History Main / DespairEventHorizon

* Junpei goes through this in most of the [[MultipleEndings Bad Endings]] of [[NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors 999]], but none more so than in the [[KillEmAll "Submarine Ending,"]] right before [[spoiler: he gets killed.]]

* ''BreathOfFireIV'' has this in spades.

** The manga adaptation of ''BreathOfFireIV'' cranks these up to massively TearJerker levels, including [[spoiler: Ryu breaking down after his [[UnstoppableRage KAISER RAEG]] in tears and asking Nina why HumansAreBastards]]. In addition, in a transition between the Bad Ending and Good Ending of the original game (yes, both of the MultipleEndings were incorporated in a linear storyline) [[spoiler: Fou-lu is shoved across the Despair Event Horizon a second time in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. Ryu points out that not all HumansAreBastards and some HumansAreSpecial--holding [[MementoMacGuffin Mami's bells she wore in her hair]]--which causes Fou-lu to break down weeping and the two to break from the SplitPersonalityMerge.]]

* In the fourth expansion of {{World of Warcraft}}, [[spoiler:Garrosh Hellscream nuking Theramore]], counts as a {{Despair Event Horizon}} for [[spoiler:[[TheWoobie Jaina Proudmoore]]]], and altough [[OurDragonsareDifferent Kalecgos]] saved her from becoming a {{Woobie Destroyer of Worlds}}, it was nonetheless the beginning of a chain of events which [[spoiler:led her to become a {{Fallen Hero}}.]]

* In SuikodenV, [[HeroicMime the Prince]] will hit this at the end of the game if you recruit less than 60 Stars of Destiny; He wanders off into the frozen mountains, utterly broken by his experiences.

* [[spoiler: Dwayne]] crosses it in ''GrandTheftAutoIV'' if you decide to kill him in the mission "The Holland Play". It has been established that Niko is the only person he can rely on, and the closest thing he has to a friend. Realizing that Niko has decided to kill him pushes him past the event horizon. While most of the characters that you execute in the course of the game have to be chased down and cornered, [[spoiler:[[TearJerker Dwayne]]]] [[TearJerker just turns his back and waits for Niko to end him.]] Thankfully, there is a much better alternative.

* In ''SkiesOfArcadia'' this ends up happening to [[TheDragon Ramirez]] after [[spoiler: his mentor figure [[BigBad Galacian]] is killed.]] This leads him to [[spoiler: bring down the [[KillSat Rains of Destruction]] and destroy the whole planet instead of conquering it, reasoning that Galacian was the only one who could save the world.]]

* in ''Roleplay/RealmsOfHyrule'', this was crossed by almost everyone in Hyrule when Kakariko was revived and Prince Regent Logain was killed trying to defend it.

* In ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', [[spoiler:Snow and Noel have both passed the DEH—Snow from the death of Serah, and Noel from both Serah's death and his role in Etro's death.]]

-->"But yeah, I was expecting to look down there and see this giant eyeball looking up at me, angry at me because I blew off its eyelashes or something, then the whole building starts shaking and I guess I'd… ball up and ''cry'', because what do you do when something that big wants to kill you?"

* Tony Montana crosses it in ''Film/{{Scarface}}'' when he realizes that his impulsive protectiveness of his sister Gina caused him to kill his best friend. When [[spoiler:Sosa's men kill Gina]] at the end, he proceeds to go into an [[AntiHero Anti-]]HeroicRROD that (at least in this film) [[spoiler:ends in his death]].

* ''{{Persona2}}'''s Nyarlathotep actively tries to force ''everyone'' in the game who raises a hand against him over the edge. EldritchAbomination + [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith A Form To Actively Horrify You]] + HannibalLecture + TheReasonYouSuckSpeech = this trope. The heroes' actions might [[DareToBeBadass make all]] [[ShutUpHannibal his]] [[TalkToTheFist effort]] worthless...

* In ''CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'', Gabriel crosses it right after a moment of utter triumph [[spoiler:when he ''kicks Satan's ass'']] when he sees that [[spoiler:Marie is about to leave for the afterlife forever and that he cannot go with her.]] Realizing that the hope he believed in was hollow, Gabriel collapses and cries silently. [[spoiler:Even centuries later, he has not recovered. As the immortal Dracula, all he does is hide in shadows while longing for a death that may never come.]]

* This is what motivates Wolf to become a robber in ''PAYDAYTheHeist''. According to his backstory, Wolf lost his job when the economic slump hit, his last client refused to pay him for his work, and he and his family became homeless. It was enough to send Wolf over the edge to the point where he suffered a mental breakdown and started to act out based on famous heist movies.

* This is the premise of the Phantoms' goal in ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', as Phantoms are born from a person when their hopes are vanished and despair dominates the victim. Several characters have crossed this, and it's visibly shown as they slump to the ground and have purple cracks appear all over their skin. [[spoiler:Though the ''true'' goal seems to be to force humans to simply tiptoe the line then get their hope back than just downright cross it]].

* Haruka [[BreakTheCutie suffered a lot]] in ''Manga/{{Kotoura-san}}'''s DownerBeginning, but it was stray cat incident (when a lonely Haruka desperately latches onto a stray cat she finds in a park, caring for it because she can't hear its thoughts and believes it is her only friend, only for it to be taken to a shelter - effectively a death sentence in Japan - by an insensitive old woman) that made her to decide she is indeed a ''monster'' ([[InternalizedCategorism as people already said about her]]) that would bring doom to ''every living being'' that she cares about. From that point on she became a complete BrokenBird and wore a JerkassFacade so that nobody would care her and vice versa, until Manabe broke her shell.

** There also several factors in one's life that can lead to depression, especially if each factor is back to back. For example, someone gets laid off from their job, then they're unable to find a job due to the lousy economy, which is then followed by having items repossessed or even losing the house because they don't have any money to pay the bills, which in turn leads to them being forced to live in a homeless shelter while getting minimal food, which can also lead to the person getting ill and not being able to afford to get treated. All this can cause a person to simply give up on life and stop trying to find a way to better themselves or they may even resort to a life of crime seeing that they have nothing else to lose.

* The main character in ''{{Signs}}'' [[CrisisOfFaith gives up his belief in God entirely]] after his wife is killed in a car accident. [[spoiler:He gets it back when the "nonsense" she was saying as she was dying turned out to be important clues.]]

* Cody Travers from ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' and later the ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' series. While it is not actually seen in the games, multiple games tell the story of his downfall, which occur after the ending. Cody and his friends go out to save his girlfriend from the ''BigBad'' in Final Fight. On the way, [[BeatEmUp he beats up]] a corrupt cop named Edi, who after the hero is successful in his quest, arrests the hero for assault in battery. Next, his girlfriend dumps him, and [[PutOnABus leaves the country to study]]. Afterwards, he breaks out of and tries to get revenge by fighting criminals outside. He gets arrested again, and becomes addicted to fighting within prison. He then breaks out again, and joins the Street Fighting cast in their tournament.

->''"It wasn't just the baby that died that day; something inside Sick Boy was lost and never returned."''

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': In ''A Storm of Swords'', Catelyn Stark goes into [[spoiler: the Red Wedding, having lost her husband, her two daughters hostage,]] and believing two of her three sons are dead. [[spoiler: So, when eldest son Robb is cut down before her, she ''completely fucking loses it'', clawing at her face and [[LaughingMad laughing hysterically]] even as her treacherous bannermen round on her. When she's later brought BackFromTheDead, well... [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge she hates]]. [[CameBackWrong Constantly]].]]

* Historians speculate that the Battle of Gettysburg was the horizon for the Union in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, though it was ultimately not crossed. They had superior troop strength, economy and manufacturing over the Confederacy, but at that point public opinion was against the war and morale was extremely low. Conversely, the Confederacy had absolute faith in their leadership, as Lee had led them to victory after victory. It is thought that if the Union had lost that battle, it would have been the beginning of the end and the nation would have been forced to sue for peace.

Compare SafetyInIndifference, HopeIsScary (a character is afraid to cross the event horizon back again).

'''IMPORTANT:''' This is about a character losing all hope, not merely getting depressed, upset, or bored. For someone who delights seeing characters crossing this horizon, see HopeCrusher.

'''IMPORTANT:''' This is about a character losing all hope, not merely getting depressed, upset, or bored.

** [[spoiler:Zelos spends much of the game near this line, [[StepfordSmiler despite hiding it]], as his terrible childhood and lonely life gave him little self worth and no friends. Lloyd's friendship and trust helps him recover...until Flanoir where Lloyd confirms his trust or questions it. The latter sends Zelos over the Despair Event Horizon, and he later commits suicide by cop.]]

* Happens to Kirito in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' after [[spoiler:Asuna dies in his arms after [[TakingTheBullet taking a fatal strike from Akihiko that was meant for him]]]].

** In the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Archanean Saga]], [[spoiler:Hardin]] crossed the horizon when [[spoiler:he learned that his marriage with Nyna didn't win him her true love, only platonic one to help run Archanea. This led him to locking himself in his personal room alone [[DrowningMySorrow drowning his sorrow on drinks]], until Gharnef disguised as a merchant offered him the Darksphere, and turns him into a megalomaniacal tyrant, setting off the events in ''Book 2'' with Hardin himself as the BigBad.]]