it's true that the earth must die
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“My work is here.”
“Here?” Mitya’s head is pounding, so he’s not sure if he’s actually hearing him right. “You’re not-”
“The first tenet of my assignment,” Valeriy cuts in, “was your safety. We may have forgotten it over the course of these years, but escorting you back to work was always the secondary task.”
Mitya looks away. The snowstorm is still going.
Valeriy sets down the containers on his table, his motions slow and unpracticed. “If it is my role to protect you from your own mind,” he continues, quietly, “then understand that I will be there.”
“You’re taking on an… impossible task, Sarge.” Mitya’s scarf wraps around himself a little more tightly, as if trying to reassure him. He’s not sure that it’s succeeding. “You shouldn’t. I’ve always been crazy. They knew that too. It’s a small price to pay, to see our world freed from these curses.”
Valeriy does not say anything, but Mitya knows he disagrees.
OR: Mitya, on the topic of research and faith; and Valeriy, who will always be there.
(and in some ways: Orpheus, and Eurydice.)
Series
- Part 1 of it's true that the earth must die
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don't promise me kind road below by jello12451
Fandoms: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
29 Aug 2026
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Summary
“Is there… no other research you could busy yourself with?” Valeriy suggests.
He’s right, because Mitya shakes his head. “Nothing, Sarge. Anything I start with- that project’s been my life for so long, I don’t even know if I could learn anything new without connecting it back, and I can’t let the Curse of Death affect anyone again. Never again. And it’s not going to help me to revisit old topics-”
An idea comes to Valeriy in that moment.
“Teach me,” Valeriy blurts.
Mitya stops and stares at him. “What?”
“Teach me.” Valeriy repeats. “You said you need to feel as though you’re making progress. That you needed to entertain thought without getting bored, without getting into complicated science that could put Snezhnaya’s people at risk. Would my education be tangible enough?”
Suddenly, he feels very stupid all over again. “Of course, if you’d rather not-”
“No! No, Valeriy, I-” Mitya stops, and corrects himself, and he’s smiling, just a little. “Sarge. Archons, Sarge, I would love to.”
OR: Valeriy, on the topic of duty and naivety; and Mitya, whom he can't ever seem to catch up to.
(and in some ways: Eurydice, and Orpheus.)
Series
- Part 2 of it's true that the earth must die