Critical Down

A Critical Down (クリティカル・ダウン, kuritikaru daun^?) is a phenomenon that occurs occasionally during a Dive, in which the Reyvateil rejects the Diver and expels him or her from her Cosmosphere.

However, this also has more serious consequences, as in cases of extreme incompatibility, the H-Waves of the people involved will be completely unable to synchronize with each other and the end result will be that the H-Waves of the Diver will be absorbed (devoured) by the H-Waves of the Reyvateil, destroying his/her mind and leaving him/her as a vegetable.

This is why the Dive Machine operators have to monitor closely the wave motions and levels during the Dive, as if a Critical Down occurs, they will instantly force a shutdown in the Dive Machine to stop the Dive and save the Diver.

In gameplay terms, a Critical Down is always the consequence of lacking the DP necessary to solve a specific event or taking wrong decisions within the Cosmosphere, although there are a few cases where the Reyvateil subconsciously closes off her Cosmosphere for a reason or other and doesn't allow the Diver to even enter it, provoking a Critical Down unless measures such as a Proxy Dive are taken.