#theorizing

I think there are a few things I want to kind of speak against the majority on before I get started:

I don't think Kris is literally going to lose their hand.

I think Susie IS a part of the prophecy.

The Prophecy isn't as set-in-stone and literal as Ralsei seems to believe.

I think a good place to begin is the very start of the game. We are brought into a survey program, asked to create a vessel, and do as much. The voice speaking does so in all caps, and many believe this to be Gaster in some way, shape, or form; I don't believe there's enough evidence to prove it one way or the other, but I will refer to this entity as Gaster for simplicity's sake.

Gaster speaks to us, the player, directly, in a space that deeply resembles what I'd like to argue is a dark fountain - or, at the very least, within some sort of Dark World.

It's not exact, but the patterns within are incredibly similar. Regardless, we all know that this process gets interrupted. Someone stops Gaster, and shoves us into Kris.

This is where my first theory comes into play: We are not Kris's original soul. We are a soul meant for the vessel.

I'd like to point out that Kris had a whole life before we appeared. They grew up with Noelle, they watched their parent's divorce, their brother went to college; they had a personality, opinions, hobbies. They love the piano, they're a troublemaker and a prankster. They've always been a bit odd, but then... what human raised by monsters wouldn't be? Not to mention we have no idea WHEN Kris was adopted by the Dreemurrs, how young they were; for all we know, there's something to do with their human discomfort that has caused that.

So then, it wouldn't make sense if we just showed up one day out of nowhere, attached to Kris's soul, right? Of course, there are arguments against this: We could have been summoned and forcibly attached to Kris, but then... what about the fact we are, quite literally, using the SOUL in order to choose the options for our vessel in the very beginning? We already know Deltarune isn't afraid of being meta, and I like to believe this was entirely intentional on Toby's part.

Continuing from that point, I also think Kris was coerced into taking on the soul, and has something to do with Dess's disappearance. There's not a lot of evidence for this particular theory, but I think it's important to keep the circumstances of what happened in mind, and how it effected Kris's family, and what their feelings and opinions on that seem to be.

To start, we already know Kris has made some sort of "Promise". This is told to us by the very same voice that tells Kris not to let Susie have the guitar, and the same one that informs us that Kris cannot make dark fountains without "the SOUL". Not their soul, but THE soul. Then, you take into account what happened between the Dreemurr family, and how close they once were with the Holidays.

The divorce between Toriel and Asgore was messy. We see this with the way Tenna seems to rehash old arguments between the Dreemurr parents. There's the assumption it has something to do with Dess's disappearance, and the scene with Tenna recalling the Holiday family coming over for the holidays seems to back up this idea; Dess disappears first, then Asgore quickly after. Those two events are connected, and I think it's because Kris was, at least in part, responsible. And I think that Asgore may have covered for them.

To get out of the deeper theorizing pit, let's shift our attention to Kris's soul again. If we aren't Kris's soul, then where is it? What happened to it, and where would it be? It can't just have grown legs and started walking around, after all, but, well...

This is where the Severed Hand comes into play.

I've seen a lot of theorizing that this means Kris is going to, literally, lose their hand... but I don't think that's true. I think there's an intentional metaphor being made between the SOUL and the severed hand in that moment - but, even moreso, believe it's meant to reference Kris's original soul, and the idea it's acting of its own accord, or being used elsewhere.

Toby Fox isn't somebody who foreshadows things obviously, at least, not when it comes to things like this; there's a reason the conversation about the Severed Hand was happening while we were exploring the Holiday house, and why it's important now: It's because Kris's soul IS out and being used, and we've already seen by who.

The Knight.

Now I know what you're thinking: What about the Dess knight theory? What about the antlers? And you're right, that IS still something important to consider. But, I posit you this: If Dess's mind/soul is trapped in the machine of Deltarune somewhere, where is her body?

It's being used to open the Dark Fountains.

Something important we learn from Queen is darkners cannot open dark fountains, as they do not have Determination like Lightners do. I assume this is in reference to the fact that Darkners are objects, just toys and items given life on that "other side" we're told about. So, if this is true, The Knight can't be a darkner... but here's the thing. We've never seen any Lightner's physical form shift like The Knight's when in the Dark World. Hell, I'd even posit we've never seen a Darkner's form change that drastically, unless with outside influence.

So what's going on here?

Well, I think we can look to Undertale for a few answers. The stories are separate, but as Undertale was practice for Deltarune, there's a number of concepts he was experimenting with at the time that are making appearances in Deltarune... but I actually want to talk about the amalgamates.

The Amalgamates are monsters fused together as a result of too much Determination; their forms melt and become liquidy as a result of not having the same physical mass that Humans do. While this would be a much more likely argument for Lightner and Darkner experimentation, I'd like to posit that it'd be additional rather than the core of what's going on with The Knight. Something I've realized, at the very least, is that Monsters still turn to dust when they die in Deltarune. This means, on some level, their physical forms aren't the same as Humans.

Not only that, but something others have noticed is that when Susie opens the Second Sanctuary, her "glow" isn't nearly as bright as Kris's or the Knight's when she does so.

While all Lightners seem to have Determination, I believe Monsters have less than humans do. Which then means they could be effected, physically, by that determination.

Well, does that mean Dess is an Amalgamate? There's two potentials for this particular theory: Dess is an Amalgamate, or... Dess's soul absorbed a human soul.

Wait, I hear you say; the Knight clearly has something of their own personality! What about the posing, the dramatics? The way they act? Dess, sure, but Kris's soul?

Well...

I'd like to argue that Kris is not as apathetic and uncaring as they're made out to be by the narrator/the program of Deltarune. Something to keep in mind is we never get to see or hear anything they say to other characters; this means we only really get perspective on who they are from other people's responses to their words, them acting out against us, or from how people talk about how they USED to be.

A lot of conversations about Kris as a younger child talk about how outgoing and chaotic they are. They love the piano, and get frustrated when they can't play it; they used to be close with Noelle, but was a bit of a tease and a bully. They seemingly found Susie to be funny, even when she was bullying them. They used to pretend to tear out their heart and chase Noelle with it, and not only that but...

What about all the moments Kris DOES do something of their own accord? We can CHOOSE certain options, yes, but something to keep in mind is Kris has to follow through with those in their own way, or can potentially ENTIRELY overwrite our actions or try to ignore/hide them if they wish. You HAVE to choose between a glamorous pose and a cool pose for the rock concert minigame, for example, and there's PLENTY of opportunities to see Kris's real personality shine through during the game if you're paying attention.

I mean... Kris CHOOSES to potentially sing the Wrong Number Song. And while yeah, some of the possible dialogue options are kind of silly and meant to mess with Kris (the scene where you say you're going to the festival with Berdly comes to mind), I still think it's important to look at the way the options are WRITTEN as well.

Something in particular that comes to mind is from Chapter 3, when you can choose to keep listening to Elnina, Rouxls, and Lanino. "Yes" is always an option, but the "No" always has something more desperate attached to it. Another instance of this comes from earlier on in the game, when you're asked if you want to look at the anime review, and one of the dialogue choices is 'NO NO NO NO NO' etc etc. Kris HAS opinions, thoughts, and beliefs of their own - and they are absolutely the kind of person to pose and be dramatic. Hell, even just in battles they tend to get rather silly, even without us controlling that about them necessarily.

Anyway, with that argument out of the way, I think the reason the Knight's form is able to shift so fluidly and regularly is because it's got too much determination in its body, and as a result, its form is less consistent. This means drippy effects, the shifting form, etcetera. I also would like to point out that there's a central "eye" on the Knight, right where the soul would be, hiding it from our view, and when it builds up to a roar... a rainbow glow shines behind it.

Suspicious.

So, let's move on to the Freedom Bosses and the Shadow Crystals. I don't have as many thoughts about this as I do the others, but something I thought was interesting that I haven't seen people point out is that The Knight's sword breaks INTO a Shadow Crystal, which can show you different perceptions of the world on different routes and whatnot. I don't necessarily know what the Shadow Crystals ARE, but it's very possible they've got something to do with Gaster.

I mean, something about him being shattered across time and space, the shards of the Shadow Crystal, the fact that the Prophecy is foretold by Time and Space... I think it's important in some way.

The Freedom Bosses have all been discussed about their connections to abandonment at length, so I don't want to think about that all too much, but what I DO want to point out is that Gerson 100% still fits into the "abandonment" theme, only that he does not feel abandoned.

Gerson is dead, and kept in his son's desk. He's always kept close, and Alvin mentions that he feels he's not doing enough, that he's making his father disappointed in him; however, Gerson proves otherwise. I think Alvin's perspective of himself could have misled the Knight into believing Gerson to be someone who would want some sort of revenge for having his legacy stomped on, for being forgotten, but... Gerson feels nothing but love for his son, and even trains Susie should you fight him for the JusticeAxe.

He's still doing what he can to help, and I'd bet he almost took it as an INSULT that someone left him the shadowcrystal to use, lmao.

Let's shift gears into Susie really quick, as I want to talk about her and her connection to the prophecy, and why she not only is the second hero, but that her purpose in the prophecy is to prevent it from being followed word-for-word.

Something I'd like to suggest is that similar to Undertale, Deltarune's prophecy is one that has many interpretations. It's got specifics as to what WILL happen, yes, but something to keep in mind is it doesn't define each and every step of what happens in the process of certain things happening, it just has specific scenarios that will come to light. Sure, it might be a bit of a stretch, but I think it's important to keep in mind that those specific scenarios don't then define how those scenarios are handled or dealt with.

Something ELSE I'd like to posit is that those things that are set in stone are not effected by US, but are effected by the rest of the world at large. Our characters and their actions don't have control over the things that happen in this prophecy. In fact, I don't think a single one of the situations shown that we've encountered about the Prophecy were something that the characters COULD have had an effect on or prevented; I think they've all been things motivated or otherwise started by OTHER CHARACTERS.

How the Heroes will do things is entirely up in the air, and THAT IS INTENTIONAL.

The Prophecy isn't saying "This is going to happen and you have no choice in the matter", it's saying "These things are going to happen, but how are YOU going to handle them?"

Because our choices DO matter. The Prophecy cannot be changed because the prophecy is the bulletpoints of a story, the "big moments", rather than the exact details. Think of it like an outline for a book; you have these solid things that WILL happen, and you have to fill in the middle. Filling in the middle part is still DEEPLY necessary and important to what happens later in the story, and why certain actions matter at the end, even if those particular events were unavoidable for the narrative.

The Prophecy is a warning, yes, but it's also a question; "This is what's going to happen, but what will you do about it?"

And I think a LOT of people don't think about that - and that's what SUSIE represents. Susie is the determination to pave her own path - even in the wake of these things happening, finding her OWN way. She's there not to explicitly change the prophecy, but to make the end result what SHE wants it to be.

I mean for example: Tenna gets sliced, sure, but... He doesn't die. Queen's car IS unstoppable, but you CHOOSE whether or not to hit all the other cars, or to get the banana, or what have you. These moments are just as important as those big ones, and I think that it's something Ralsei overlooks entirely: They have a way to fill in those gaps, to write their own future, but Ralsei sees it as nothing but a promise of terrible things to happen.

To move on from this, I think there's one more thing I want to talk about: The Angel, and the Angel's Heaven.

The Angel's Heaven has not been mentioned very much, and doesn't seem to even show up in the Prophecy in Dark Sanctuary, but I think it's somewhat intentional on Ralsei's part to do that. It reminds me of the Angel coming to empty the Underground, and how that can be perceived differently depending on your run. I've seen a lot of people posit that Noelle is the angel, but I actually think she's a red herring; WE are the Angel, and the Deltarune game itself is The Angel's Heaven that must be banished.

Think about it; the game exists because we play it. Giving up ends the world in Chapter 1, and it's heavily implied that we are REQUIRED in order to stop the world from coming to an end. While that may be antithetical to banishing the Angel's Heaven, I think it actually fits perfectly: In order for the world to be saved, our connection to it must be severed -- either by us closing the game, or by our purpose coming to an end. This story, for us, is limited; we're not going to see these characters through their entire lives, we're just seeing them as teenagers trying to figure out what's going on with the Dark Fountains.

And that's the thing, isn't it? Similar to Undertale, we will have a choice: Let everyone live happily ever after, or reset all their progress, all their improvement, everything simply for our own entertainment. Relive the game for our own amusement, deep-dive into every nook and cranny, look for every answer while making these characters relive these lives over and over, no idea they're being treated like toys. And I mean, they ARE toys; to us, they're just characters, after all - but I think Toby is very intentionally writing this world to be one that can and will continue after we are no longer there to take part in it. Hell, Kris is said to be going to college soon - these characters have lives, they have families, and that immersion means something.

If the world is to be saved, we have to let it end.

Whew, anyway, sorry for such a... long rant about my theories for Deltarune's story :'D There's a lot going on, and I'm sure I missed the mark on a few things (I get the sense my "Kris was involved somehow and Asgore covered for them" theory is probably pretty weak, but I think it's interesting) but let me know what you think of it! I've been brainstorming this theory for a while, and while I probably missed some key things, this is what's been rattling around in my head lol. Thank you guys for reading <33

EDIT: Correction to an earlier thing in this, as I got something wrong: Kris CAN open fountains without a soul, but it's possible they can't go into dark worlds without one. I think this still gives credence to the 'Dess's body has Kris's original soul' theory since it means whoever it is going into the dark worlds, they have a soul.