Chapter Eighty Four

The roar of the airplane engines was a dull hum compared to the cacophony of thoughts swirling in Sarah's head. Glancing across the aisle, she saw Alex staring out the window, his face etched with a contemplative frown. Jason, beside her, was lost in a book, but Sarah knew the haunted look in his eyes that mirrored her own. Cambodia. The hidden temple complex. The Keepers. The artifact. It all felt like a fever dream, a bizarre adventure ripped from the pages of a fantastical novel.

"We did it," Sarah finally said, her voice barely a whisper.

Alex turned towards her, a flicker of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, we did. Crazy, huh?"

"Crazy doesn't even begin to describe it," Sarah replied, letting out a shaky breath. "I never thought I'd be fighting rogue monks over an ancient artifact that opens portals to other dimensions."

Jason chuckled a humorless sound. "Neither did I. Though, to be fair, getting kidnapped by said monks wasn't exactly on my travel itinerary eith