Beyond the Edge of Horizon
Prologue - "You called me Angel"
All around him was salty water rising up and down as if lulling him to sleep. The sky and the sea were painted fiery gold by the setting sun, yet he could not rise his head to appreciate the beauty of it all.
Sousuke Yashida was dying, but he was not afraid about it. Fear of death is the luxury of those who still have hopes to continue on living, and Sousuke no longer had any. He only had a piece of wooden board to hold onto and his grip had begun to slip. He had spent all his remaining strength futilely trying to swim towards the shore, but winds and waves kept pushing him further away. His throat was dry, worsened by involuntarily drinking sea water from time to time. His injuries hurt, numbing his senses.
No, he was not afraid. He was regretful and wondering again and again if being killed by those monsters would have been a better way to meet his end. To have your life drained out slowly was painful. So painful, now he just wished for it to end.
"I guess this is it..."
The man mumbled out, though what reached his ears was more like a buzz of a dying bug, which he supposed was appropriate enough. And so, he allowed his hands to relax and let his body fell into the embrace of mother ocean. He hoped he would fall asleep just as the water entered his lungs and stomach and eventually choking his throat to death. Closing his eyes slowly, the last thing he saw was the distant horizon, glowing marvelously as if waving goodbye...
… And a shadowy, vaguely humanoid figure, coming his way.
"Survivor! There's a survivor!"
He heard a human's voice in the middle of the sea.
As absurd as he subconsciously realized that it was, hearing it was all that a dying Sousuke needed. Will of life that he didn't know he still possessed resurface; a desperate burst of strength to pull himself back up to the floating wreckage as he shouted for help. Of course, he was not quite sure if he made out proper words or just senseless noise, but someone did come for him.
A girl.
A girl was standing on the water, cladding in what looked like a shrine maiden outfit, and packing a large machinery on her back. She flashed him an astonished look before quickly reached for his hands just as strength left him and he began to fall back to the water. She then knelt down and rested his back on her lap with her left arm pillowing his head and her right hand holding his.
"You're safe now, Mister. Haruna and Haruna's friends are here. You'll be fine."
Her words were soft, calming, and reassuring. Sousuke couldn't help but smiling, despite his fading vision and weakening muscles. Her face was so close to his and so beautiful. Her gentle eyes watching over him, her thin lips smiling brilliantly. So, so beautiful, just like...
"… angel. Thank you... angel..."
Satisfied that he managed to express his gratitude, Sousuke Yashida finally allowed himself to give in to exhaustion and fainted on the Angel's lap.
Notes: First of all, forget game mechanics. Some aspects of the game just aren't easy to adapt in literary form and I'm not an exceptional enough writer to pull it off. I hope you'd understand, but do feel free to give me idea and suggestion to make the story more interesting. Criticisms regarding the characterization, the writing, and the narrative are happily welcomed.
As for the story itself, this isn't meant to be a romance between our OC and Haruna. Though who knows what I'd decide to do at later dates. This is really a spur of the moment idea I had that won't refuse to leave me until I write it out. Is it enjoyable and worth continuing? You decide.