The Bigshot's Superstar Wife

He was still by the entrance, sitting with his back against the rock, his rifle resting across his lap. His eyes were open, alert, watching the world outside.

Athena frowned. "Did you sleep at all?"

He glanced at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "A little."

She didn't believe him.

Sighing, she scooted closer, her legs stretched out beside his. The fire cast a soft glow over his face, highlighting the sharp angles and the exhaustion lingering in his eyes.

"You should rest," she told him again.

He exhaled, tilting his head back against the stone. "Maybe later."

Silence settled between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was… familiar. As if they had done this before, sat together in the quiet, waiting for the dawn to break.

Athena wrapped her arms around her knees, watching the entrance. The sky was still dark, but she could see the faintest hint of light creeping over the horizon.

Morning would come soon. Another day of survival. Another day of fighting. But for now, they had this moment.

A brief, fragile peace in a world that had long since forgotten the meaning of it. She let out a slow breath, her gaze drifting toward Xavier.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For… everything."

He didn't say anything at first. But then, after a long pause, he reached over and ruffled her hair, a rare softness in his touch.

"Get some more sleep," he said, his voice lower this time.

She wanted to argue. But for once, she listened. Closing her eyes, she let herself drift off again, safe in the knowledge that, for now, they were okay.

Athena slept peacefully, her body finally surrendering to exhaustion. But her mind was restless, drifting beyond the boundaries of reality.

She found herself walking in darkness, an endless void stretching in every direction.

There was no ground beneath her feet, yet she moved forward effortlessly, drawn by something unseen.

The silence was suffocating, pressing down on her like an invisible weight. She didn't know where she was, but she wasn't afraid.

It was as if she had been here before, as if this place was waiting for her return. Then, out of nowhere, a white door appeared in front of her.

It stood alone, glowing faintly against the darkness. It had no markings, no handle, yet something deep inside urged her to step forward.

She reached out, placing her palm against its surface. The moment her skin made contact, the door creaked open, revealing a world beyond. She stepped through.

The air was different. Heavier. Warmer. The scent of something unfamiliar filled her lungs, earthy, metallic, and something almost sweet.

She was in a small hut, the walls made of rough wooden planks. A dim light flickered from a small lantern in the corner, casting long shadows across the room.

And there, lying on a makeshift bed of furs, was a man.

He was wounded. Blood seeped from a deep gash across his chest, staining the bandages that barely held his wounds together.

His long black hair spilled over his shoulders, framing a face that was both striking and eerily familiar.

She knelt beside him, her hands moving on their own as she grabbed fresh bandages from a nearby table.

"You shouldn't be here," the man rasped, his blue eyes half-lidded as he looked at her. His voice sent shivers down her spine. She didn't know him. But at the same time, she did.

"I don't know where here is," she admitted, carefully wrapping the bandage around his wound. "But I couldn't just leave you like this."

He chuckled weakly, wincing at the movement. "Always the same," he murmured.

Athena froze. "What?"

Before he could answer, the world around her shifted. The hut vanished. The man was gone. She was standing in the middle of a battlefield. But this was no ordinary fight.

The creatures before her were monstrous, towering beasts with jagged limbs, their bodies covered in hard exoskeletons.

Their eyes burned with an unnatural glow, their claws dripping with something black and corrosive.

They were nothing like the zombies she had fought before. These were something else entirely.

Zergs.

She had only seen them in movies, in old interstellar war records. But here they were, real and terrifying. And she was in the middle of them.

A sword was in her hand. Not just any sword, the same one that always appeared when she was in danger.

The blade pulsed with energy, glowing with an eerie crimson light. She didn't question it. She gripped it tighter and charged forward.

Her body moved with precision, striking through the creatures like she had done it a thousand times before.

Her blade sliced through their thick armor, cutting them down with brutal efficiency. And with each strike, something strange happened. Red-glowing butterflies appeared.

They fluttered around her, their luminous wings casting a haunting glow against the battlefield. And when the monsters fell, their bodies didn't just collapse, they burned.

The fire didn't come from her sword. It came from the butterflies. They landed on the corpses, and within seconds, the creatures turned to ash, dissolving into the air.

Athena was mesmerized. The sight was both beautiful and terrifying.

She slashed through another enemy, watching as more butterflies emerged from nowhere. They danced around her, their movements hypnotic, before setting another corpse ablaze.

Why did this feel familiar? The battle raged on, but no matter how many monsters she cut down, more appeared.

The sky above her was dark, filled with smoke and the deafening sounds of war. And yet, she didn't feel fear. She felt alive.

A presence loomed behind her. She spun around, raising her sword just in time to block an attack from a massive creature. This one was different. Larger. Stronger. Intelligent.

Its eyes locked onto hers, and for a brief moment, she felt something cold wrap around her mind. A whisper. A voice.

"You do not belong here."

Pain exploded in her head.

The battlefield shattered.

She woke up gasping.

Her body jerked upright, her breath coming in ragged pants. The cave around her was dimly lit, the fire from the night before reduced to smoldering embers.

The others were still asleep, their forms curled up against the rocky walls.