I believe that Deltarune is hiding a third, secret route to be unveiled next chapter. Forgotten to time since Chapter 3, the mantle minigame has long been the subject of debate. Many believe it's simply the introduction to the Weird Route, as it shows Noelle using ice magic leading to dark warnings. However, with Deltarune Chapter 5 revealing what Shadow Crystals are, and revealing that we cannot obtain them all in the weird route, I believe the mantle minigame is showing us something different. Something crazy. If we obtain the twisted sword, we'll be able to take the fate of Kris, Susie, Ralsei, and the rest of the Deltarune world in our hands. This is: Third Route Theory! #deltarunechapter5 #deltarune
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3rd route? In between? Like Clopen?
things took a third route right now …
We could even call it a "Third Root".
We came full circle to kris killing everybody lmao
can't wait for Tricky Tonny to implement a 4rd route.
"oh my full name? it's susie thirdster"
"Oh, Kris! it's the second half of the melody! Now you just need to play it..." "Yeah, unless there's, like, a third half." "(um... there isn't)" Ralsei and Susie in ch4 foreshadowing is crazy
It's like some kind of... Whird route
Just realized that "roots" could be a play on the word "routes." Flowery's boss fight even makes fun of the similarity of those two words. "You could call it a pacifist root."
It always cracks me up how we're always seemingly one chapter away from the game completely reversing its narrative delivery and packaging us a nice little bundle of answers with gaster's face printed on them.
“Oh, my full name? It’s SpookyDood Gaster…”
SpookyDood about to be forced to visit NormalNPC’s Meat Factory.
Side A is the only route where you can get Nubert, hence it is the only route and ending that you need and nothing else matters.
This idea of three routes could also paralleled by the three sanctuaries in Chapter 4, no? The first sanctuary establishes the setting and world of the sanctuaries, like the normal route does for Deltarune. The second sanctuary then twists the world—the prophecy is all in the wrong order, and the colors are different—but as one of the organikks says, “at best you can only see another side”. The third sanctuary then combines elements of both other sanctuaries, and is, notably, the only way to truly progress. (it’s also where IMAGE_FRIEND appears. Food for thought) (edit) ALSO, the second path is specifically the one opened by the Girl, and explicitly dips into horror imagery by the end
The Clopen Route.
Return of the Ch1 era “Massacre Route”
Kris just kicks the soul out of their body because the twisted sword is too cool to share and the game ends
The idea of the third route bing done by abandoning other routes is so freakishly cool
came in thinking it would be a silly theory, came out a third route believer
The route in-between…