Temple of the Black Rose

I still couldn't believe I had found it.

They said it didn't exist.
They said I was crazy.
I probably am!

The lost temple of the Black Rose was widely attested in the historical record, but everyone dismissed it as pure myth; like Atlantis.

They said the same thing about Troy...

But gloating was the least of my concerns. I was about to enter a dominion untouched by man for almost five thousand years. If not for the intoxicating rush of vindication, I would have stopped to properly document the environs and assess for safety. But I had to see what lay beyond...!

The interior was contradictory! It seemed to be bigger on the inside. And even though it was almost entirely submerged beneath the earth, it was perfectly lit. The walls were adorned with geometric carvings of some sort of creature. As I walked past them and the fluted columns, I deduced that they were of the Skunk-like fertility goddess these people worshiped.

The Cult of the Black Rose was supposed to have been a matriarchal power behind many a Bronze Age throne. They wielded a strange magick that allowed them to command the wills of men. But according to legend, they were deposed by a jealous acolyte who grew impatient with the hierarchy and revealed their secrets to the King of a nearby City-State and they were wiped out in a single night. I never believed in magick, but I had been proved wrong before.

I came upon a grand staircase in the center of the temple. It was clearly leading to the central altar in miniature of the exterior structure. With determined wanderlust in my heart, I ascended to the culmination of my career's work. As I climbed, an odd smell began to penetrate my nostrils. At first, I thought it was just the stuffiness of this ancient abode. But soon it developed a more sweet undertone. The only comparison I could fathom from experience was the one time when I was an undergraduate when I attended a Dave Matthews concert.

At the top, I was greeted by the great altar and its sole adornment:
A single Black Rose atop a triangular pedestal.
It was this totem from which the deep perfume originated...

My instincts took over as I rushed forward; thoughtlessly entering the sigil adorned circle that laid between me and my goal. Standing before The Rose, I began to take deeper and deeper breaths of the succulent scent; gripping the sides of the altar to keep myself near as I began to let go of myself and surrender to the sweet music of The Rose's call.

As I gazed upon the idol, I noticed that it appeared to be made of some sort of material that resembled wet latex. My first thought was to touch it, but before I could act upon my intentions I was corrected.

No! The Rose commanded with a feminine, yet commanding voice. You are not yet worthy.

The Rose had just directly spoken to me; in my mind. I should have freaked the hell out and fucked the fuck off, but I had abandoned my senses and was prepared to give myself over completely to my precious...

"How shall I become worthy, my precious...?"

I am not "yours", The Rose answered. You shall be mine...!

"Yes..."

"Yes" what?

"Yes, mistress..."

Good... I drew even nearer to The Rose. And now, I shall make you worthy...

"Yes...!" I sputtered. "Please!"

A sudden warmth came upon me and I began to sweat profusely. I quickly cast aside my hard hat and began to strip. As I discarded my tactical khaki attire, I continued keeping my nose as close to The Rose as It would permit me. As soon as I had become as naked as the day I was born, the pedestal bearing The Rose began to sink into the floor of the pinnacle.

My heart skipped a beat and a half as I knelt lower and lower until I was on my hands and knees atop my clothes in the direct center of the circle; still breathing in The Rose's sweet gift as the warmth wrapped itself around my body.

I noticed The Rose to become even "wetter" as I was suddenly greeted by alternating streams of black and white liquid pouring up from the seams around the sunken altar. Quickly, the liquid consumed my clothes beneath me and began to pool around my hands and knees.

Accept my gift, be made worthy, and you shall become my vessel.

"I give myself to you, forever..." I whispered my last words as a human.

Without pause, the liquid climbed up my limbs, coating my arms and legs. The substance as it climbed began to embed itself in my pores, grafting itself to my skin in a silent promise that forever means forever. Upon reaching my crotch, all was smoothed to nothing and the beginnings of a tail sprouted from the small of my back. My loss of an appendage and gain of another was met with the liquid encasing my entire torso, expanding my pecks into moderately endowed breasts and more feminine curves. The Rose was making me into a woman.

My new tail began to fill itself out as I saw a pair of white stripes form on my back and down my tail in the reflection of The Rose's shimmer. My focus was re-centered when I was called upon again.

Now we shall become as one...

The last glimmer of The Rose coagulated on Its surface as the liquid separated and formed itself in the inverted shape of a feminine skunk's face; like a mask. I leaned forward as much as the liquid would permit me and accepted my, no, Our destiny.

The liquid at my hands and feet receded into my body, forming new skunk paws as the mask pressed itself against my face. My vision was met with nothing but blackness as all my orifices were filled by warm and wet. The substance covered every inch of my insides, improving and perfecting them. I no longer would need to eat, drink, or even breathe.

I would never age.
I would never die.

The last journey was to the crevices of my mind. As my ears were shaped to a more fitting appearance, the liquid filled my skull and expanded my consciousness as The Rose and I became of one will. I was no longer a mere archaeologist nerd. I was a Goddess!

Our eyes opened as We inspected Our new form. We were now one and a half times the height of my old human body. Finally now worthy, We leant down and grasped the stalk of the rose; no longer possessing the fullness of the divine greatness which now flowed throughout Our very essence. It now was just a simple black rubber rose. But potential swelled in Our belly.

Turning around, We swept our arms outward and the temple shone with a brightness like unto the Sun itself. The millenea of Earth burying the temple was blasted away to Kingdom Come as We levitated down the steps of the sanctuary with Our joint objective.

"Come all who hear Our call!" We proclaimed to the world. "The Cult of the Black Rose lives again and forevermore!"

We cupped the rose in Our hands before casting the pedals before Us. The ground instantaneously became awash in a blooming field of shimmering Roses. All who came near would be changed. Not like us exactly, but into Our rubberskunk acolytes.

"Hear me!" We decreed.
"All mankind shall gather hence and be made worthy of Our blessing!
All will be changed.
All shall become as woman.
All shall become as rubber.
All shall become as skunk.
All shall surrender to the Black Rose!"