Rule of The Crimson Rose | Chapter 4 | Darius and the Enigmatic Embrace of The Cult of the Red Rose

Darius stood at the threshold of a transformation few could fathom. His hands, wrapped in red roses, marked the beginning of a rebirth ceremony unlike any other. The air around him pulsed with an eerie vitality as the thorny stem of the Rosen King coiled gently around his body. This was no ordinary ritual; it was the moment he shed his former self and stepped into the shadowed fold of the Cult of the Red Rose.

Darius' hands are wrapped in red roses, it is his rebirth ceremony. He is no longer a mere man, but a member of the royal guard.

His face is that of shock, mouth agape, eyes staring down as the Rosen King's stem, thorny when not meeting his flesh, thornless on the edges which touched him, showing the care he wanted him to see, squeezes around his body as he is engulfed in rose greenery.

Once fully engulfed, the insides & out of said stem bloom with fresh new red roses, hundreds, until they've gone and disappear. The King of Roses found this fun.

The stems all reveal Darius, then rest him down gently on the floor. He is not only gaining this ceremony because he is a knight, but because he's a new member. This Is a special ceremony because it doesn't happen very often.

How did I come to this? Darius wondered, his mind a swirl of memories and doubts. The path that led him here was not as twisted and thorny as the rose stem now embracing him, just a strange & short Journey. Yet, beneath the shock and awe, a strange calm settled within him. He was no longer just a man; he felt he was becoming something more.

This takes place in the past, when Darius was 23. Darius was a member of the Army as a Fighter from ages 18-20, but he was discharged by his sergeant when his mental health had dropped so low he couldn't fight anymore.

Darius had PTSD & Depression.

Darius then became a police officer from ages 21-23. He was trying his best, but felt he'd do better as a detective. So, at 23, he became a detective and worked as one from the ages 26-27.

Detectives are also sworn officers, but they focus on investigating crimes in depth — gathering evidence, interviewing suspects and witnesses, analyzing information, and building cases that can be used in court.

In most U.S. police departments, detectives are police officers who’ve been assigned or promoted into investigative roles. They keep all the powers of a police officer (such as making arrests), but their day-to-day work centers on solving crimes.

Often, detectives start as regular officers and then shift into the detective role after gaining experience and additional training.

Meanwhile, The Red Rose was in his castle. He was brooding over his need for more soldiers to take down the prince of Persia.

Master Oyoda, a trainer of the royal guards, came to him and told him "I will train a new one from America. My mother, Alexandra, knew his mother, Cassandra. His name is Darius. He is 27 and an amazing detective."

The Red Rose told Master Oyoda to take his adoptive son, Zandar, and "Let Zandar rule as prince temporarily under my rule until I come back."

Master Oyoda: "You are fishing for more souls, sir?"

The Red Rose Nodded once.

Then he whisped away, turning into a red smoke like that of a cigarette.

Once he, at the speed of light, made his way to America. He telepathically spoke to Oyoda, saying "Where does Darius live?" Oyoda, as a Nephilim, telepathically replied "His home is 1212 Anchez Boulevard. His zip code is 91023. He's a very nice boy. You'll love him as a member of the Rose." 

Darius' mother was a Christian, but he was agnostic. He used to be an atheist until he found out Master Oyoda's father was an angel.

The Red Rose goes up to Darius and whispers in his ear when he's encumbered with his depression. The Crimson Rose is invisible.

Darius has no wife & kids of his own as Darius fears his PTSD will cause him to abuse his spouse & children.

The Whispering Invitation

Darius first encountered the Cult of the Red Rose on a night thick with fog and silence. The city’s pulse had slowed, and the streets seemed to hold their breath. It was then that he heard the voice—soft, persuasive, and impossibly close.

The Crimson Rose starts small, and asks "How have you fallen? What have you been suffering with?"

Confusing this voice for the voice of The Lord's, Darius left his agnosticism and replied "Lord? Who may this be?" The Crimson Rose saw this as an opportunity, and said "No," so as to not be punished by God, then said "I am his servant: The Crimson Rose." He says to Darius "The Lord needs you to fly to my kingdom, The Kingdom of Roses, to fight in our army." This was all a lie.

As a result, Darius said "Okay."

So, The Crimson Rose dove in, saying "The Lord desires you be devoted to me."

Darius sought answers, and nodded.

"You seek belonging, do you not? A purpose beyond the mundane, a truth hidden beneath the petals of existence," the voice murmured. It was the Red Rose itself, a sentient spirit whose form was both delicate and formidable: a crimson bloom where a head should be, its stem twisting like a living spine.

Darius felt the words seep into his thoughts, wrapping around his doubts like vines. Could this be the answer I’ve been searching for? The voice continued, weaving its argument with a hypnotic grace.

"You are not alone in your yearning. The world offers only shadows and fleeting comforts. But here, within the Kingdom, you will find a sanctuary where your soul can bloom. Your pain, your fears—they will be transformed into strength, into beauty."

The Red Rose’s voice was not just a call; it was a promise. It spoke directly to Darius, using you and your to make the invitation personal, impossible to ignore.

Darius looked outside as all his neighbors looked up and saw a chasm open up in the clouds of the night sky.

Down came a Rosen Chariot, and Darius entered in it within shaky confusion. Thus, The Rose Took him up to The Rosen Kingdom.

The Cult’s Allure

The Cult of the Red Rose was shrouded in mystery. Its members moved like whispers in the night, the priests of their faces hidden beneath crimson hoods. Their rituals were a blend of newfound rites and surreal symbolism, each act charged with the symbol of the crimson rose.

Darius observed them from the shadows, drawn by an inexplicable magnetism. The cultists’ devotion was fierce yet tender, their movements fluid as if they were part of the rose itself. The air around them smelled faintly of earth and blood, a scent that stirred something primal within him.

I have never felt so alive, yet so consumed by darkness, he thought. The cult was a paradox—a place where beauty and terror could intertwine like the petals and thorns of a rose.

The Rosen King’s Embrace

The night of the rebirth ceremony arrived with a heavy silence. Darius’s heart pounded as the Rosen King appeared before him, its form both majestic and unsettling. The stem, covered in thorns that softened where they touched flesh, began to coil around him.

"You will shed your old skin, your doubts, your fears," the Rosen King intoned: "In this embrace, you will find your true self. The thorns protect, the petals reveal."

Darius’ breath caught as the greenery enveloped him, the sensation both painful and soothing. The thorns nearby that did not directly press against his skin, as the rosen king kept areas that touched him clean of thorns, pricked his skin due to still being too close, but where they met his flesh, they softened, a sign of the care the King wished to show once he felt his thorns touching the man's legs & arms.

As the stem wrapped tighter, hundreds of fresh red roses bloomed from within and without, their petals unfolding like the layers of Darius’s own soul. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the roses vanished, leaving him exposed and transformed.

The Rosen King gently lowered him to the floor, a silent acknowledgment of his new status—not just a knight, but a full member of the Cult.

The Rosen King's thorny stem enveloping Darius during the rebirth ceremony

The Weight of New Allegiance

Darius rose slowly, feeling the weight of his new identity settle over him like a cloak. The shock in his eyes was tempered by a newfound resolve. He was no longer a solitary figure wandering through life’s shadows; he was part of something vast and unknowable.

This is more than a kingdom. It is a covenant, he realized. The Cult of the Red Rose demanded loyalty, sacrifice, and faith in the unseen. But it also offered a strange kind of freedom—a chance to rewrite the story of his existence.

The Red Rose’s voice echoed in his mind once more:

"You have chosen to bloom in darkness, to find strength in thorns. Your journey has only just begun."

Master Oyoda comes to greet Darius, saying "The Lord, as King Crimson Rose has informed me, wants us to overthrow the Spiritual Prince of Persia due to his evils against the women of Iran using the Muslim religion. The Muslims are our enemies."

Darius didn't hate Muslims, but he knew that women in Iran were persecuted and that Persia was trying to return. The women are protesting in real life as we speak to bring back the freedoms they once had.

The Path Forward

Joining the Cult was not the end but the beginning of Darius’ thorns. Each day brought new lessons. The cult’s teachings were open for him as he was a member now, and it was not to be hidden from him, urging him to look beyond reality.

Darius learned to listen—to the lying whispers of the rose, to the silent language of thorns, and to the loud commands of the Rosen order. His mind grew attuned to the order's rhythm, his senses sharpened by the training of Master Oyoda under the Rosen King.

I am no longer just a detective, he thought: I am a guardian of this kingdom, a bearer of the crimson flame.

To be continued in the present day...