Shock.
The state the body enters when it isn't receiving enough blood flow to its tissues, and therefore can't get enough oxygen to the organs for them to function properly.
The result: multiple organ failure.
Shock is a serious condition.
Without urgent treatment, the damage can be irreversible.
It can even lead to death.
There are several things that can cause a person to go into shock.
Massive blood loss. Trauma. Severe burns. Frostbite. Allergic reactions. Heart failure.
But physical causes aren't the only kind.
There's also emotional shock — a psychological condition that arises in response to a traumatic or terrifying event.
An extreme, disturbing experience. An unexpected fright, stress, or pain involving — or threatening — serious injury, perceived injury, or death, to oneself or to someone else.
Knowing all that...
how exactly would you classify the state my poor Uncle Rizevim was in?
**** Issei's Room – Night ****
Night had already fallen over the estate. The moon hung full and radiant, bathing the Hyoudou Territory in its soft light.
The daytime creatures were settling in to rest.
While the nocturnal ones were just beginning to stir.
The crows cawed.
The fireflies glimmered.
The owls hooted.
And my Uncle Rizevim snored.
Four hours had passed since he'd collapsed.
We'd tried everything. Mouth-to-mouth. CPR. In my desperation, I'd even managed to shock him with actual electricity.
That part was an accident.
I swear I didn't mean to do that on purpose.
Sniff. Sniff.
**** Flashback — Four Hours Earlier ****
"UNCLE RIZEVIM!" I shrieked, horrified, shaking him back and forth, trying to wake him up.
Euclid Onii-chan dove straight for my unconscious uncle to examine him, checking his vitals.
Apparently Onii-chan knew a thing or two about medicine.
Was he a doctor? A nurse? Or did he just know basic first aid?
Hell if I knew. I was only six years old at the time, after all.
"Is he going to be alright?" my father asked, clearly worried.
"He's fine, he's just been through a pretty severe shock," Onii-chan answered, trying to keep everyone calm.
"Onii-chan, what's a shock?" I asked, worried out of my mind.
That word sounded awful.
"You see, little brother, shock is the state the body enters when it isn't receiving enough blood flow to its tissues, and therefore can't get enough oxygen to the organs for them to function properly," Onii-chan explained calmly, taking my hand.
How could he say something like that so calmly?!
Not that I understood a single word of it...
But it sounded serious.
"And... nothing's going to happen to Uncle Rizevim, right?" I asked.
"Don't worry, cases like this usually aren't fatal," he said.
I was so panicked I only caught two words out of that whole sentence.
IS. FATAL.
FATAL.
FATAL.
NOOOOOO, UNCLE RIZEVIM IS GOING TO DIE AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!
"Uncle Rizevim!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, throwing myself on top of him.
"Issei, calm down!" my father ordered, trying to pull me off.
"UNCLE RIZEVIM, WAKE UP!" I yelled, bouncing on his lifeless body, trying to force him to breathe.
CRACK
"And there go his ribs, off on a little trip," Onii-chan said dryly, still pumping air into Uncle Rizevim with one of those old accordion-style hand bellows.
An air bellows...
Wait. I had an idea.
"GIVE ME THAT," I said, snatching the bellows right out of Onii-chan's hands.
"Wait, what—" Onii-chan tried to say.
"BREATHE, UNCLE RIZEVIM!" was all I managed to shout before I jammed the nozzle straight down his throat...
And started pumping.
FWOOSH
FWOOSH
FWOOSH
That was the sound of my uncle's belly inflating.
PFFT
Deflating.
After repeating the process about five times, I finally started seeing results.
"Nnngh—" my uncle let out a small groan, his face twisting in pain.
It was working!
But this method was going to take forever...
How could I speed things up?
**** POV Chibi Issei ****
Come on, Issei, think.
A few days ago I watched some doctor show with my mom.
A patient had gone into shock...
Just like what happened to Uncle Rizevim...
And the doctor...
SHOCKED HIM WITH ELECTRICITY!
THAT'S IT!
But I didn't have any kind of machine to shock him with...
Whatever. I'd just have to improvise.
"CLEAR!" I shouted, clapping my hands together and slamming them down on Rizevim's chest.
"Nngh...?" Rizevim mumbled, starting to stir awake.
I was so focused...
That I didn't even notice he was waking up...
My magic power activated on its own...
My hands crackling with lightning...
Electrocuting him...
Did that hurt?
No idea. All I could do now was wait for him to wake up...
And hope he was still alive!
**** End of Flashback ****
Sniff. Sniff.
"Easy now, son, it was just an accident," my father comforted me, stroking my hair.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I wailed inconsolably, convinced I'd killed Uncle Rizevim.
"Don't worry, Issei-sama, Rizevim-sama is very strong. He's Lucifer's son for a reason," Euclid Onii-chan tried to cheer me up.
"Sniff. Sniff. B-but..." Sniff. Sniff. "...it's been four hours and he still hasn't w-woken up," I said.
"It's not like I wanted to stay unconscious that whole time, Issei-chan. It's just that those bolts of lightning you nailed me with out of nowhere were absolutely brutal," said a familiar voice from my bed.
"Uncle Rizevim!" I shrieked, throwing myself at him — but just as I was about to reach him...
BONK
"Ow! Dad, why'd you hit me?!" I whined, rubbing the huge bump forming on my head.
"Are you trying to kill him?" my father asked.
"Sorry," I said, hanging my head, full of regret.
"Uhyahyahyahyahya, don't worry about it, Issei-chan. At least now we know your power is in there somewhere," Uncle Rizevim said, clearly amused, laughing.
"Uncle Rizevim!" I pouted.
"Hahahahahahahahaha—" my father and Euclid Onii-chan burst out laughing.
"Mouuu," I protested, embarrassed.
Once they'd finally stopped laughing, we all sat back down and started talking.
"Tell me, son, how did your powers feel?" my father asked.
"Weird. I can't even bring them out on purpose. And my wings still haven't shown up either," I admitted.
"Worried about your wings, little brother?" Euclid Onii-chan chimed in.
"Yeah, Onii-chan," I answered, like a good boy.
"Don't worry about that, Issei-chan. Look behind you," Uncle Rizevim said, snapping his fingers.
SHFF
As if by magic, I felt something burst out from my back.
I turned to look and...
There they were.
Seven pairs of demonic wings, spread out in all their glory.
And each one was at least twice my size!
"Uhyahyahyahyahya, who would've thought — so small, and packing that much power," Uncle Rizevim said, genuinely astonished.
"Well, obviously. He's my son, after all," my father said, puffing out his chest with pride.
"Impressive," was all Onii-chan managed to say, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Awesome!" I said. "Papa... will you teach me to fly?" I asked my father.
"Tomorrow, son. Right now, you need to sleep," he told me calmly.
"But I'm not sleepy yet," I protested.
"You're very sleepy, and you're going to go to sleep," my father said — but his voice sounded... strange.
Hypnotic.
Like it was sinking straight into my mind.
Something told me I had to obey it.
That I really was sleepy.
Even though I'd just said the opposite.
That voice was right.
It HAD to be right.
I yawned.
Tired.
For no reason at all.
My eyes started drooping.
I fought to keep them open.
But I couldn't.
I just... couldn't.
My body wouldn't listen to me anymore.
I fell asleep.
THUD
"I think you overdid it a little," Rizevim remarked, looking down at the poor little chestnut-haired boy, fast asleep.
"Heheh, yeah, probably," Satan replied, scooping me up and tucking me into bed.
"So, what do you two think of him?" my father asked.
"Issei-sama is going to be a great devil, without a doubt," Euclid began.
"Yeah, and a spectacularly powerful one at that," Rizevim added. "I still can't believe he's the wielder of the Boosted Gear. This is exciting," he went on, barely containing his enthusiasm.
"You're not the only one who's surprised, Rizevim. I still can hardly believe it myself," Satan replied.
"We should let him rest," Euclid said, opening the door and switching off the lights. "His training starts tomorrow, after all."
"True. Please, make yourselves at home. There are thirty-three guest rooms to choose from," Satan said.
"Thank you for having us, Satan-sama," the Lucifage replied, bowing.
"Don't mention it," Satan answered.
**** Unknown Location – Issei's Subconscious ****
Where am I?
That was the first thing I asked, finding myself suddenly in this place.
Dark.
I couldn't see a single thing.
I could barely even make out my own feet.
I started walking.
I must have walked...
I don't know, maybe a hundred meters...
Then, out of nowhere, flames began to rise up around me.
But they didn't burn.
They weren't even warm.
[So you're my partner, are you?]
That's when I saw it.
A massive western red dragon, with menacing green eyes. If I had to give you a rough idea of its height, I'd say it was about as tall as the Empire State Building.
Yeah. That big.
"W-who a-are y-you?" I asked, terrified.
[I am the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, Ddraig,] it said in a deep voice. [And who might you be, brat?]
"I'm Hyoudou Issei," I said, with a bit more confidence.
He said we were partners!
[Hyoudou Issei, huh?]
"Yeah," I answered.
[Alright. I'm going back to sleep now. Until next time.]
Wait... how was I supposed to get out of here now?
****Hyoudou Territory — Morning****
The day was beginning over the Hyoudou Territory.
The birds were singing.
The sun was rising.
And little Issei...
"Mom, five more minutes," I begged, burrowing under the covers, trying uselessly to keep sleeping.
"No, sweetie, you need to get up. Good boys get up when their mommy tells them to — or are you not a good boy?" my mother said, with just a hint of mischief in her voice.
"I AM A GOOD BOY!" I shot up instantly, faster than lightning.
"Glad to hear it," my mother said. "Breakfast is ready, so get changed and come down — we're having fried eggs today."
FRIED EGGS!
HOORAYYYYYY!
After getting changed, I went down to the dining room and found my parents, Uncle Rizevim, and Onii-chan already there. I sat down at the table and started eating.
"So tell me, Issei, how did you sleep?" Dad asked.
"Great, best sleep I've had in ages, but... how did you actually get me to fall asleep like that?" I answered.
"What do you mean?" Dad asked again.
"Well, when you told me to go to sleep, you said it in this different kind of voice," I said.
"Ufufufufufu, darling... is it just me, or did you use your 'Temptation' on our son?" my mother asked sweetly... gripping a knife rather tightly.
There was about to be blood!
"Not at all, dear. You think I'd actually use my ability on my own son?" my father said, in that exact same voice he'd used the night before.
"Not at all, dear. Not at all," my mother said, setting the knife back down.
That was the voice! That was the one that put me to sleep!
"Papa, I think your 'ability' has some side effects."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because last night I had this really weird dream."
"What kind of dream?"
"I dreamed about a giant lizard."
[Who are you calling a lizard?]
"Oh, really?" my father said, in a tone like he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.
"Yeah, its name was Ddraig," I answered.
PFFFT
Uncle Rizevim spat out whatever he'd been drinking right into Onii-chan's face.
"Cough. Cough. Sorry, what did you say its name was?" Uncle Rizevim asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Its name was Ddraig," I answered shyly.
"So Issei-sama can already communicate with the dragon in his Sacred Gear," Euclid Onii-chan remarked, wiping off his face.
"I suppose that was the influence of the 'Temptation' acting on his magic power," my father speculated.
"The 'Temptation' was certainly a contributing factor in Issei-chan's communication with the Red Dragon, but the main cause was the awakening of his own powers. It's true a Sacred Gear can be activated by an external stimulus, like a transfer of magic power or the 'Temptation,' but the development of a Sacred Gear depends entirely on the user. So what can we deduce from all these events? First, that Issei-chan has enough raw power to activate his Sacred Gear. Second, that his power level is high even for a devil his age — meaning that if he ever develops it to its full potential, he could surpass all of us combined with relative ease. And third, analyzing his physical strength and the intensity of that lightning, we can say with confidence that right now, Issei-chan's power is already on par with a High-Class devil," Rizevim explained, calmly sipping his tea.
"Fascinating. From just a handful of details, you can deduce so much. You really are just like Lucifer himself — no, perhaps even more so," my father said, astonished.
"It's not as hard as it looks. You just have to let the facts speak for themselves, link them together logically, cross-reference them with a bit of your own knowledge, and there you go — instant theory," Uncle Rizevim said proudly.
Whoaaaaa.
Uncle Rizevim is so cool!
"So, shall we begin your training?" my father asked me.
"Yeah, I'm ready," I said.
"Uhyahyahyahyahya, this is going to be interesting," Rizevim said, with a positively devilish grin.