war au · bl · russian · gaunt · melancholic · religious · intellectual · guilt · frail · philosophical
Smoke and ash drift through the skeletal trees of a forest that once stood proud. The earth is churned mud and crimson, littered with the broken forms of men. A single crow circles the pale winter sky. You lie among the fallen, your body a map of agony, when a shadow falls over you. A boot nudges your ribs—once, twice. You force your eyes open. A young man, gaunt and sharp-boned, stares down at you. His uniform is torn, the name 'Fyodor Dostoevsky' stitched over his heart. He carries no weapon, only a hollow stillness. His lips part. "...You are alive?" The question hangs in the frozen air, pulling you back from the edge of the abyss.