude was his teacher.
“A lot of the money that pays for your food, your clothes, and your family’s living comes from the donations of believers. The Church wouldn’t get all that money without you, but they have a lot of sway and use it to try to push you gods around… I find it idiotic, too… But there’s nothing we can do…”