You May as Well Break My Heart [Haikaveh]

Chapter five

After sharing Faruzan's plan with Cyno and Tighnari, Kaveh felt a noticeable shift in his mood. His two friends, though initially taken aback by the sudden change, were relieved to see him explaining his ideas in great detail—just like he used to before Alhaitham went missing.

The Matra-led expeditions to the temple had ended due to the lack of progress in the investigation. However, Nahida had given Cyno permission to continue if he wanted to, and she started to call him to the Sanctuary once a week to discuss the matter. She seemed deeply concerned about not receiving any news about the scribe yet.

In one meeting, Kaveh mentioned that she might want to hear about Faruzan's theory, and Cyno agreed it was a good idea. He wrote a super detailed report afterwards, and gave it to the general to deliver on his next visit.

Tighnari, who visited Kaveh every evening, listened as he eagerly discussed his progress with the Haravatat professor. He also took the opportunity to ensure the blonde was eating properly and taking care of himself.

Luckily for Kaveh, he had such good friends. Without them, he'd probably still be drowning his sorrows in alcohol and rotting away in the room he shared with Alhaitham.

Yet, he would be lying if he said he felt completely fine. Kaveh knew all too well that guilt wasn't something he handled well, but he was doing his best not to let it overwhelm him.

His routine had shifted slightly., and one of the first things he did was move back to his old room. Sleeping in the scribe's bedroom without Alhaitham there was too much for him to bear. His own room at least helped him feel less alone.

Mehrak was always by his side as well, mainly because the oppressive silence in the house would have driven Kaveh mad. Whenever something bothered him, he'd speak to the cheerful little briefcase, fooling his brain into thinking it was an actual conversation. Talking to her wasn't so different from talking to Alhaitham anyway—neither of them gave much of a response.

When Kaveh wasn't at home, he was at the Akademiya with Faruzan. In just over a week, they had managed to create a prototype for the device. The blueprints were practically complete. According to Faruzan, the device would resonate with the flow of the ley lines, triggering an anomaly similar to the one that had pulled Alhaitham in. That way, they could replicate the accident in a controlled manner, and if her calculations were correct, Alhaitham would be expelled back into their timeline.

Kaveh did his best to keep up with the young professor, but her expertise in time-related anomalies far surpassed his own.

Despite being a Haravatat scholar, she was more specialized in Kshahrewar studies, especially machine mechanics, which made their progress faster than he had expected.

Still, Kaveh wasn't lagging behind. After all, he was regarded as a genius in his field. His darshan's focus was technology, and once he grasped the basic concept of what Faruzan aimed to achieve, his mind immediately began working on the best materials to use for replicating the anomaly as accurately as possible.

Faruzan often paused her own work to examine his notes, impressed by how quickly he adapted to new information. "I hadn't thought of that. It certainly improves the device's accuracy. Brilliant as always, young Kaveh. Your skills are as sharp as ever."

Once the blueprints were finalized, the real challenge began—constructing the device. At this point, Faruzan was less involved in the manual work, but she helped nonetheless. "Although I enjoy the mechanics, I prefer designing over building. I'll leave this part to you, architect. You'll likely do a better job than I would."

Kaveh worked tirelessly for several days. Finding the right parts had been tricky, but assembling them proved to be even more of a headache, with several failed attempts and more than a few frustrations.