He put on a pair of rubber gloves and felt around the door. He found a latch, and opened it.

The door revealed a small compartment, which held a stone tablet. Carefully, he took the tablet and pulled it out of the compartment. He held it to the light and then put it on his examination table.

He took off the gloves and rubbed his hands together. “OK, let’s see if you can tell me anything else about this box. He bent over the tablet and began studying it.

Doug knew by heart about thirty or so ancient languages. This didn’t fit into any of them. He groaned. “Damn! Gonna be difficult, huh?” he remarked. He got up, almost running to Sam and Julie, his co-workers. “What’s that?” Sam asked.

Doug looked behind him. “Oh, that? This thing came in today. I think its some sort of coffin.”

Julie came up and put her hands on his arms. “Doug, why don’t come out with us? The thing will be here tomorrow.”

Doug half-grinned. “Nah. This has got my attention. A real mystery here, one that I want to solve."

Julie sighed. “Okay.” She let go of him and took Sam’s arm. They walked away. As they did, Sam said, “See you tomorrow.”

After they left, Doug muttered, “Yeah, like you want a third gay wheel on your date.” He thought about what Julie had said. Ever since Brad had left him, he had just buried himself in work. He didn’t want to think about a relationship, and had just stopped having a social life as well.

Banishing all thoughts of his own past, he went over to the research library, and pulled out a book on ancient languages. He took the book back to his table with him. He leafed through the book, trying to find a language listed in the book that was the same as the odd lettering on the tablet.

After an hour, he believed he had found something. The tablet’s markings were the same as those of the Zoroastrians, and ancient Persian civilization. He grinned. If this writing was indeed Zoroastrian, then this was definitely a coffin. The Zoroastrians embalmed the dead of importance. He tried to translate some of the writing. While most of the tablet was worn to the point where whole words were illegible, there was a phrase that was whole. “Sacred Flame”.

He scratched his head. “Sacred Flame”? That was a mystery. The Zoroastrians had their share of magicians, but usually venerated the sky. He decided to open the coffin.

He got a crowbar and stuck it into a crevice. There was a whoosh of bad air, and the lid opened. Once the air had cleared, he opened the lid fully and looked in.

All there was was a pile of dust. That was expected. A body this old wouldn’t be anything else by now. But, in the middle on the pile where Doug guessed was the chest, was a gemstone. Similar to a ruby, but the red color was mixed with orange and yellow. It looked sort of like a glass cube holding a fire, roughly the size of a roll of quarters.

He took the gem, pulled it out of the coffin. It was hot in his hand, he looked at it closer, and felt the warmth from the gem travel into his hand.

He would have dropped it then, but he couldn’t. The warmth spread down his arm and into his body. As it did, he lost all sense of panic. This felt good and natural.

Suddenly, his body began to tingle. He began to grow. His chest inflated, his pecs ballooning out. His stomach shrank, and his lats grew wide, and he could feel his traps growing. He heard a rip and felt his shirt tear as he became too massive. His arms bulged, the biceps growing like balloons. He felt his shoulders widen and enlarge. His delts became prominent, and his neck grew wider. His legs swelled up, his quads and calves first completely filling out and then ripping his slacks. He felt tight in what was left of his pants, and he was sure his dick was growing as well. He could feel himself growing taller as well. After a few minutes, he felt himself stop growing.

He quickly walked to a mirror and was amazed. He was huge! He looked like a god – almost seven feet tall, and extremely well-built, with muscle huge and rippling with every movement he made. He had a solid eight-pack of abs. His face was different as well, having become extremely handsome, with a strong jaw, smoldering blue eyes, and a wide, sensual mouth. His hair had grown, as well, now reaching to the middle of his back.

He took off the ruined remains of his clothing, and noticed his dick had grown as well, now almost a foot long while soft. He became hard just looking at his perfection in the mirror, and it grew even more.

All the time he had been holding the gem. He looked at it again. “What the heck did you do to me?” he said. He marvelled at his voice, now a rich baritone.

He got a lab coat to cover his naked body. He went back to the coffin and his desk. He put the gem down on his desk, wondering what would happen next. He looked at himself – he wasn’t changing back.

Behind him, there was a stirring in the air. Light began to shine from inside the coffin. Doug turned around, to see motes soar upward from the pile of dust like embers from a campfire. More and more motes soared upward, until finally, in a blinding flash of light, a person was revealed.

The man was immense. Like Doug now was, he was seven feet tall, with an incredible physique. He had tremendously wide shoulders, huge biceps and triceps, wide lats, an immense chest, a flat stomach showing nicely prominent abs, and hugely muscled legs. His face was strong and devastatingly handsome, and his body would make anyone drool. He looked to be dressed in a simple breechclout, an ornate necklace of gold, and a headband to contain a mane of very long black hair, and nothing else. He looked around, and saw Doug, and smiled. “Greetings.” Although he was sure the vision before him wasn’t speaking modern English, Doug understood him easily.

Doug swallowed. “Uh, hi.”

He looked around, and saw the gem on Doug’s desk. “I see the gem has attuned itself to you. Good.”

“Well, if you mean I picked it up, and then got all big, then yes.”

“That’s the usual first benefit. Increased physical prowess is necessary for a guardian.”

“What?”

“You have been attuned to the gem. You are to be the next guardian of the sacred flame.”

“Guardian?”

“The sacred flame,” he pointed to the gem, “has chosen you to be its next protector.”

“It…it needs a protector?”

He smiled again. “Look what it did with just you touching it. Imagine what someone who knows what it is capable of got a hold of it.”

Doug thought for a bit. “OK, what now?”

He smiled. “I will initiate you, give you the power, and present you to the brotherhood.”

“What do I do?”

“Just stand up, and remove the garment.”

Doug stood up. Looking at this magnificent physique before him made him hard all over again. A little embarrassed, he took off the lab coat.

The man stripped off his breechcloth and stepped down from the coffin. Up close, he saw the man had a tattoo of a flame on one shoulder. “What’s your name?” he said.

“I’m Doug. Doug Campbell.”

He smiled. “Well met, Doug. I am Zarthos.” With that, he began to stroke Doug, his hands sliding up and down Doug’s muscles. He lowered himself to his knees, and placed his mouth on Doug’s erect dick. He began sucking.

Doug was carried away with pleasure. Ritual or sex, Doug didn’t care – this musclegod before him knew how to do this very, very well. Doug was no stranger to oral, but the sensation was so pleasurable. He held it as long as he could, but finally he came and came, a hot torrent of cum in Zarthos’ mouth. He swallowed it all. Finally, when Doug was through, he got up.

Doug began to drop to his knees, but Zarthos said “no.” He turned Doug around and placed his hands on the desk. He then began to insert his own monstrously huge dick in Doug’s anus.

If you could die from pleasure, Doug thought for sure he would. Slow at first, than faster and faster, harder and harder Zarthos began to ram into Doug. Both Doug and Zarthos began to moan in pleasure. After what seemed like forever, Zarthos’ moans suddenly became a command. “Let this one be one of us!” he shouted. A white-hot flood of cum exploded in Doug, and the heat flowed through his entire body. He gasped in both pain and pleasure, and found his perceptions altering – he could feel things around him like never before – his senses were sharpened and heightened, and he felt power gather around him.

Zarthos withdrew. “Welcome to the brotherhood, Doug Campbell.” He said. He gave the gem to Doug and pointed to his shoulder, now also bearing the flame tattoo

As Doug watched, a point of light appeared near them. It grew into an immense ball, and then began to change. A place was revealed. Twenty men sat on thrones in a large hall. Like Doug and Zarthos, they were huge musclemen, all with the flame tattoo, and all dressed in truly ancient clothing from various cultures.

The man in the center stood up. “Welcome at last, Zarthos. This is the newest member?”

“Yes. This is Doug Campbell.”

“Excellent. Zarthos, you may take your place and rest. Doug Campbell, come forth.

Like with Zarthos, Doug was sure the man wasn’t speaking English, but he understood him perfectly. Doug walked towards the man, excited and scared. When he got there, the man placed a hand on his shoulder. “Doug Campbell, a trust has been placed in your hands. The sacred flame must be kept safe. You have tasted its power, and may use it as you see fit. But you must guard it from all others. The power can corrupt, so keep it safe, and away from all. Do you so swear to do this?”

“I do.” Said Doug, meaning it.

He smiled. “Then go forth. The sacred flame is yours, you will not see us again, until the time the sacred flame selects a new guardian.”

The place began to dissolve around the Doug. The men turned transparent, the walls began to fade away. “Wait! How do I use the sacred flame?” he asked as the men and the hall disappeared.

“Try” said a voice.

Doug was alone in the museum again. He shook himself. If it weren’t for his transformation, he would have thought it a dream. He walked to his desk. He decided he wanted to go home. He put the lid on the coffin, and picked up the stone tablet and put it back in the compartment, closing the door.

He looked down at himself. He was naked. “I need some clothes.” He said.

Suddenly, he was dressed in a form-fitting tee-shirt and jeans, that accentuated his new muscles. After an initial shock, he smiled in pleasure. He put the gem in a pocket.

This definitely had possibilities. •