The snow was melted away, the birds had returned, and the meadows were dotted in beautiful, blossoming flowers. Warm, north-bound air breezed past Aster, relaxing him into the atmosphere of springtime. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel the melancholy winter had left behind. Aster’s village was annually ruined by the coming of the end of the year. It could hardly survive the frost and famine, and by the time it’s made a full recovery, it’s already autumn. Not only that, but the kingdom the village served can’t seem to care less about their well-being. However, Aster was on a quest to change that. Past three rivers, two mountains, and one forest was the Vernal Temple - a small, decrepit little shrine carved into the side of a hill. No one quite knew what it was made for or what secrets could hold, but there were many legends of some omnipotent beast that lurked inside with the ability to grant eternal health and fertility to entire countries - the only drawback being that it is only awake for one day a year, that day being the first day of spring, when the Vernal Temple would briefly open its gates. As planned by Aster, that day was today. While he wished that he could of entered the shrine before winter, he was still grateful that he could reach it in the first place. That is - if it even existed, but then again, he and his people were desperate. He continued travelling north, where all legends seemed to direct him to, using the wind and the returning birds of the south as guides. The edge of the forest was near - the temple had to be there, otherwise this quest would be worthless. Burdened by pessimism and guilt for abandoning his home to chase fairytales, Aster weakly paced out of the woods. Before him was a small clearing filled with colorful flowers and fluttering butterflies. Bumblebees were clumsily buzzing from blossom to blossom, covered in pollen and weighed down by nectar. Birds chirped triumphantly as they survived another winter, and the wind replied through gusting through the forest behind Aster. However, the beautiful scene was overshadowed by an odd structure jutting out of the hill before him. Stone grey columns caressed by flowering vines, moss-covered floors where two deer rested in the shade, and complex decals carved into the entire structure. It had to be the Vernal Temple. And not only that, but its entrance was wide open. Aster was brimming with rejuvenated strength as he immediately dashed across the flower-filled valley, followed by gusts of petals from the colorful blooms he sprinted past. Aster was so excited he hardly noticed that he was halfway up the terribly steep slope within ten seconds, and soon after, he had scared off the lounging deer in the entrance and was standing before the gaping gateway. Aster fell to his knees, catching his breath and processing what this entailed. The legends are true… his village would no longer have to suffer! And if this legend is true, there must be countless other myths he could hunt down as well! With eternal health, the village wouldn’t need to rely on a careless kingdom - no, the village can become a kingdom! Named after the fearless man who saved it from seasonal torment! Asteria maybe? Oh lord, the possibilities are endless! Aster stood back up, prepared to enter and face the beast. Whether the beast was benevolent or cruel, Aster wasn’t sure, but at this point he didn’t care. He packed many weapons and shields to protect himself, along with long lengths of rope and chains to bind the beast should he need it. Arming himself with a hefty broadsword and a large wooden shield, Aster cautiously entered the temple. The ruins were lit with mysterious blue torches of some magical origin. Honestly, Aster wasn’t in the mood to deal with magic, so he left them be to light up the long stone hallway. He could take no further risks now that he’s found his goal. Still, the corridor was dimly lit. Aster had to lean against the wall to guide him. He could feel various carvings under his knuckles, but he wasn’t really there as a historian and didn’t feel the urge to examine them. Maybe next year, but now, he needs to find the beast and leave. Thank goodness the place was only a large hallway instead of some awful labyrinth. Blue flames lit up a large room before him - it must be the beast’s residence. Aster gripped his sword tightly and called out to the legendary monster within. “Hear me, beast of the flourishing springtime! I plead for your assistance!” Silence. “I’ve heard the legends about you! About your ability to grant good health and prosperity to entire kingdoms! I require your assistance with mine!” Deafening silence. “Well, it’s not much of a kingdom… only a small village, if that’s easier for you.” Uproarious, stentorian silence. “Are you even awake?” Thunderous silence, shaking the temple’s walls and rocking the entire hill except not really because it’s silence. “… do you even exist?” Silence. Letting out an unsatisfied huff, Aster felt his heart droop. No matter, perhaps it was just extremely quiet. Cautiously, Aster walked forwards, examining the room the beast should have been in. Instead, the small shrine was empty, with nothing more than odd murals decorating the walls and the occasional blue flame to illuminate the place. Just as Aster’s spirits had fallen to the lowest they could possibly go, he noticed something towards the back wall. There was a large podium against the wall, wrapped in vines and peppered with moss. On the podium was a rather large, colorful egg. No, not quite an egg, more of one of those fancy decorative eggs he’d find travelling merchants selling for outrageous prices. But this one was absolutely enormous and elaborate compared to the ones those cheapskates would sell. Aster, noticing the entire temple was empty save for him and the egg, put away his sword and shield and wandered towards the egg. “Well, it’s not a miraculous health-monster, but maybe I could sell it to the kingdom for enough food to last five or six winters,” he mumbled to himself. With a closer look, Aster noticed how absurdly intricate and beautiful a stone the egg was. It was pale in color, but even under the blue glow of the magic torches Aster could make out a variety of pastel colors. The gem sparkled pink, green, blue, and even lovely shades of red, while magnificent swirls of white left entrancing spiral patterns and wavy lines. Not only was the stone lustrous and colorful, but it was absolutely enormous - about the size of Aster’s head! The egg was wrapped in golden tendrils and was cradled in a tiny gold stand. Aster attempted to pick up the egg off of its stand, but the egg was incredibly dense as well. “Okay, maybe seven winters,” Aster added, calculating in the pure awe he never felt towards anything before, much less a goddamn rock. Carefully, he lifted the egg off of the podium, making sure to put his back into it. Once it was completely off of the stand, Aster thrusted it into himself to steady it with his center of balance. Somehow, Aster was already breathless. And to think he’d have to carry this thing across the woods, up two mountains, and across three rivers! Whatever, as long as it’ll get the greedy king to pity his village. Wait, that’s weird. The egg’s become much, much lighter. Aster looked down at the egg he had been clutching to his stomach only to find the gold that was intricately woven around it. Stunned, Aster dropped the gold. The egg… how could it just disappear like that!? He whirled around, searching the small temple for wherever the egg could have gone to. How could it just… How!? Aster’s palms began to sweat. His knees felt weak out of nerves - his arms could barely support themselves. He had never felt this feeling of dread and hopelessness so intensely before. He felt like he might vomit! This trek took a week - he was determined not to leave empty-handed. When he saw the temple, he was so happy! And then the beast never showed up, but then there was the egg! And then THAT disappeared too! Aster’s head was spinning. He was tempted to just fall to his knees and weep. His stomach itched. He couldn’t help but hysterically cry to himself, “No, no, NO!” His belly really began to itch. He was so close! So goddamn close! Why did his belly feel so weird? While he was utterly devastated by his rewardless journey, he couldn’t help but be distracted by the spreading feeling of discomfort around his midsection. He patted his stomach - it felt… padded… like something was cushioning his hand as he felt his belly. A bit freaked out, Aster took off his backpack and lifted off his shirt. Underneath was something that made him completely forget all his laments. Fur… just - fur. Fluffy, thick fur. It glowed blue under the magic flames mounted on the walls. It spread outwards from his navel in the shape of an egg. Figures. Terrified, Aster’s legs became fully numb, causing him to fall backwards onto his butt. He felt the fur as it advanced across his entire torso. “What the hell!?” Aster exclaimed, horrified as he was powerless towards what was going on. White fluff had fully covered his pectoral muscles and was reaching towards his arms. The fur began to creep under his britches, which he immediately removed. Snowy hair was spreading down his V and began to reach around his manhood. Just when Aster began to hope that it would be left alone, his shaft was tickled, and became covered in fluffy white fur, along with his testicles. “S-Somebody! He-hng!” Aster’s pleas for help was interrupted by an embarrassing gasp of sudden pleasure. His cock became fully erect within seconds. “Wha… what the fuck…” he panted. Thick fur began to advance down Aster’s bare thighs. Why did it feel so much like someone was stroking his legs? Pre began to dribble from the tip of his extended length all the way down the shaft. As the fur worked its ways down past his knees, Aster felt an odd warmth in his thighs. He felt as though his thighs were growing closer together. He put a hand on his thigh, feeling it swell beneath his touch, becoming thick with muscle. Aster’s cock twinged for attention. What the hell was this place doing to him!? Before he realized, his arms were completely coated in snowy white hair, with fur advancing past his wrists. As the fluff passed over his palms and up his fingers, his hands began to tingle. His palms became swollen into soft pink paw-pads, and his fingers became shorter and wider, his ring and pinkie fingers on both hands growing into a single digit, and on the tip of each finger was another soft paw pad. “What the hell…” Aster could barely muster the passion to yell at this point. His attention was pulled towards his growing legs once again, as fur was spreading past his ankles. His calves became equally muscular and cut as his thighs - he looked like he could run a marathon in a minute! Once his feet were covered in the thick white hair, they too began to grow. His feet were suddenly as long as his calves! His toes began to swell like his fingers did, only to an even greater degree. Each toe went from beans to apples in a matter of seconds, his smallest digits on both feet once again fusing together. He had to admit now, it felt rather nice! His dick thought it felt nice too. It was spouting pre, just waiting for a quick jerk! Unconsciously, Aster reached for the throbbing member, but was interrupted by the feeling of fur tickling his chin. He rubbed his paw against his face, feeling fur against his skin. However, the skin was quickly covered in thick fluffy whiteness. The hair passed his lips and tickled his nose. He scrunched up his nose as he felt it shrink up and become dry and pastel pink. His eyes began to itch - no, his entire face! His nose and mouth grew outwards in a shallow snout and his eyes grew larger. The temple seemed to become more illuminated as his eyes became keener towards darkness. His teeth began to shift around in his changing jawline, his two front teeth becoming larger and sharper, until he had a rather prominent overbite. He felt his ears travel up his scalp as his skull warped and changed. His ears began to grow upwards, becoming a long, thin membrane, the backside covered in thin fur. Soon, enough, his ears extended a good two feet from his head! That was all, right? Aster began to examine himself, slowly pushing himself upwards to balance on his new feet-paws. He felt much, much lighter than before. He twisted his back to examine his rear and - oh man… he didn’t have that much ass before. Aster felt a small knot around his tailbone pop as a short, extra-fluffy tail suddenly sprouted. He wiggled it experimentally. What the actual fuck. Aster took a few steps forwards. He had to stand on his toes in order to balance correctly - he must have digitigrade legs now, he figured. He slowly but steadily walked towards the empty golden case the egg was cradled in. “So this is it, huh?” Aster said, speaking to the intricate golden weaves. “I come here to find a miracle-working monster only to find a magical egg with the power to turn people into goddamn bunnies?” Aster weakly flung the gold across the room. “Wait… so where did the story of the monster come from?” Aster questioned to himself. Suddenly, there was an odd, quick feeling of discomfort in his belly. Aster looked down to see his stomach was swelling up! There was another punchy feeling, then another. His belly was growing and gurgling at an alarming rate. Aster became silently confused. He thought his transformation was over! What on earth is this! Something splashed up underneath him. He felt warm water splash his feet. Aster stumbled backwards, seeing a large puddle underneath him. Did he just… piss himself? No, he was still erect… and it all came out at once. He felt warm water trickle from his anus. Wait, he knew what this was… even though he really should never feel this in his life! Aster shuddered, an intense feeling growing in his stomach. “No way… no way no way no way!” As if to tease his cries of denial, his belly shook, and his bellybutton popped into an outie. Of all the things that could be happening, this had to be it. It didn’t even make sense! Aster shuddered again, the feeling becoming stronger, more painful. Aster stumbled backwards, once again falling on his butt, albeit with more cushion. His belly was still growing, rumbling, and his muscles began to tense up. He felt his cock rub up against his expanding girth, wetting it with pre. He had really hoped he wouldn’t make a mess while he was transforming, but looks like holding back was hopeless now… Another feeling of intense pressure rippled through his body. Aster groaned, beginning to force out whatever was inside of him. His legs tensed up, instinctively spreading themselves wide open. He was thankful for how wide his hips had become. He felt his hole begin to dilate, something large working its way out. Aster moaned - he couldn’t tell if it was out of pain or pleasure, and he didn’t know which one he would prefer. His asshole was spread extremely wide open, until finally something popped out, covered in slick, warm water. He wanted to sit up and see what it was, but his large belly kept him from moving, and he was quickly seized by another wave of pressure. Once again, Aster was growling to himself, his sphincter pushing and flexing out more and more things, each one causing his cock to twitch and tremble. He couldn’t help himself anymore! He was dying to be able to touch himself, but his colossal girth gave him no way to reach! Aster was doing sit-ups between births in an attempt to give himself release, but was never successful and was always interrupted by another pressing feeling and another slow, yet pleasing birth, stretching out his anus further and further. His belly began to shrink down to its normal size with each successful push, until finally there was room for only one more. Aster panted, gasping for air, when suddenly a wave of pressure overtook him, this one stronger than any before. Aster moaned, his pleasure echoing throughout the temple. He felt his hole tightly squeeze his delivery, but he was stretching as far as he could! He pushed harder than he ever had to before, forcing out the extra-large birth. As soon as the thing had reached its climax and popped out, Aster’s cock could no longer take it, and quickly his balls seized into him, spraying forth showers of white, sticky seed, raining warm cum all over his face and chest. No matter, it blended into his fur very well. Gasping for air after such an intense… thing happened, Aster slowly sat up, Between his legs were dozens of large shiny eggs, all just like the one that had disappeared. “What…” Aster breathed, unable to finish the exclamation. He slowly stood upright, his knees still weak and trembling, his cock finally relaxing. Were those eggs… alive? Does he have children now…? Who’s the father!? No, wait, is he the mother!? He reached down and picked up an egg. It was shining with a rainbow of pastel colors and was streaked in pearly white patterns. It was far lighter than the egg from before, and something hard shook inside of it. Aster carefully rolled the egg around in his paws, feeling nothing inside but a single, small thing… a stone of some sort? The egg, still slick from birthing fluids, suddenly slipped from his grasp and broke apart on the floor. Aster was reasonably terrified at first, but was quickly relieved to find nothing in the wreckage but a large, golden coin. Wait, are all of these filled with money? Aster gently kicked another egg. It teetered slightly, and something inside rolled around noisily. Aster cautiously stepped on in, breaking it apart. Inside was a large salt crystal. He broke apart more. Inside each egg was a small trinket of some sort: a bunch of sugar cubes, a small bag of different seeds, a top, a jar of strawberry jam - what the hell is all of this!? Wait… Aster turned to the podium. With his keener eyes, he saw that on the wall behind it was a large mural of a giant rabbit, its belly swollen and red. Below it were piles upon piles of eggs, and next to them were humans, taking the eggs and using their insides. The children played with toys, the farmers used the seeds to plant crops, blacksmiths made tools, the rabbit person’s eggs were full of materials for the village to use! Then it hit him. “I am the beast!” Aster said outloud to himself. A wide, excited grin stretched across his face as his eyes became filled with stars. “I can help the village!” Aster ecstatically gathered up all the things he had… produced… and packed them all into his bag. This entire journey was worth something! Of course, he lost his humanity, but still, he was oddly pleased with his new form, not to mention how nice it felt to deliver. He flung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards the exit of the temple. The threshold was still open, and sunlight still shone, however fireflies began to illuminate the coming night. He was just in time. Just as he had reached the outside, two large stones loudly grinded towards each other, tightly sealing away the temple for another year. The wildlife seemed to turn to acknowledge Aster, turning to face him before nonchalantly going back to their own business. Aster couldn’t help but smile. His entire quest was indeed successful, as he alone would now allow his home to prosper! Aster felt his belly rumble. He looked down to see it was a bit bigger than usual. Immediately, Aster bounded away from the temple, across the meadow, and through the woods. He should probably get home before his next delivery!