Have I mentioned before that I really like Deltarune? The previous theory was fun to write, and I've had another one rattling in my brain for a bit, so I figured I'd get it out there. I'm sure I'm probably not the first person to put these ideas together, but I hope my presentation proves interesting regardless.
I present to you: Switcheroo Theory. Let's begin.
Part 1: The Demon
If you've interacted with Catti in the Hometown segments of the game, you may be aware that she and Kris studied the occult together and once attempted to summon a demon. She bailed out partway, leaving Kris to finish the ritual alone.
This is brought up several times and seems to be an event of some significance; their shared occult experienced are also the main thing tying Kris and Catti together. Her possessing a portrait implies she likely has significant importance to the overall story, and given what we've seen so far, it's reasonable to conclude this will likely be related to her occult experiences with Kris.
We don't receive confirmation as to whether or not the ritual succeeded, since Kris completed it alone and has no intention of telling us. If we assume that it did, and that actual magic of that sort exists within the Light World, this presents us with an interesting fact: Kris knows how to summon demons, at least theoretically. Why would they ever want to actually go through with a summoning like that, though? I mean, it's not like they're directly involved in some sort of major conspiracy...
Oh, yeah.
We don't yet know the full details of Kris's deal with Carol, but a few things are clear. First, she appears to be manipulating/blackmailing them through some sort of promise. Second, she is explicitly aware of the fact that Kris is being possessed by an entity other than themself. It's likely that she was involved in whatever process caused them to become possessed by us, or was at least present for it. This scene is clearly meant to inform the player of that fact, but there's an aspect to it that I've not seen discussed before. Why do we need to be clued in here?
Take a second and reread that line. The highlighted red "YOU" makes it clear she's talking to us as opposed to Kris, but she says "as you know." What do you mean, as we know? We don't know! This is the first time we've met Carol, and this line is the only reason we know that she knows about us. Carol seems to be under the false impression that we already know her and are already clued into and actively participating in her plan. The question then is, what caused this disconnect?
Part 2: The Angel
Deltarune opens with a sequence commonly referred to as the goner maker, where a voice that is almost certainly W. D. Gaster guides us through the process of creating a vessel to inhabit. At the end of this sequence, a second voice interrupts and informs us that "No one can choose who they are in this world" shortly before we wake up in Kris's body.
The identity of the second voice has been debated for a while. Early theories favored the idea that it was Chara, since the speech pattern in the Japanese translation in particular matched their speech very well. As the game has gone on, however, it's become increasingly clear that this was never the direction Toby was going in; there just isn't room for Chara in this story. The new favored contender is Kris. I mean, they look like Chara, have the same family as Chara... with it already established that the world of Deltarune contains its own equivalents to many of the characters from Undertale, it would only make sense that Kris would be their DR equivalent and, therefore, would have the same speech pattern as them.
The idea that we are the demon Kris summoned isn't a new one. Many people have come to this conclusion already, even before it was revealed that Kris completed the ritual on their own. That said, while we might have been summoned, I'm not convinced that we're the demon; there's a different divine entity that seems a much more likely answer.
The idea that we are the Angel is also not a new one. There's a myriad of evidence and symbolism supporting this, with some notable examples including the scene in Chapter 4 where we inhabit the angel doll and the prophecy panel describing the Angel. Said panel lacks an image, instead leaving only a blank black space where a player might see their own reflection. It's also supported by thematic similarities to Undertale, which also features a prophesied angel that is, depending on your interpretation, either Frisk or the player.
The Angel is closely related to Dark Worlds and the prophecy—it is the Angel's heaven that the three heroes must banish, after all. Of interest to me here is the Angel's potential relation to Gaster. If we believe the Angel is the player, that makes Gaster one of the few characters who is aware of us, and likely the only one somewhat aware of our true nature, given his penchant for breaking the fourth wall even beyond the bounds of the game (see: the Twitter takeovers). He is also closely associated with Dark Worlds, with entry seventeen from Undertale foreshadowing the concept.
In the Goner Maker, Gaster forms a "connection" with us, the Angel, and attempts to place us into a vessel. This attempt is, however, thwarted by Kris, who potentially summons us to possess them instead. What, then, happens to the vessel that we leave behind? This is where my theory truly takes shape.
Part 3: The Switcheroo
I propose that two separate summonings occurred for two separate beings. Carol's plan requires Kris to be possessed, for whatever reason, and as such she tried to have them summon a demon. Meanwhile, Gaster wanted to connect with us, the Angel, and place us into his Deltarune via the vessel we create in the goner maker. This is where things get switched up—we end up inside of Kris instead, which means the demon... well...
The diagram above sort of implies that these events happened at the same time, but I think a much more likely order of events has Carol's summoning occurring earlier. As we described earlier, she's clearly already met and negotiated with the demon, as she's under the impression that it understands her plan. We see in chapter 4 that Kris is somewhat conflicted regarding their role in the plan and have to be reminded of their promise; they may have performed the second ritual as a form of rebellion, or perhaps they simply know something Carol doesn't and wanted the help of the Angel instead.
When it comes to our vessel, I know the idea of it being possessed by some sort of demonic entity sounds a bit like an edgy fanfiction, but I can't imagine it was introduced so prominently at the start of the game just to never serve a role again. Similarly, with how the demon summoning has been mentioned multiple times, I believe it must also serve an important role; if there is a separate demon entity, it'd be lame if it just got overwritten by us or sent back to whence it came, so possessing the vessel we were meant to control is a decent alternative.
Counterarguments
This theory isn't perfect. Let's take a look at some of its biggest holes.
1. If we aren't the demon that Kris summoned... who is it?
There are a few options for who the demon could be. Gaster, who's heavily associated with the number 666. Chara, who calls themself a demon at the end of Undertale and is implied to have some sort of world-hopping ability. Some other entity we know less about, like FRIEND.
The problem is, if anyone was going to be the demon, it would have to be Gaster, right? What would be the point of tying him to so much demonic symbolism if there's actually a second, even more plot-relevant demon? But in this theory, it wouldn't really make sense for Gaster to be one of the things being summoned, given he's the one coordinating one half of the situation.
2. Maybe Carol was just talking to Kris?
This entire theory hinges on explaining why Carol appears to think that we already know her, but it's possible that wasn't an intended reading of her dialogue at all. The "as you know" could've just been intended to make her dialogue sound plausibly like something she was saying just to Kris, which is why she had to rely on the red highlight to imply that the message is actually intended for us.
3. Why does the demon get switcheroo'd?
There isn't much of any evidence to actually explain how or why the demon would get transferred to another vessel when Kris snatches us. My main basis for believing that it does is that it would just be lame if it served no role in the plot, which isn't exactly the strongest argument out there. If my reading of Carol's dialogue is incorrect, the demon summoning subplot could just be related to something else.
Conclusion
I think this is a pretty interesting theory, and while I do think I might be on the right track, the idea clearly still has some missing pieces. I'd be interested to know if anyone has come up with similar theories and if there's any other evidence out there supporting this idea, or perhaps an alternate version that's more concrete. Regardless, I hope reading my thoughts here was enjoyable.
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