Flashing You the Final Installment

This is the final installment in this serialized story.  I hope you enjoy it.

And as always, if you haven't read the other parts, I've provided links to each of them so you can get caught up.

Part 1: The Sounding
Part 2: The Blank Slate
Part 3: The Infinite Jest
Part 4: The Third
Part 5: Portals
Part 6: The Dream Reader
Part 7: The Deity's Bedroom

You can also read the story in its entirety on the separate page I created for it.  You can find the tab at the top of the page, or I could just be nice and give you the link HERE.

The Absurdity

Part 8: Explosive Ecstasy

“I think I have all I need,” I said quietly.

The Dream Reader nodded.  “I figured you would.”

I walked away from the Dream Reader, filled with more questions and confusion than I had when I arrived.  When I followed him into that room, I felt so certain all my questions could be answered.  That hadn’t been the case at all, but at least I had the answer to the most important question of all.

I knew where I wanted to be.

Once again in the Dream Reader’s lair, surrounded by the faces of countless people I would never meet, I waved my hand.  I felt the familiar sensation of my fingers catching on my destination.  When I pealed the fabric of the world back and stepped through, I felt an upwelling of anticipation. 

I emerged next to Jester, though the configuration of celestial bodies below looked different from when I left.  She was lying face down, spread-eagled, directly over a giant red star.  Her long, jeweled hair was now unrestrained and fanned out around her.  The starlight set the long strands ablaze, creating a fiery, multi-colored halo around her head.

“This star is going to go supernova soon.”  Jester’s voice sounded distant, contemplative.  Maybe even a little sad.  “I feel like I’m flying over it.  How often do you get to fly above a star as it dies?”

I considered that for a moment.  “Here, where we have all the time we need and the whole universe beneath our feet, we can probably do it more often than most.”

She turned her head to the side and brushed her hair aside.  Her eyes peeked out at me, though I couldn’t see enough of her face to get a good feel for her mood.  Then she laughed.  “You make an excellent point,” she conceded.  “Still, I thought we might watch it together.  I was hoping you’d get back in time.”

I dropped to my knees and stretched out beside her.  “Here I am.”

The two of us lay side by side, and as I pressed my cheek against the ground, I found my fingers entwining with hers.  My eyes focused on the big ball of dying light. 

“When it goes, the power of the explosion will destroy the planets nearest to it,” she narrated.  “Their surfaces will be burned away in seconds.  Yet, in that moment of destruction, the star will generate new elements, the basic building blocks of life for the universe on the other side of this glass.  The light from this will be visible for thousands of light years.  More than a millennium from now, people will be seeing this light for the first time, and they’ll see what we’re about to see.  They will be laying eyes on something that will have provided the building blocks for countless new species.  It’s all pretty incredible.”

“It is,” I agreed.  “Assuming that all of it’s real, of course.”

Jester squeezed my hand.  “Real or not, I’d like you to enjoy it with me.”

“I can do that.”

Several silent minutes passed after that. 

The change inside the star came suddenly.  The colossal wave of energy unleashed by the collapsing core burst forth, hurling away the star’s outer layers.  The billowing cloud of light raced out in every direction, filling the entire room with light.  The star, undone by its own gravity, was now being scattered across the universe.

“Amazing,” I breathed.  Then I turned on my side, and I saw that Jester had done the same.  The explosion cast her in a crazy pattern of light and shadow, and she looked so hauntingly beautiful that my mind went fuzzy.

We reached out for each other at the same time.  Though I’d already kissed her before, this time felt just as new and exhilarating as the last.  Her tongue was more daring this time, darting out to push past my lips.  Not that she had to try too hard.  I was more than willing to allow her entry.

She wrapped her body around mine, and my hands explored every curve of her, searching for a way past her garments.  Soon enough I found a point of entry and began to peel them away, revealing smooth skin.  I knew she’d feel smooth to the touch, but the way she trembled in response triggered an urgency I never dreamed possible. 

It wasn’t long before we’d both shed our outer layers, much like the star below.  I hovered just above her, moving against her body as powerful waves of sensation crashed over me.  The light behind her was so bright I couldn’t see her face, but I felt every inch of her, and I heard every moan and sigh.  She touched me with eager hands, and I welcomed every moment of it.

The climax felt like an explosive release of warmth.  It radiated from me like ripples in a pond.

Afterwards, I lay down beside Jester, and she rested her chin lightly on my shoulder.  “How are you feeling?” she asked lightly.

“Transformed,” I replied.  “I think my name should be Nova.  It seems appropriate somehow.”

She smiled glowingly.  “So you’re definitely staying?”

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”