Asterius' Labors- Part 2 (Patreon)

Asterius has taken on a heavy burden, it's weighing on him greatly, and he's hungry for a quest! No, I won't stop. Enjoy!

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Asterius remembered what it was like in the labyrinth; most people didn't have to chase their meals down after they were dropped in his maze of a lair, once a month. He had experienced hunger before, but this was something entirely different. Taking on Tantalus' eternal hunger had left his whole body primed. Every inch of him craved something, anything to eat. Thankfully, he wasn't left to suffer alone- Tantalus, finally free of Tartarus, treated Asterius like royalty. Theseus, though he grumbled, also stood by the minotaur. Unfortunately, there was only one thing they could do to ease Asterius' suffering- getting their hands on as much food as possible.

"This… might be getting out of hand," Asterius grumbled in between bites of a pomegranate. He had eaten enough for an army over the past few weeks he had been serving out Tantalus' sentence, and the effects were dramatic. While his well-muscled arms remained strong, his chest had puffed up considerably, but was nothing but a precursor to the enormous boulder of a belly hanging off his torso, an enormous, sloshing mass that filled his lap whenever he sat down. His hips had widened as well, and the minotaur grunted and snorted, desperately trying to wrap his belt around a waist augmented by feasts of all the finest food in the Elysian Fields. He tried not to think of what his legs looked like, finely sculpted muscle slowly giving way to extra layers of fat- his belly had cut him off from viewing his lower half a week ago.

"I warned you," Theseus shook his head, even as he handed the minotaur another apple out of habit. "How will you be able to fight by my side if you so quickly turn into a useless mound of flesh? We must put this to rights!"

Tantalus himself frowned, thinking carefully. "There is one thing that may cure you of this hunger… Lord Zeus taunted me when he cast down my punishment, and said I would finally be sated by one thing- the Golden Apples of Hesperides."

"Ah-ha!" Theseus' eyes lit up. "A quest! Perfect!" He slapped Asterius' ever wider rear, causing the bull-headed beast to snort. "We have our answer- quick, Asterius- we'll carve out a slightly wider path to glory yet!"

"That's fine and all," Asterius grunted. "But before we get going anywhere, mightn't we be able to have a proper meal, first? For the road," he said, punctuated by his gut growling loudly.