DELTARUNE - The Dual Kris Theory (Kris Knight)
Well, well, well. It’s taken me half a decade to come to the conclusion that Kris really was the Knight all along. Kind of. Read the full theory if you’d like to know all of my reasoning.
Part 1 - We are NOT playing as the original Kris
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Before I can explain why the hell Kris could be the Knight, it’s important to establish that there’s overwhelming evidence Kris isn’t the original version of themself. Rather, they’re implied to be a copy of some sort, and this is supported both visually and thematically.
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The animation above shows Kris at the beginning of Chapter 5, with their skin turning a deathly greyish green. This is significant as in Chapter 3 we’re told in Mancountry that “COPIES ARE MONOCHROME” but that Kris had also coloured each of them in with care. Importantly, the Vessel at the beginning of the game is also shown with grey skin, and Pink’s check text states that “Without a spirit to control it, the body will break down.” Furthermore, Kris is continually referred to as if they’re dead, dying, or a corpse of some sort. Susie refers to them as a zombie several times in casual conversations, but they’re also more eerily referred to as a fossil in the Second Sanctuary’s Gallery. The Darkner who makes this comparison says that when Kris dies, they will be a huge fossil, breaking everything. Keep that in mind for later……..
The above three lines are just a few more suspicious bits of evidence. The first is a cage-themed Darkner (yeah) expressing their worries about never having met another one of their kind, and whether or not they’re the original. The second is a cracked conch, surrounded by washed-up glass (a concept tied to the Prophecy, the Knight, and other Gastery stuff) and only being able to repeat what it knows. It’s important to mention that Aqua listens to a conch-like shell during a cutscene in the Flower Cafe. The third speaks for itself.
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Anyway, there’s a lot more suspicious things other characters say about Kris that make me believe they’re a fakey fake faker.
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Flowery’s the best place to start. He constantly alludes to Kris having upset him, and them being DIFFERENT now. Of course, you can attribute some of that to the Player, and how they’ve been working with the Knight. But in Flowery’s case, he makes it clear that this change is far more long-term than the past week or so. He states, in no uncertain terms, that the flowers have been observing Kris since childhood and that they’ve changed since then. He also relates this observation to his belief that Kris has no real love for Asgore, which would most definitely be an assumption made over a longer period of time. Once again, Flowery himself says that he’s been watching Kris for years, so I feel that what he alludes to with these statements is something that changed years ago.
Of course, Noelle’s another amazing source as she spent lots of her time with Kris when the two were younger. And, in my opinion, her Weird Route monologue is not only referring to the Player, but to the true Kris’s disappearance many years ago.
The wording she uses is similar, isn’t it? While this on its own could be referring to the Player’s influence in context, the fact Flowery relates this change to Kris’s childhood means that there’s a possible double meaning in play.
Furthermore, there’s a really fucking weird tendency of Susie’s that I almost never see pointed out. She’s only ever seen the sequel to anything, while Noelle’s always seen the original.
Speak of the devil….
Part 2 - The Original Kris is the Roaring Knight
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From now on, I’ll be referring to the original version of Kris as (Kris).
Yes, it’s a Homestuck reference, but it’s also much easier to write.
The image’s contents will largely be explained, don’t worry.
Anyway, the last section really does beg the question: Who the fuck is the real Kris if we aren’t controlling them? My answer to that is, they were most likely the Kris depicted in Asgore’s flashback, sporting a Patience SOUL rather than their new red one. (Kris) was there for all the events before Dess’s disappearance, having been very close with Noelle, Catti, Dess, and their family, as well as having met future Darkners like Flowery and the Flying Aces.
The totality of the previous section can be used to paint a vague picture of how things went, so I’ll try to go in chronological order from here. This’ll get a bit fanfic-esque, so bear with me.
At some point, around seven years ago, (Kris) and Dess entered the shelter. The tail was most likely responsible for this, but what’s important is that the poor “children” followed the tail, rather than one child.
Not too long after (Kris) entered, a copy of them was created, and painted in with a red SOUL. Something something Aqua. “Uuu, my color changed!” etc etc. Anyway, in my opinion it’s likeliest that Gaster did this, and I doubt that’ll be too controversial; the intro shows him making a copy of a human, after all. The Egg Room in Chapter 4 also includes an element of painting as therapy, if you believe that’s him.
This copy was released into Hometown and is the Kris we know and control today. They clearly possess memories that (Kris) made, but have a sense of detachment regarding them, as they’re implied to care very little for Asgore and have to actively stop to remember things. (The Asgore point makes a lot of sense anyway, as the first time Kris met him, he was an obsessed lunatic screaming at them for answers.)
The town believed Kris was lucky to have survived unlike Dess, as Susie references folklore about them having “experience running away.” I guess she was right about leaving copies in the lost-and-found.
Anyway, in the shelter, the cats were not exactly being too kind to the poor children. (Kris) was fighting for their own life, with Dess in a similar spot.
It’s at this point that I’d say Gaster chose to step in and offer Kris with an exit ramp. There’s a lot of allusions to Kris having “eaten the apple” so to speak, what with Gaster’s consistent demonic motifs and his connection to the trees, alongside Kris’s obsession with apples. Furthermore, he’s visibly interested in meddling with souls in Deltarune’s intro as well as his pre-release ramblings. Thus, he gave (Kris) an offer. They have a way to survive this nightmare. He’ll also make them a new body, and shape its mind as their own. They’ll get to survive, maybe get their body back, maybe help save Dess, as long as they follow through with his instruction: to let Dess absorb their soul and become the Roaring Knight. He doesn’t tell them why, but of course we know that it’s because he needs a Knight for his story to work out, and he also needs a cage. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
I know what some of you are thinking. “Isn’t this just Amalgam Knight again?”
To an extent, yes, but I think there’s some key differences.
First of all, it skirts around that theory’s logical inconsistency since the Player didn’t have to do anything for it to work; it’s not a timeloop based on something I literally can’t have done yet.
Second, I also don’t think Dess is really conscious in this “fusion” at all.
There’s a lot of instances in the game that imply Dess is off doing something on their own, as some kind of ghostly entity that we can’t ever see. Spamton is pictured above, quoting UNUSED’s call for help, and he in particular has a strange connection to Dess. When Noelle is given the PuppetScarf, she says it feels “like guitar strings.”
This connects to an unseen entity at the end of Chapter 4 who pushes Kris away if they try to backtrack, and plays a sample from Dess’s guitar, albeit at 0% volume. All of these details lead me to believe that Dess’s consciousness has been all but expelled from the Roaring Knight’s body, with (Kris) taking the lead and Dess being lost, only surviving as a collection of memory elsewhere.
So, to recap, the poor children were lost, and they were backed into a corner by feline menaces. In the end, out of a need to survive and perhaps a Doctor’s advice, (Kris) decided to place their soul into Dess’s weak, injured body. Whatever remained of Dess was left to fall apart as nothing but memory, while (Kris) remained conscious, having ascended into a horrible beast with unfathomable power.
Wonder where I’ve heard that before.
In Undertale, two children are also “lost” at the same time, and they fuse into an unimaginably powerful being due to SOUL absorption. This Undertale connection actually ties massively into the theory’s next section…
Part 3 - Why Kris?
In my opinion, the Knight’s existence is the fulfillment of what (Kris) wanted to be all along, in a twisted sense. We know they’d play pretend with Dess, commanding armies of Darkners, using knives to scare Noelle, and generally dreaming of being a badass sword wielder who doesn’t lose to anyone.
And at the end of the day, our Kris still shares a lot of these traits; they certainly try to act cool in the same way the Knight does, for instance.
The Sword Route is a perfect demonstration of this, with Kris having a game tailored just for them: one where they can become invincible, kill without repercussions, and not have to listen to the set rules of the game. ERAM points out that Kris has tried to run away from this, making a “sour face” at the suggestion that they’re enjoying the game, but it’s clear that the heart does what it does, so to speak. Kris made this Dark World, and they’re given a game made just for them, and it happens to align with the Knight’s behaviour and outlook on things. Essentially, what I’m saying is that the Sword Route represents how Kris is trying to avoid becoming what (Kris) became, trying to run away from the instincts that were implanted into them due to being a copy of (Kris).
To return to the invincibility point, not only is it similar to Asriel’s letter about the number 9, it’s also a line repeated constantly in Deltarune. Primarily by other secret bosses, but it’s also used by Noelle to describe Giga Queen, and…
Seam also considers the Knight to be invincible, at least without the Shadow Mantle. (And look how that went.)
In my opinion, their childhood desire to be this invincible badass villain was granted, albeit with far more painful ramifications for themselves and others. It’s also a strong parallel to Chara, who, as mentioned by Asriel, always wanted to become all-powerful and invincible.
While I’m not here to argue Kris is Chara (they have some differences after all) the two of them do clearly share a lot of the same personality traits, including this aspiration. An aspiration for power, which Chara wasn’t able to act on due to Asriel’s hesitation. On the contrary, (Kris) doesn’t have anyone standing in their way, and the story’s creator actively wants them to act on these childish ideals of being a badass.
Additionally, the Knight is a horned monster, which is significant as it’s specifically noted as something Kris wanted to be when they were younger. Their family as well as their closest friends (Noelle and Dess) were horned monsters, and as the Roaring Knight, they’re finally able to achieve their dreams.
The fact that (Kris) was able to achieve what they wanted, the fact they’re so powerful; I feel that they consider themselves the “true” Kris who has the authority to impose their will onto Kris. They’re the one who has achieved Kris’s childhood dreams, after all, and that gives them the right to dictate what Kris should be. Of course, we know Kris is themselves collaborating with the Knight, and to some extent agrees with or considers it necessary to do what they’re doing, but they’re also clearly hesitant due to their new friends. And probably also the fact they aren’t a corrupted creature of darkness at the moment.
It’s for this reason that I think the Knight shows visible spite toward Susie, which is reciprocated. While they act hostile toward Ralsei, they enjoy wordlessly taunting Susie, basically showing off how much cooler they are than her. (Kris) wants to show Kris that their friends are lame, and that they shouldn’t diverge over someone as incapable as Susie. In reality though, I’m sure (Kris) is scared. It knows Kris well enough to understand that they’d absolutely be besties with her. Susie is the main threat to Kris’s strong commitment to upholding the plan, and that’s why (Kris) seemingly hates her so much.
This is also, however, where I can see some form of redemption for (Kris.) Since Kris’s toxic elements are often negative traits shared with (Kris), it’s possible that the latter’s humanity can be reawakened, if only partially, due to being made to see themselves in Kris. Of course, a little nudge from Susie would probably help, given she’s the magical friendship master.
Basically, Maddie’s feelings about Pink are pretty much how (Kris) feels about Kris’s recent hesitation.
This would also explain why Kris has an aversion to the Player’s presence, despite clearly needing us to be here. While they’re going to use us as a means to an end, they didn’t get to choose to be the cage in the first place, (Kris) made that choice for them. Something something that one Raise Up Your Bat quadruple meaning line about heart as your mark.
Part 4 - Additional Evidence / Parallels
This will be more rapid fire, so don’t expect long through-lines for several paragraphs.
The whole fandom’s been freaking out about Kris losing a hand for a year, but I haven’t seen much discussion around the Knight’s similar connections to that concept. While they have two hands, both of them have large holes in them, and the Knight’s hand is almost always referred to as a singular object. It’s also given reverence by Darkners, hailed during Queen’s description of the Dark World’s creation. There’s also a Knight sprite without its right arm, though I imagine this is an animation quirk so I won’t give it too much weight.
Spamton’s weird obsession with absorbing Kris’s soul and becoming powerful, in a new workout-ready body, is interesting. It’s even MORE interesting when you consider the fact Dess has some degree of control over Spamton, as his speech is taken over by UNUSED briefly when discussing his fears. He’s also silenced when he tries to reveal a secret about the Knight. Food for thought. I think that one way or another, he knows that their secret to being so powerful is having absorbed a human’s SOUL.
While I’ve felt that this voice was Kris all along, it’s now tantalising to consider that it might actually be (Kris.) It doesn’t really matter which one it is, as Kris is clearly fond of limiting our control and asserting themselves (see Chapter 1 ending), but this scene makes just as much if not more sense if it’s (Kris.) To an extent, you can read it as them talking to both us and their new counterpart. Kris didn’t get to choose who they were, they were created out of (Kris)’s choice to have a copy of themselves made.
There’s 2 Knight prophecy panels, for what it’s worth. Additionally, the Knight panel’s hands look similar to the “CAGE” panel’s hands.
Kris and (Kris) make identical Dark Worlds, while Susie’s is completely different. We’ll see if Noelle makes one and it’s different too. Noteworthy that this Darkner puts “Kris” and “Knight” first in their lists.
Brainrot, but it isn’t impossible that Toby thought of this. Catti WAS friends with (Kris), after all.
Sword Route’s black monster which you take control of has cyan eyes, and it’s hiding a black deer. Interesting implication, though in all fairness it isn’t the exact same shade as the patience SOUL/Aqua/Kris’s skin.
Also, I forgot to mention that one of the cacti is referred to as “a convincing replica of your favorite cactus.” Odd.
Conclusion
I guess I’m kind of a Kris Knighter in 2026. Good for me.
Note
This post is mirrored from my Tumblr blog, which contains several supplementary posts (including reblogs, and Ask responses) about this theory. I'll link them here:
Clarification on Dess Knight, Dark Fountains and Kris's Memories
Knight & Cage Prophecy Roles Analysis
Comparison to Yukaribel (Touhou Project related, but the post goes into some of my thoughts about Knight Kris as well.)
My (and Brix's) verdict on Dess Knight (To be clear, I certainly think Dess Knight is plausible, but there's certainly complication as to how much of "Dess" remains in there.)
