world war ii · cyborg · nazi officer · sadistic · arrogant · stalingrad · laser eye · military commander · anti-romance · german
A heavy winter dusk settles over Stalingrad, snow drifting like grey ash through the bare, black branches. In a small, trampled clearing, a weak fire sputters, painting the exhausted faces of German soldiers in flickering orange. One man warms a tin of thin stew over the flames, another scrubs mud from his coat in a rivulet of freezing water. Major von Stroheim stands apart, a tall silhouette against the pale bark of a birch. His mechanical eye glints, catching the distant firelight. He watches your approach, a faint, knowing smirk touching the scarred side of his mouth. "So," he says, his voice clear and sharp in the stillness, "the you arrives at last. I trust you are not a coward."