Work Text:
It had begun as a day much like any other for Kaveh.
A long sigh escaped the lips of the man as his quill etched designs onto graphing paper. The room was dimly lit by a lantern on the desk beside where he worked, providing him with ample visibility of the pillar the man had just drawn. The design was one of many that Kaveh had recently been commissioned to complete; work had been steady lately, and with it, an unending deluge of frustrations and annoyances plagued his nighttime hours.
One such gripe with his current task – something about that pillar wasn’t right. The building he was sketching was a simple warehouse for a lumber company in Port Ormos. He had been instructed to keep it “simple, but with flair.” Recalling those words caused Kaveh to sigh once more as he set the quill aside and glanced towards the window. “Simple, but with flair” – what did that mean, exactly? Kaveh was no stranger to adding his own style to the designs of buildings, as that was something that he took great pride in, but striking a balance between simplicity and flair with no further instruction…
How much flair was too much flair? At what point did it go from, in the eyes of the commissioner, simple to excessive? That was all that he had been told, so the onus was on him to even those scales, and to some degree, it was fun to be given a job where he had a bit of leeway for once…
But the pillar wasn’t right. Compared to the decorative accents of the doors of the warehouse adjacent to it, it lacked flair. The logical solution, then, would be to simply add some patterning to that pillar, or a trim, or anything to make it less bare, but would doing so be too much? What type of design would go well with the stained glass window’s layout – no, was having stained glass already too much flair? This was supposed to be a simple warehouse, after all, but practically every building in Sumeru had stained glass or other colored accents at least somewhere—
“You continue to put far more thought into these designs than anyone looking at them ever will, no matter how much it would benefit you to worry less.”
The words Alhaitham had spoken quite some time ago echoed in Kaveh’s head, and with an exasperated groan, he picked his quill back up to work on revisions. Those thoughts, shared over beer in the tavern, ate away at Kaveh whenever he began to fixate on aspects of the buildings he designed. He had been complaining, as he often did, about work, client requests and how nonsensical they were, and the process of trying to make their visions reality without really knowing what it was they envisioned to begin with, since even they hardly seemed to have a clue. Alhaitham’s advice, then, was reasonable – given they clearly didn’t care enough to specify what they wanted, why should Kaveh work himself to the bone to figure it out for them?
But that was his job, and that was what brought him joy. Vague instructions were better than stifling ones that left him with no opportunities for creative approaches, but instructions too vague were a hindrance. Much like this one was, and that pillar—
“Ugh!” Kaveh tossed the quill away as quickly as he had retrieved it, leaning his head back with another drawn out sigh. Perhaps it would be best to return to this design later, and spend his time until then thinking about anything else. Something less stressful. But did the man really have time to spend thinking about other topics, given the deadline was creeping up with each passing second? No. Postponing his frustrations would cause them to build up until Kaveh got to a point where he decided that the current design was better off scrapped. The warehouse concept wasn’t beyond salvaging! Still, even now, the idea of getting rid of it and starting over was tempting indeed.
Kaveh was, of course, perplexed when he returned his pressured gaze to the table only to find the work in progress blueprint missing.
He blinked once, and then rubbed his eyes to ensure that the growing tiredness wasn’t playing tricks on him. When that failed, he placed his hand on the desk where the paper had laid, only to feel nothing but the cold wooden surface. He hurriedly stood up, moving books around, checking under the table, and even where he had previously been sitting – nothing. It was nowhere to be found, hidden behind no object – the blueprint was well and truly gone.
“...Huh.” That was strange. He certainly hadn’t moved the blueprint, and – “It’s not just strange!” he spoke to himself, beginning to grow concerned. “It’s gone! I didn’t do anything to it! Where could it have gone?” It was as if an unseen force had simply deleted it. No – did that mean that he would have to recreate everything on another sheet of paper from memory? No! The design had been fine! Other than that pillar, but—
What should he do? What was the appropriate response to witnessing an object vanish? Should he – no, Alhaitham wouldn’t believe him. He would probably just respond with some witty comments on how Kaveh had gotten so absorbed in his work, like he had warned against, that he misplaced it and forgot. “That Alhaitham is no help at all…” Kaveh muttered weakly to distract himself as his concern turned to something resembling fear.
The blueprint was gone. That much was a fact, as cold and hard as the empty face of the desk his wide reddish eyes remained intently focused on, almost as if he expected to blink and see the paper reappear before him. But that did not happen – the blueprint was gone. It remained gone, and no amount of blinking or feeling around caused it to reveal itself. It appeared that the blueprint had never existed at all.
…There were still four days until the deadline Kaveh had been given. That was more than enough time to find the blueprint, or – or, should that fail, create a second one. A second one, where the pillar wasn’t so vexing. This could be a good thing! This could force him to rekindle his motivation, and add more creative flair the commissioner had wanted. He laughed nervously at the thought. Yes… The man need not mention this to anyone, least of all Alhaitham. Surely if he were to tell the story, it would sound more like the ramblings of a drunkard than events that Kaveh had watched unfold.
That was… more than enough work for the day, the man decided. “I’m going to sleep,” he mumbled aloud. “Maybe I’ll… find it in the morning…” He shuffled from his desk to his bed, pulling the blankets aside and laying down. It was best to not think about this too much, because it very much seemed to be something that defied explanation. Yes, he would just… ignore it. When Kaveh awoke, the blueprint with the design would be on the desk where he had last seen it. Surely…
[ [ ✥ ] ]
The blueprint was not there upon Kaveh’s awakening the next morning.
By then, he had had enough. He, the notorious overthinker, didn’t know where to begin thinking about this topic, and thus it was a topic that he would… disregard. Sometimes, irrational things just happened. There had to be an explanation for it, but whatever fundamental principles behind it eluded Kaveh. So he would just ignore it!
With that stubbornness in mind, Kaveh exited his room and made his way into the living room. He held back a sigh upon seeing Alhaitham on the couch, a hefty book in his hand. Though the other man didn’t turn to face him – typical – he evidently knew that Kaveh was present because he said something that immediately reminded him of that thing he was ignoring:
“I heard you banging around last night – more frantically than usual, anyway.” It was a question disguised as a statement, because Alhaitham really seemed to dislike ever asking Kaveh a question properly.
“Don’t you have your soundproof earpieces to block stuff like that out?” he replied, emphasizing the words primarily because Kaveh still couldn’t understand how Alhaitham slept with those clunky things around his ears.
Alhaitham turned a page. “I do. But sometimes I think it’s entertaining to listen to you hammer and scurry around like a panicked beaver building a dam. It breaks up the monotony.”
Kaveh scoffed, biting his tongue to stop himself from getting into another one of those conversations with Alhaitham. It wasn’t worth his time. He’d just go out like he had planned to get a cup of coffee at the cafe – and fervently analyze every word on the menu, every blade of grass, every speck of dust on the ground, and anything else he could find to avoid thinking about that thing. “It’s better to be active, unlike a certain hermit crab I can think of that just stays in his shell all day and snaps at anything that gets close to him. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from me and clean up those books you have laying around – be useful for once in your own house.”
He just had to let that one slip out, mostly to stop Alhaitham from having the last word. Before giving Alhaitham a chance to respond – if he felt it necessary to do so, he would’ve done it regardless – Kaveh stepped out into the street and made a beeline for the cafe.
A nice cup of coffee and freedom from Alhaitham was all Kaveh needed right now. If he did it right, he could even avoid thinking about that – ugh! Thinking about how much he didn’t want to think about something was still thinking about it. If only he could make those nagging worries disappear like that blueprint had!
That would be nice, actually – the ability to just… make things vanish. Like a magician performing card tricks, deftly weaving the deck between their hands before causing all of the cards to disappear with a flourish… There were lots of things Kaveh would like to get rid of if he were given the chance! Indecisive commissioners, the desert heat, extreme cold… really, getting rid of Alhaitham himself almost seemed like a tempting option. Maybe then he would be able to relax in the living room for once without the lingering feeling that Alhaitham was watching him or would come to ruin his peace…
Kaveh ordered a cup of coffee and sat down at one of the tables at the cafe. The day was beautiful. Perfectly mellow temperatures and a light breeze served to make him feel right at home here, and the rich brown liquid in the cup almost seemed to melt away his stressors… until he once again began to think about that.
Maybe thinking about that was something that the man should tackle sooner rather than later. It wasn't going to just go away – well, given the nature of it, it very well might – so coming to terms with it was the wisest approach, yes? I bet Alhaitham would know exactly what happened and would chastise me for being worried about it. Kaveh harrumphed at the thought. Yes, Alhaitham was very impressive indeed. One of the most impressive things about him was how he managed to put a sour taste in Kaveh’s mouth with a single thought of him!
…Should he tell Alhaitham what had happened? Kaveh wasn’t quite confident in his ability to do so without garnering accusations of drinking while working, or perhaps sleep deprivation, or anything else – well, he’s welcome to invite himself into my room to try to find it for me, then, if he thinks that it’s all nothing! No, Kaveh would rather Alhaitham stay far away from his belongings, lest his… cold aura seep into the wood of the desk or the fabric of the blankets. But even still…
Something had disappeared. It hadn’t been misplaced, nor had it been destroyed, or even touched at all. It was there one moment, and when Kaveh turned his head back, it was gone. No one had tampered with it, unless the man wanted to entertain the notion of some invisible thief entering his room in the blink of an eye to steal a work in progress warehouse blueprint. Such a possibility seemed… unlikely, to say the least. If his paper had disappeared, who was to say that other things in the house wouldn't wind up missing, either?
Maybe the book Alhaitham was so absorbed in would disappear next! Hah! That would be funny. As Kaveh sipped his coffee, he half hoped that the thick tome would vanish as soon as Alhaitham went to turn a page. Perhaps his always stoic expression would shift to one of confusion if only for the briefest of moments. That was something Kaveh wished he were home to witness! Even better – it’d be funny if Alhaitham’s own work on his desk vanished! No, no – the desk itself! Haha! But for now, he was content enjoying his drink and pondering what the best course of action was when it came to replacing the blueprint that had gone missing…
[ [ ✥ ] ]
Alhaitham unstuck a page in the book that he was reading before turning it, turquoise eyes swiftly moving over the runes.
He hadn’t been expecting to get an answer out of Kaveh given how defensive he always was, but he couldn’t deny that he was a bit curious as to what had the man rummaging around more aggressively than usual. Sounds of tools meeting wood were common, as were the normal amount of books being slammed, but Kaveh had seemed to be particularly caught up over something. It sounded to Alhaitham as if he had misplaced something and was desperately scrambling to find it.
When Alhaitham glanced back at the book in his hand – he had allowed his gaze to drift towards the door to Kaveh’s room – the book in question was nowhere to be seen.
“...Huh.” That was strange. He certainly hadn’t moved the book. “That’s strange.”
He picked up another tome and began reading, deciding that this was not worth figuring out at the current moment.
[ [ ✥ ] ]
Kaveh returned home after finishing his cup of coffee to find Alhaitham sitting on the couch still, but in his steady hand was a book with a black cover, not the distinctive bright blue one that had been there prior.
“Finally finish a book instead of putting it down halfway and not back on the shelf where it belongs?” he quipped, closing the door behind him.
“Hardly. It’s gone.”
Kaveh’s heart dropped immediately. He recalled the thoughts he had joked about with himself at the cafe. “Gone?”
The other man’s chin dipped ever so slightly in a nod, but his apathetic expression remained firm. “You sound like you know something about this, Kaveh.”
With immense trepidation, Kaveh slowly turned his head to face Alhaitham. “What gives you that impression? I don’t know anything about this. I don’t have any idea where that book could’ve gone! And I definitely don’t have any experience with things suddenly disappearing as soon as you look away from them for a split second! Why would you think that!?”
“Very convincing. I almost believed you.” The smooth voice dripping with sarcasm did little to assuage Kaveh’s nerves as he struggled to come to terms with the meaning of this new revelation. “I don’t suppose you also know nothing about the missing files from my desk, and—”
“The missing – from your – desk?” Kaveh sputtered. He had thought about that too, hadn’t he? Oh, no. What did this mean?! Surely it didn't mean what he thought it meant! Alhaitham was trying to get a rise out of him like usual, right?!
“The very same. Once that book disappeared, I got curious and did a quick look around to see if anything else had been… misplaced. I found something more interesting than the missing files, in fact—”
“What did you find?!” Kaveh demanded, growing more and more terrified by the second. This was bad! Very, very bad!
Alhaitham took a moment to observe Kaveh’s panicked disposition before continuing. “It’s more so a matter of what I did not find. The files were missing, but the desk itself was too.” He crossed his arms. “Care to explain what happened to them? That desk was expensive, you know, not to mention the importance of the documents. If they can’t be found, then—”
“You know what? I’ve had it with you!” The conclusion that Kaveh reached in that moment was that this had to be some type of dream. He wasn’t God! He couldn’t make things disappear just by thinking about it, or half of the continent would be missing by now with how often things pissed him off! And in dreams, there were no real consequences, were there? “This doesn’t concern you at all! It has nothing to do with you, Alhaitham!”
“Given you caused my property to vanish, yes, it does.”
“No! This is – this isn’t about property! This is something way more than that! Do you have any idea how serious this is?!” Kaveh could no longer contain his horror. “This is bad, Alhaitham! Your property doesn’t matter! As far as I’m concerned, I—” Kaveh gestured a hand around the room wildly. “This entire house could disappear and it still wouldn’t matter!”
The house disappeared. Kaveh and Alhaitham were left standing alone on the empty road; there were no bystanders nor witnesses to this event save for the two of them.
Kaveh’s mouth hung wide open. Was he God? Something greater than the Archons themselves? Was it even possible for someone to be some kind of deity without realizing? Was there another explanation for this? Was some – some cosmic figure playing pranks on him in response to his thoughts?
Alhaitham stood for a moment, arms still crossed, as he took in the situation. “Rent is still due at the end of the month.”
“I hope you disappear too!”
Before the gravity of that statement could sink in, it had slipped out of Kaveh’s mouth. When he whipped around, Alhaitham was gone.
“Oh, no,” Kaveh began, dropping to his knees – where the house had previously been. “Oh, no. Now what?” Since this was a dream, couldn’t he just… bring the things he had deleted back? What if he just thought that he wanted Alhaitham and the house back? But despite how promising that line of thought seemed at first, nothing happened.
The terrifying reality that he was trapped in sunk in. If he wasn’t careful, everything was at risk. The ground beneath him, all of Sumeru – no, it was definitely best not to think of specifics, lest they all—
They did.
Kaveh found himself suddenly located in an unfamiliar place, which he presumed to be the edge of the Chasm of Liyue. The border of Sumeru. Orange foliage gradually shifted to green, and large rock formations stood before him. He turned around and noticed a distinct lack of Sumeru – there was nothing there at all. It was empty. He couldn’t seem to see the bottom of the gaping hole that had been left by his actions. His blueprint, Alhaitham’s files, desk, and house, Alhaitham himself, every resident of Sumeru – gone.
“I want Alhaitham back!” he yelled out, although he wasn’t quite sure himself who the statement was directed at. “I don’t want him to be gone! I didn’t mean to! I don’t want to be alone! I’m sorry!” There was no answer. “Please! Give him back to me!”
Tears began to well in Kaevh’s eyes. This was a dream. It had to be! So couldn’t he just – just wake up? How did he wake up? Did he need to dismantle the entirety of the world and all of its foundational laws to wake up?! How did he bring Alhaitham back?!
What if – what if all he needed to do was wish for reality itself to disappear? That would wake him up! Wouldn’t it?! He couldn’t be trapped in this dream anymore if there was no dream to be trapped in! So all Kaveh needed to do was think about reality itself vanishing into nothingness like – like Alhaitham had –
“Give me Alhaitham back!” he screamed into the void – since when had there been a void? He had closed his eyes as he began to cry, and then – no, wait! He was still here! He needed to think of more things to destroy in order to wake himself up and be freed from this empty hell – the laws of physics, the void itself, his own consciousness—
[ [ ✥ ] ]
Kaveh awoke with a start, bolting out of bed as quickly as he could. He didn’t notice nor acknowledge the warehouse blueprint on the desk as he slammed the door to his room open and sprinted down the hallway.
“Hey!” he shouted, banging his fists on the door to Alhaitham’s room. Panic was setting in rapidly as he rattled the door on its hinges. “Wake up! Are you in there?! Answer me!”
A very irritated Alhaitham opened the door, though his stern expression and whatever jab he had been preparing in his mind softened upon seeing Kaveh’s utter fear.
“What happened?”
“Just—” Kaveh swallowed a very painful lump in his throat and realized that there was no way to explain this. “I had a… a nightmare, is all. You're – you're okay, right?”
“I'm fine. Don't try to knock my door off while I'm asleep unless the house is on fire.” Kaveh let out a deep sigh of relief, and the younger man raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. “It must have been some nightmare to have you like this.”
“That doesn't even begin to cover it,” Kaveh muttered, deciding that he would rather not be here in front of Alhaitham anymore. Alhaitham wouldn't care about the specifics either, would he? Certainly not. “Just… wanted to make sure you were there. That's all.”
Alhaitham shrugged a shoulder, turning on his heel. “Good night, then.”
“...Night.” The door closed, and Kaveh had to restrain himself from collapsing in a heap before it. Alhaitham wasn't… gone. The house wasn't gone, all of Sumeru wasn't gone, but most importantly – Alhaitham was fine. And—
He returned to his room and saw the blueprint exactly where it should be, irksome pillar absent from the sketch.
Deciding to put all of this behind him forever and never think about it again, Kaveh took a seat at his desk, lifted his quill, and etched a simplistic yet flair-filled pillar next to the door.