Published: Jan 27, 2024

My eighty-sixth caption.

Long ago in a secluded castle, a man was transformed into a monster girl, only to suffer under her cruel Master's treatment for many years. After so long, she finally gets a chance to escape from her bondage.

Art was generated by me using NovelAI.

All image credits go to their respective artists. I have and never will claim ownership over any image I've used or modified for a caption, and I always encourage you to check out the artist and their wider body of work when possible.

Everything remains so hazy, even to this day. I can’t remember when I became this… thing I am now, only that I was once a normal, Human man many moons ago, a prisoner, captive, or perhaps just some unlucky soul. I had no idea how long it had been since I lost what I was, but everything from that moment on was, unfortunately, seared into my mind. I had been used as an experiment by a very cruel man, my old Master. He was either an alchemist or a mage, turning me into a monster as part of some “intellectual exercise”. The transformation left me completely unrecognizable from my old form, instead changing my gender, lowering my IQ, and imbuing me with wolf-like features. This was not the end, however. I was no simple experiment to be discarded, I was his slave, to be used and abused however he so desired. I don’t know how long I spent there in his hidden castle. It could have been months, years, possibly even a decade. I didn’t know. Most of my time was spent in the dark, locked in a cold room, inside a cage, chained to the wall while I cried myself to sleep every night. Time became impossible to track in that place, and those were just the moments I was allowed to be alone with my thoughts. I always dreaded what might come later tomorrow, the horrible things my old Master would do to or make me do against my will. It was an unbearable existence with no way out.

During the day, my old Master would force me into helping him with his various “experiments”, some worse than others. Sometimes it involved testing experimental potions, many of which poisoned and nearly killed me. He argued that my new form made me far more resistant to such things, but they were still so painful. Other times he’d use me as an “assistant”, forcing me to fetch supplies for him like a “good little dog”. My transformation had left me with little dexterity, often leading to me dropping things or knocking them over with my breasts. This would make my old Master very angry at me, and he’d beat me with a whip as punishment. The worst days were the Full Moons, where he’d strap me to a gurney and force me to stare at it the whole night until the sun came up. I had a unique reaction to the light of a Full Moon where heat would build up in my body, climbing to the point where it would cause me incredible pain, driving me to become more feral and animalistic. My old Master would always take notes the whole time, using herbs and potions to keep himself fully awake through the whole night. Sometimes, he even used my restrained state to… force himself upon my helpless form. I had begun to lose hope after so long, trying and failing to escape several times but to no avail. Even after so much time, I lacked any real control over my body, having been restricted to the castle’s rooms and one of the tower rooftops. Every time I managed to make even a little progress, my old Master would track me down and beat me even harder than before, yelling that I was his “rightful property” and that I’d never find safety outside of his walls. He said creatures like me were hunted down and killed on sight, even going so far to say my ears were considered a “delicacy” in some towns and countries. I knew he must have been lying about some of it, but after having my mind and body manipulated for so long, I had begun to believe some of what he was saying. Despite my fears, I had decided any life, even one living in fear of the civilized world, was better than this one.

After what must have been years, an opportunity finally presented itself. My old Master had asked me to help him get ingredients for his “Alertness” potions, knowing that usually meant the Full Moon was upon us. Doing the best I could to keep from making any mistakes, I gathered everything he asked for, giving them to him without question or hesitation. Unbeknownst to him, I had slipped a heavy narcoleptic into the herb mixture, hoping he wouldn’t notice and that it would be enough to put him to sleep. Thankfully, he was none the wiser, brewing his potions as usual. When the dreaded night came, I was forced again to stare up at the moon, that usual heat building up in my body. Before it could become too painful, I watched as my old Master fell to the effects of the modified potions, passing out seconds later. Knowing this was my only chance, I forced every ounce of strength possible out of my body, finally breaking one of my restraints and allowing me to reach and unlock the others. Finally free, I felt my adrenaline surge as I looked at my old Master, helpless on the ground. I considered killing him, but I was no murderer. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, not even to him. Instead, I strapped him to the gurney and began running.

I used my sluggish agility, using the chance to escape from the castle itself and get as far away from my old Master as I possibly could. I had never gotten this far before, to actually escape his castle and make it into the surrounding wilderness. I must have spent hours running nonstop, my physiology affording me far more stamina even in my weakened, malnourished state. Even so, I had to stop eventually. The Full Moon was still beating down on me like a hot desert sun, and the longer I stayed out in the open, the more the heat affected me, depriving me of my proper senses. Eventually, I found a cave nearby, wandering inside in a sort of daze. The heat my body was experiencing was making it hard to think rationally. As I limped in, my back aching quite bad due to my unsupported breasts, I failed to notice someone had set up camp inside for the night. It was a lone Human. The moment our eyes met, all my old Master’s lies flooded back in. I wanted to flee, but I was too weak and delirious to do so. Instead, I broke down crying, collapsing on the cave floor as I saw him stand up, sword in hand. In that moment, I knew it was over for me, but at least I’d die free, away from that awful place and… that awful, horrible man.

Instead of being taken by Death’s embrace, I woke up the next morning on the Human’s bedroll, covered in a blanket and with a cold towel on my forehead. He was still there, watching me with a curious expression, cooking something that smelled… good over his fire. Initially, I tried to recoil away from him, to act defensively, but I was still too weak. The Human calmed me down, reassuring me that he meant me no harm. It seemed like such a foreign concept to me at this point, an interaction that didn’t come with pain or abuse. He introduced himself as Ralvin Sterngazer, an adventurer who just started exploring the continent. After telling me a little more about himself, he gave me some of the soup, one of the most delicious things I had eaten in years. I told him what little I could remember about myself and what I had suffered these many years, causing him to become quite sad. Spending the rest of the day together, I expected us to part ways, but instead he surprised me by inviting me to come with him on his journey. With the first genuine smile I had made since my transformation, I accepted his invitation, giving him a tight, heartfelt hug for what felt like forever. He seemed a bit embarrassed, but allowed it.

I spent the next few years traveling the world with Ralvin, remaining his loyal companion through the highest highs and the lowest lows. I became a skilled healer during that time, even using what little I had learned in the castle to brew potions. Even though he insisted I didn’t, I always loved calling him Master, having fully accepted him. After our journey had concluded, he surprised me when he invited me to live with him in his idyllic hometown, even asking for my hand in marriage. I was overwhelmed with happiness, accepting with no hesitation as we began living together in our new homestead. Still, all was not well. Some nights, especially during the Full Moon, I would wake up and start sobbing uncontrollably, the memories of my old Master and the castle coming back with near-perfect clarity. All the old scars on my body would begin to ache as I’d roll into the fetal position, trying to block the images out of my head. I’d even question if all of this was real or not. Ralvin would comfort me each time and tell me everything was OK, that he was here and that it was all over. Eventually, the memories began to fade, peace finally prevailing over my terrifying past. Years later, our little children filled the house, bringing us endless joy each and every day. Each eventually grew up to become skilled adventurers in their own rights, bringing great honor to the Sterngazer name throughout the lands.

Though their son Rodel didn’t know it, he eventually came across the same castle where his mother had been imprisoned long ago, finding it abandoned with just a few weak monsters inside. He found a single, long-decayed corpse strapped to a gurney on one of the rooftops during his search, barely paying it any mind before leaving the castle behind.