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[[folder:The Voice]]
!!██████
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voice.png]]
[[caption-width-right:168:'''I HAVE SOMETHING. SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU. SOMETHING I THINK YOU WILL FIND''' '''''[[CallBack VERY, VERY INTERESTING.]]''''']]
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during the [[CharacterCustomization opening]][[note]]"gonermaker" in the game files[[/note]], and the one who revealed ''Deltarune'' to the public. They will also host the file select screen if the game is closed and reopened during Chapter 1, but otherwise is completely absent from the game after the opening sequence. Everything presently known about them is littered with similarities to '''W.D. Gaster''', the [[RetGone erased character]] from ''Undertale'', although given [[SecretIdentity they never bothered to properly introduce themself]], [[RiddleForTheAges who can say...]]
!!██████
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voice.png]]
[[caption-width-right:168:'''I HAVE SOMETHING. SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU. SOMETHING I THINK YOU WILL FIND''' '''''[[CallBack VERY, VERY INTERESTING.]]''''']]
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during the [[CharacterCustomization opening]][[note]]"gonermaker" in the game files[[/note]], and the one who revealed ''Deltarune'' to the public. They will also host the file select screen if the game is closed and reopened during Chapter 1, but otherwise is completely absent from the game after the opening sequence. Everything presently known about them is littered with similarities to '''W.D. Gaster''', the [[RetGone erased character]] from ''Undertale'', although given [[SecretIdentity they never bothered to properly introduce themself]], [[RiddleForTheAges who can say...]]
to:
[[folder:The Voice]]
!!██████
SOUL]]
!!The SOUL
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voice.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deltarune_soul.png]]
[[caption-width-right:168:'''I HAVE SOMETHING. SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU. SOMETHING I THINK YOU WILL FIND''' '''''[[CallBack VERY, VERY INTERESTING.]]''''']]
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during[[caption-width-right:168:'''THEN, THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS.''']]
->''"That's your SOUL, the[[CharacterCustomization opening]][[note]]"gonermaker" in the game files[[/note]], culmination of your being! Within, it holds your WILL... your COMPASSION... and the FATE of the world."''
-->--'''Ralsei'''
The SOUL that drives and unites the Three Heroes in their quest to banish the Angel's Heaven. For onewho revealed ''Deltarune'' to reason or another, this is the public. They will also host the file select screen if the game is closed and reopened during Chapter 1, but otherwise is completely absent from the game after the opening sequence. Everything presently known about them is littered player's method of interacting with similarities to '''W.D. Gaster''', the [[RetGone erased character]] from ''Undertale'', although given [[SecretIdentity they never bothered to properly introduce themself]], [[RiddleForTheAges who can say...]]world through Kris, the current vessel the SOUL inhabits. The SOUL effectively serves as this game's version of [[Characters/UndertaleSpoilerCharacters the Anomaly]].
!!██████
!!The SOUL
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during
->''"That's your SOUL, the
-->--'''Ralsei'''
The SOUL that drives and unites the Three Heroes in their quest to banish the Angel's Heaven. For one
Added DiffLines:
* EleventhHourSuperpower: In the battle with Spamton NEO, the SOUL changes itself into the yellow SHOOTER mode, pulling off a BigDamnHeroes moment and doing the legwork for the rest of the battle.
* AddressingThePlayer: Though you seemingly control Kris, you're really controlling the SOUL, which acts as the player's stand-in.
* AllLovingHero: A compassionate playthrough of the game results in this, which tends to run counter to Kris's mischievous and moody normal self.
* AlmightyIdiot:
** Lured by whatever the mysterious VOICE was offering at the start of the game, you are told that you have no ability to make meaningful choices and denied your vessel. The SOUL is instead cast into Kris, and you are stuck with the game's established outcomes. On top of that, Kris can remove the SOUL from their body at certain moments.
** Chapter 2 offers you the chance to take actions guaranteed to shake up the story, but you need to lack the moral restraint against [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential doing depraved stuff]] like {{gaslighting}} and ''cold-blooded murder'' to follow the requirements. When Spamton projects onto Kris, he compares the situation to how he "LOST IT" when he "TRIED TO SEE TOO FAR."
* AmbiguouslyEvil: Like ''Undertale'', ''Deltarune'' questions the player's morality by scrutinizing how the player treats the beings of a world when free of apparent consequences. In Chapter 1, although the game [[{{Railroading}} railroads]] you away from meaningful choices, there are times when the player may fail to consider how uncomfortable Kris might feel when made to act certain ways. Still, [[InnocentlyInsensitive it (usually) isn't out of malice and can only be deduced after the fact]]. The game downplays its moral significance by claiming to have only one ending, but it puts the player in the uncommon scenario in which [[MeatPuppet the vessel the player inhabits is alive]] and aware of what the player does. The player's potential for kindness and cruelty is therefore put to the test. Chapter 2, more like the Genocide Route in ''Undertale'', gives the player the [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential ability to make extremely significant moral choices]].
* AmbiguousSyntax: Checking the reflection in the Dreemurr household changes from "it's only you" (in Chapter 1) to "it's what ''they'' call ''you''" (in Chapter 2), emphasizing the nature of your control over Kris. This can make it difficult to tell [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou who's truly being addressed]] during dialogue with characters that [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits give tutorials]] and [[MediumAwareness reference the nature of the game]].
* AntiAntiChrist: After making "CONTACT" with the VOICE (whose ID for printing their dialogue is [[NumberOfTheBeast 666 during the Vessel creation and 667 on the Game Over screen]]), the SOUL enters Kris's body [[SymbioticPossession to use Kris as a vessel]]. Despite being LovecraftLite, the SOUL can be a force for good and help the heroes in their journey to finally banish "The Angel's Heaven."
* TheAntichrist: The SOUL essentially becomes this in the Weird Route of Chapter 2. There, the SOUL [[CompellingVoice manipulates]] Noelle, through her trust in Kris, into becoming a living weapon. Thanks to the alterations from the normal route, by the time the Fountain is sealed, Susie will comment that it doesn't feel like she and the others are heroes.
* AntiHero: The SOUL can be anywhere on the spectrum the player chooses. It can be a KnightInSourArmor, who constantly makes Kris be a bit of a jerk but still recruits Darkners, or an outright NominalHero who constantly beats the snot out of Darkners and treats their companions like dirt.
* AxCrazy: If the SOUL so chooses, and fully realized on the Weird route of Chapter 2, though you are much more on the ManipulativeBastard and {{Sadist}} side of things. Manipulating and {{Gaslighting}} Noelle into doing the actual violence for you.
* BigBad: If the SOUL so chooses, and fully realized on the Weird route of Chapter 2, where the SOUL can make Kris do terrible things to Noelle including gaslighting, mental abuse, and eventually attacking Berdly. The outcome leaves her deeply traumatized and Berdly possibly dead, and the game heavily implies that even Kris is disturbed by what the SOUL made them do. This is reinforced by the chapter villains, as Queen more or less ceases to be the villain as nothing she did could even hope to compare and the King from Chapter 1 openly expresses disgust for your actions.
* BigGood: If the SOUL so chooses, they can make Kris engage with and befriend others they wouldn't normally. While this [[SoProudOfYou delights their monster mother]] Toriel, the townsfolk who've known the human [[ThePrankster since childhood]] immediately pick up on the fact [[OutOfCharacterAlert that something's suspicious]] about their actions.
* BloodKnight: Seam tells you that taking on [[{{Superboss}} the Holders of the Shadow Crystals]] means facing enemies far stronger than the common foes you'll come across on the adventure, which is nothing but enticing to players looking for a challenge.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The choices you make while controlling the party or going through the game's menus might baffle the world's inhabitants or intrigue the VOICE respectively. The latter finds your behavior interesting if you constantly copy the same files over and over, or if you repeatedly "threaten" to erase a file and cancel the effort several times.
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: It's hard to call the SOUL using Kris as their vessel anything but mind control, as Kris is aware of and displeased with their influence. However, outside of the Weird Route, that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing. Kris on their own may be unwilling or unable to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] from the Dark Fountains -- [[AmbiguouslyEvil or even actively planning something equally dangerous]]. On a more personal level, one could point to how the SOUL has forced Kris to be more social and lead them to making friends they themself actually care about (Susie especially).
* ButThouMust: Enforced. The greater forces at large have stripped you of meaningful choices, and thus you must abide by whatever occurs. The Weird route gives you the opportunity to weasel out of this situation...[[VillainProtagonist by manipulating events to turn for the worse]].
* CompellingVoice: Implied to be how the SOUL commands the other characters by using Kris as a proxy. Susie has to go out of her way to add a global Action to hers and Ralsei's menus and Noelle states she can still hear a voice ordering her even if Kris is knocked out during the evil version of their fight against Berdly. It is specifically noted it isn't Kris's voice telling her to fight throughout the chapter.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: For a Player taking the Weird Route. While the Anomaly of a Genocide Route was welcomed as a "[[BigBadDuumvirate partner]]" by Chara, who will wonder if they believe they are above the consequences of their actions and [[DealWithTheDevil tries to oppose this by tainting future playthroughs]], the SOUL of a Weird Route takes advantage of the ''lack'' of consequences to do as they please, and already had their control somewhat-opposed by Kris ''before'' the route.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In ''Undertale'', it is much more ambiguous as to whether The Player is an in-universe character that controls Frisk like a puppet. ''Deltarune'' wastes no time establishing early on that the Player is a separate entity from Kris, that the SOUL is in your direct control as a result, and that Kris is not at all at ease about the situation.
* ControllableHelplessness:
** Once Kris throws the SOUL into the cage in TheStinger of Chapter 1, you can still move inside of it, but you can't escape.
** Once Kris runs the tap in the bathroom in the ending of Chapter 2, you can shake their body around for a second before they kneel and manage to rip the SOUL out.
* TheCorrupter: A hidden route on Chapter 2 reveals that Kris isn't the only person the SOUL can influence. It can also command party members like Noelle, with ''much'' darker results.
* TheCorruption: While Spamton provides the means through the Thorn Ring, it is only through the Player's urging and planning that Noelle gains the will and strength to kill. Every SAVE point comments how both Kris and Noelle are feeling power, and even after returning to Castle Town, the SAVE point claims you can still feel it "in your hands".
* CosmicPlaything: From the setup for Chapter 1's demo, the terms and conditions require you to "ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FROM NOW ON". By agreeing to play the game, it's repeated that you can't make decisions to radically shift the story beyond slight differences. The Weird Route subverts this in the worst way possible.
* CreativeSterility: You cannot make Kris play the piano via controlling the SOUL.
* CuriosityIsACrapshoot:
** You may have a purpose for trying to exhaust all the possible choices and interactions, but it doesn't make sense to the world's in-game inhabitants. Repeatedly flushing the toilet or switching between entering and exiting the house will result in Toriel asking if Kris is feeling okay.
** Reaching the {{superboss}} of Chapter 2 requires following the advice of a TreacherousQuestgiver, and from Susie and Ralsei's perspective, it's just Kris deliberately getting themself into danger for little reason.
* {{Egopolis}}: Ralsei's Castle Town is named after whatever you put as the "Creator's" name in the opening sequence.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Kris doesn't have any supernatural or magical elements of their own as a human, yet thanks to your control, will get access to the Yellow SOUL shooter mode to fight Spamton.
* EnemyWithin: During the SOUL's possession.
** Inverted with a [[TheConscience pacifistic SOUL]], whose moral and kinder tendencies guide a mischievous Kris into a [[KnightInShiningArmor more heroic archetype]]. Played Straight in the Weird Route as they become an outright demonic influence on Kris and Noelle, forcing the former to abuse their childhood friend and ordering the latter to kill their classmate, Berdly. If Kris runs out of HP, Noelle will refuse to escape with Berdly since [[HearingVoices she can still hear the commands]], and after every turn, Kris ''immediately'' gets back up.
** From Kris's end, it's ZigZagged, in the general sense that they're "enemies" due to the difficulties of SharingABody. When the SOUL is more in control during possession, Kris may show disagreement with their decisions by using monotonous delivery or body language to convey what they really feel and mean to others. But as creepy and [[LackOfEmpathy inconsiderate]] as Kris can get, their actions without the SOUL's influence haven't been shown to be completely harmful to others.
* EnemyWithout: Whenever Kris manages to tear the SOUL out.
** Kris has their own goals separate from the SOUL's agenda and always deems it necessary to forcibly retake control over their body to accomplish them. Whether it's to [[PokeThePoodle simply hoard their mom's pie to themself]] or to slash the tires on her car and create a new Dark Fountain in the house, they want to avoid risking interference from possession.
** Inverted with a kinder SOUL. They are responsible for pacifist runs and can force Kris to act more personable and talkative than usual, something Kris detests at times. Downplayed if the Player executes the Weird Route; though they grant Noelle fatal spells, dramatically alter the events of the story and unnerve Kris, they are still susceptible to getting torn out and [[ControllableHelplessness are not physically capable enough]] to cause further harm with such an abstract form.
* EvilAllAlong: Taking the [=SnowGrave=] route in Chapter 2 recontextualizes the SOUL's actions in the rest of the game from benevolent to seemingly biding its time until it can affect things in a truly malicious manner.
* EvilFeelsGood: Spamton NEO's rant in the Weird Route [[InvokedTrope accuses them as experiencing this]], giving into their worst impulses and resorting to corrupting Noelle so they can experience a taste of freedom. The game gives opportunities for the SOUL to rub salt into the wound by [[KickTheDog intimidating Noelle when she's visiting her father in the hospital]], in the event where this is well and truly the case for the Player.
* ExactWords: The game's first chapter makes it clear that your choices do not and will not matter, never changing the outcome in any meaningful way. By Chapter 2, however, there is a way to change the context of the story's events in a much more significant manner, with ''Noelle's'' choices being the key. Your decisions may not matter, but everyone else's will.
* ExpendableAlternateUniverse:
** With multiple SAVE slots, consequences between different storylines never need to bleed into each other, allowing you to follow a Pacifist run in one file, a low-recruitment playthrough in another, and even relegating the Weird Route to its own slot without fear of it affecting another game. The VOICE practically encourages this, saying "PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE" upon making every file identical before completing Chapter 1.
** An Inverted case happens with the Shadow Crystals. If you defeated them in one file but did not in another, you can still get their Crystals just outside of Castle Town in the hole to the left after finishing their chapter, [[PlayerNudge at Seam's suggestion]]. You only need to fight them in one SAVE file to get their PlotCoupon and rewarded equipment, the latter matching the Pacifist or violent outcome.
* FaustianRebellion: The Weird Route of Chapter 2 is implicitly portrayed as this.
** The Player is granted access to ''Deltarune'' through cooperation with the VOICE, who has [[NumberOfTheBeast some demonic themes]] and expresses great hope for "CREATING A NEW FUTURE WITH YOU", after depriving them of the ability to make meaningful choices. The SOUL, in turn, has the opportunity to make the most out of the limited possession they have over Kris and their friends, following a series of events that shift the story into an altered direction.
** Spamton [[SatanicArchetype takes on a manipulative and complicit role]] as he [[DealWithTheDevil offers to make Noelle stronger]] with the painful Thorn Ring. In exchange, the story takes an off-putting turn as Queen's mansion is overrun by him. The SOUL is prevented from sealing the Fountain by Spamton NEO as a consequence for executing the route, who is reveling in his control over Cyber World and intends to punish Kris for trying to put a stop to it. Despite his power, the Player's will overrides his ambitions by ordering Noelle to make quick work of him.
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Exaggerated. You only input your name while the most visual basis you get is the red SOUL, which has no face, gender or backstory.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Since Kris and Ralsei are still in the jail cell while Susie and Lancer fight, the SOUL flies from the upper right corner of the screen where the cell is whenever it's Lancer's turn.
* GoodIsNotNice: Even if you purposefully avoid becoming a VillainProtagonist via the Weird Route, you can still treat characters pretty roughly, influencing the heroes into beating the crap out of everyone and making Kris in particular do things they dislike.
* TheHeart: [[ShapedLikeItself Duh]]. The SOUL is the one that keeps the Three Heroes together where Ralsei falters, and helps lead the team through Kris. More literally, the SOUL is the one that has to evade the spells and attacks of enemies, for if it gets hit, the targeted party member(s) take damage.
* HeartBeatDown: Of course what the human SOUL [[ShapedLikeItself takes the shape of]], and as Chapter 2's {{Superboss}} battle shows, has at least some its own unique modes.
* HelloInsertNameHere: The real name you give as the creator of the discarded "vessel" from the intro overwrites Kris's save file with yours. The game makes it clear from the start that the SOUL is meant to be your personal role, for better or worse.
* HijackingCthulhu: Kris occasionally has chances to defy the player's demands, and even rarer, moments where they can tear the SOUL right out of their body to act on their own.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: The potential harm you can inflict on Noelle unnerves the normally-stoic and creepy Kris.
* HumansAreCthulhu: In your eyes, you're just controlling your designated PlayerCharacter and trying to find the {{Easter Egg}}s in a videogame. To the inhabitants of ''Deltarune'', you are an otherworldly being that made "contact" with the mysterious VOICE and was summoned to its universe, taking form by ''[[DemonicPossession possessing]]'' Kris, seemingly against their will, so they can face off against terrifying {{Superboss}}es in the Dark World.
* ImmortalityHurts: With the ability to SAVE and return to certain points, you're able to retry bosses and areas that were tough enough to drain your party's HP. Getting ''past'' them is another matter entirely.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Even if you don't go out of your way to be malicious, the player is likely to compel Kris to act in discomforting ways. Your ability to tell what Kris wants is limited mostly to indirect signs visible after the fact. The conventions of video games leads one to take your control over Kris at face value and never consider their feelings at all. In particular, completing Spamton's sidequest will have you taking many bizarre actions Susie calls out as foolish, ignore signs Kris is afraid of Spamton, and end up traumatizing the kid by forcing them to face the chapter's {{superboss}} -- all just to see more of the game and collect an object of completely unknown use.
* KickTheDog:
** They can take the Manual from Ralsei and the Bouquet from Asgore and toss them from their inventory.
*** In the Manual's case, Ralsei tries to put it back in your inventory the first time, thinking it was an accident. After the successful second time, he just apologizes meekly and promises to make a better one.
*** Tossing the Bouquet (which you can do in front of Asgore) might use the text, "You threw the X on the ground like the piece of trash that it is", one of the usual phrases that can accompany the throwing away of any other item in the game.
---->* You threw the Bouquet on the ground like the piece of trash that it is.
** In the Chapter 2 Hometown Epilogue, if you went down the Weird Route, you have the option to visit Noelle at the hospital and reveal that it wasn't actually a dream. It can get worse if Kris is ordered to move closer, or if they confront her while equipped with her watch, further rubbing salt into the wound.
* KnightOfCerebus: The SOUL becomes this in the Weird Route during Chapter 2, showing how dark of a path (that's even worse than the Genocide route in Undertale) the player can potentially take by emotionally manipulating Noelle to become a living weapon, killing everyone she comes across, including Berdly. All of the humor and lightheartedness in Chapter 2 is sucked dry when the SOUL manipulates both Kris and Noelle into this particular route.
* LovecraftLite: The SOUL is a difficult concept for ''Deltarune''[='s=] inhabitants to study and grasp according to one of the library books, and while able to warp the storyline into something else with the Weird Route, the SOUL has just as much potential to guide the heroes to [[GoldenEnding the best outcomes possible]]. They also aren't immune to being torn out and sealed elsewhere whenever Kris has the opportunity.
* {{MacGuffin}}: The only thing that can seal a Dark Fountain is a human SOUL. Because Kris is Hometown's TokenHuman, they're the only person with it.
* MagicallyBindingContract: The terms and conditions before booting Chapter 1 only say, "YOU ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FROM NOW ON". Start playing, and the game proceeds to demonstrate how little your decisions matter during its opening sequences.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: If the Player makes a choice that goes contrary to the Weird Route's prerequisites, the game accompanies it with a cheerful jingle as if expressing relief. This alerts you to what the mistake was, allowing you to reset to a previous state if you didn't mean to abandon the run.
* MindRape: The player is a corrupting, abusive mental influence on Noelle in the Weird Route, and may even be outside of it.
* MustMakeAmends:
** When trying for a different playthrough, a player could attempt a pacifist outcome after seeing the circumstances of the violent end for Chapter 1 and the low-recruitment epilogue for Chapter 2.
** A player may choose to willingly abort the Weird Route of Chapter 2, with the option of either continuing with a normal run from where they left off or resetting to before the chapter's diverging point.
* NominalHero: A more neutral run less focused on recruitments, while avoiding the sadism of the Weird Route, lets you guide the trio to their end goal of sealing every Fountain with a much less heroic slant.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: While Ralsei refers to the SOUL as the manifestation of Kris's being, it is also responsible for damage the rest of the party can take. It can also influence other members like Susie and Noelle (to varying degrees of success), gets removed and placed back into Kris's body at their will, and is the key to sealing the Dark Fountains away. The most distinctive thing about the SOUL, however, is its nature as an entity ''separate'' from the body it inhabits. Being the Player's method of interacting with the world, it comes with its own modes without prompting from Kris and is able to alter the story with limited control through the Weird Route, much to Ralsei's brief shock.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: The SOUL's actions don't line up with Kris's, such as being terrible at the piano when Kris is a great player, or talking and being more sociable while under the SOUL's control. Several characters comment about it, [[ItsProbablyNothing but don't take it seriously]]. The Weird Route of Chapter 2 makes Noelle realize that something is ''seriously off'' about Kris and that nobody seems to notice, and the fact that "Kris" has been manipulating her into doing horrible things with a terrifying voice that isn't theirs ''does'' make her take it seriously.
* OutsideContextProblem: The SOUL has abilities almost none of the other characters have for themselves, such as the Yellow "shoot 'em up" mode and the ability to SAVE. The first file you use actually ''overwrites Kris's'', and Ralsei [[AntiPoopSocking suggests you SAVE to take a break]] at the epilogue of Chapter 2, but nobody else is ever seen using it.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: You have the option to order the beatdown of the more aggressive enemies, such as the holders of the Shadow Crystals. In the Weird Route, Spamton intends to get revenge on Kris for trying to seal the Fountain just when he's managed to take over Cyber World, and you in turn have to defeat him by summoning Noelle to finish him off.
* PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration: A combination of different variations of this.
** The SOUL takes the role of an '''Advisor''' to Kris, who had their own personality, life and free will until the start of the game. With its possession, they influence how Kris must act in situations, even if they do not enjoy said choices, as is the case with throwing away the Ball of Junk.
** Both Kris and the Soul [[HeroicMime do not speak in the text boxes]], and actions and the overall story are rather fixed. The ways that Kris can act and communicate carry an implication of their personality. Kris's personality in certain scenarios is usually up to player interpretation.
** The player has a direct role in the story, being the '''Controller''' of the SOUL that is in turn possessing Kris. Kris is aware of this and, in the Chapter epilogues, removes the SOUL in order to act on their own.
** The SOUL itself is a '''FeaturelessProtagonist''', while Kris is effectively a Deconstruction by having their own lives beforehand. Checking the mirror in Chapter 2 reinforces the idea that '''You Are You''', since the FlavorText claims the reflection is simply "What they call 'you'".
** There is also a subversion of '''AnAdventurerIsYou''', as the character creation is immediately rendered void to be replaced with Kris. The element of a KarmaMeter is also downplayed, yet still retains a part in the story.
* PowersThatBe: The forces behind the game have removed your ability to make meaningful, impactful choices in ''Deltarune'''s universe. In turn, the SOUL is also a "power" in this universe, being a possessing force that guides the heroes on their journey. You may not be that almighty, however, given that Kris can remove you from their body, albeit with some struggling.
* PreferableImpersonator: Though many characters notice Kris's change in attitude when under the SOUL's control, from their perspective Kris is [[TookALevelInKindness suddenly more kind and personable]], so they don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Toriel makes many mentions in Chapter 2 that she's amazed Kris has spent a whole day with a friend.
* ReadingAheadInTheScript: In a meta sense, this is how one can describe the Player looking through the files of the game. Pulling things like the Weird Route off could have been discovered and executed after paying attention to the very specific actions you'd need to take, with almost no in-game indication of its existence. The game accounts for this, since there are a handful of messages intended for dataminers, and this lets you connect the dots between the "UNUSED" dialogue lines with the "FEAR" message at Spamton's shop that was apparently trying to "TALK TO [[AmbiguousSyntax YOU]]".
* RealityWarper: {{Downplayed}}. Being a representation of the player, they exist in a different context than the rest of the characters, which allows them to do stuff like hear characters' {{Inner Monologue}}s without their knowledge.
** Aside from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s Data Manipulation, your TimeMaster powers are [[AdaptationalBadass greatly increased]]: Now you have ''three'' timelines at your disposal and you can not only Reset but also Overwrite and even [[TimeCrash Erase]] them. Keep in mind for the last one that Chara needed LV 20 to do something like that.
** In Chapter 2, they take it a step further by trying to actively ''interfere'' with the game world in ways that shouldn't involve them, such as making Kris ''reply'' to Noelle's {{Inner Monologue}}s and steering her out of her intended story path, as well trying to control Susie via a DialogueTree when she's having a private conversation with Noelle. Just like with Susie's prison sequence in Chapter 1, the latter fails, as Susie completely ignores the player's selected input, suggesting that the SOUL cannot easily interfere with the story without using [[DecoyProtagonist Kris]] as an intermediary.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Whatever is going on in the world of ''Deltarune'', the SOUL can say anachronistic things to Sans and Undyne that only make sense to ''Undertale'' players, such as greeting Sans like an old friend when you're meeting for the first time, or mentioning Alphys to Undyne when they've never met. An even more significant example is the SOUL using abilities from ''Undertale'' without being prompted, such as turning yellow during the fight with Spamton NEO.
* SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan: For whatever reason, even with the reveals that you are not Kris and that Kris has enough agency to remove you, the SOUL seems to be bound to Kris's body and cannot inhabit any other character, along with being unable to directly influence Kris into going too far from their true character (whatever that "true character" even is). While at first it seems like a SealedGoodInACan situation where you can't do much about the AmbiguouslyEvil Kris's actions after they [[AndShowItToYou rip you out]] and shove you in a cage, Chapter Two reveals you are equally capable of good and [[SealedEvilInACan evil]], with Kris themself expressing increasing frustration at the SOUL possessing them and seems to [[EveryoneHasStandards get unnerved]] by you taking agency to do something genuinely evil like [[CorruptTheCutie corrupting Noelle]].
* SentientPhlebotinum: It's a SOUL after all, specifically the player's. It can influence or if left loose outright brainwash those under its sway.
* ShadowArchetype: Their choices are controlled by a higher power... just like how they control the choices of Kris.
* ShipperOnDeck:
** The SOUL can force Kris to pursue relationships with any one (or all) of the other party members. If curious, the SOUL will learn through cross-examination of multiple choice questions and party member flavoured-tea, Kris seems to favor Susie. Picking either Ralsei or Noelle when asked by Susie who Kris would take to the festival at the end of Chapter 2 will result in Susie noting Kris gave their [[ThatCameOutWrong answer in a confused tone of voice]], and if you choose nobody Susie complains about Kris staring at her.
** Given a dark turn in the Weird route, in which the player makes Kris call Noelle something "more" than a friend and Spamton in turn will call Noelle Kris' [[SlutShaming "hochi mama"]].
* SpacetimeEater: Three SAVE slots are available for you to duplicate, erase and transfer at your will, which is the equivalent to time manipulation in the logic of these universes. The VOICE hints that doing so is more than just messing with files.
* SpannerInTheWorks: After locking into the Weird Route, Ralsei will ask if Kris wants to think about what Susie's doing with Noelle, and the game refuses to give you the option to answer. Ralsei is caught off-guard, and tries to ask again, but Susie ends up returning anyway. Normally, he'd be fine even if Kris answered "no", but the fact that he couldn't even prompt the dialogue option surprises him.
-->'''Susie:''' Alright let's go!\\
'''Ralsei:''' H-huh? What!? W-wait [=--=] wait!? Wait, we were supposed to [=--=]
* SplitPersonalityTakeover: The SOUL serves as this for Kris, though thus far, the reasons why are unknown.
* StalkerWithACrush: The Snowgrave[=/=]Weird route has the SOUL force Kris to act as one towards Noelle, demanding Noelle ride the Ferris Wheel with them, having Kris declare that Noelle is something other than their friend, and forcing Noelle to wear rings, while Spamton NEO makes disparaging comments calling Noelle a "Hochi Mama" and "Side Chick" to Kris.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Chapter 2 introduces recruitment, where electing to fight enemies instead of befriending them will lose access to their spot in Castle Town, but "make you stronger". It allows you to level-grind Noelle through the violent Weird Route, giving her access to its exclusive Thorn Ring to cast even stronger spells.
* SupportingProtagonist: You are not Kris, who everyone focuses on as the protagonist and leader of the Three Heroes, but rather the SOUL inside Kris that lets the trio get as far as they do with none the wiser. Interestingly enough, this lets you follow Susie's perspective momentarily rather than sticking to only Kris all the time like with Frisk in ''Undertale''.
* SymbioticPossession: You influence specific individuals in-game, this time a whole party instead of just one individual (to the point of following Susie when she's separated from Kris). However, your influence this time is more limited and fundamentally beneficial. Susie only seems vaguely guided by the player. Kris is far more susceptible to your control, but starts acting on their own (by defending Susie in a cutscene) more readily than Frisk did.[[note]]Kris also outright rebels against you in the end of Chapter 1, but that may be the result of ''someone/something else'' [[DemonicPossession possessing them]].[[/note]] Most significantly, you ''cannot'' make any of them but the ExtremeDoormat Noelle kill people.
* TechnicalPacifist: Certain strategies may even use [=FIGHTing=] as buildup to sparing enemies, such as attacking the barriers Queen sets up. There's also the Yellow "[[UnexpectedGameplayChange shoot 'em up]]" mode that lets you counter Spamton's attacks without directly hurting him to increase his spare gauge.
* TimeMaster: This time around, you have access to three save slots that you can choose to duplicate, erase, and bring to the next chapter with ease. It's implied by the VOICE, in the menu before Chapter 1's completion, that there's more to simply copying data, such as when they say "PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE" if you chose to make every file the same.
* TomTheDarkLord: An entity akin to the VOICE that has the option to either help save the world or corrupt it, named after anything you might go by. It's especially the case when going down the Weird Route.
* TheUnfettered:
** A player [[HundredPercentCompletion trying to find anything and everything]] the world of ''Deltarune'' has to offer will inevitably risk the safety and will of the Delta Warriors.
** Whether it's to get a chance at experiencing freedom in a world where "your choices don't matter", or simply because they [[ItAmusedMe wanted to see what would happen if they followed it]], the SOUL executing the Weird Route classifies them as this. It's enough for Spamton to start drawing parallels with his own views by psychologically projecting his feelings onto Kris.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset: It's through your presence that the heroes are able to make decisions, take and avoid damage in battle, and seal the Dark Fountains away, the accompanying soundtrack for the last one fittingly titled, "YOUR POWER".
* UnwittingPawn: It's ''painfully'' obvious that you're being manipulated by several parties, but since we don't know what's going on and the game employs almost constant {{Railroading}}, there's really not much choice except let everyone and their mother put you on strings and hope for the best.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: You are the guiding force that is meant to direct and help the heroes on their journey, and although it's stated that you can't help by much, you still have opportunities to make your presence count.
** Through trial and error, you can assess the dialogue and actions Kris would prefer to take in order to make them seem more in-character, or at the very least avoid putting strain on them with actions that go against their will. There's no real benefit to this besides [[ThrowTheDogABone letting Kris be themself]] while you're still in control.
** As Kris normally isn't too sociable or nice themself, you can make them act much kinder during your adventures in the Dark World and across town.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Along the way, you can also use your rather limited influence to cause the cast pain and trouble, with Kris's treatment being foremost. Then there's the role and character the player portrays during the Weird Route.
* WickedHeartSymbol: If taking a more violent approach and[=/=]or willing to go down the Weird Route, the SOUL assumes a more villainous role while keeping the simple form of a floating heart.
* YouBastard: During the Weird Route of Chapter 2, ''nobody'' is happy with the events caused by the Player's manipulation, as the narration always makes sure to distinguish the difference between Kris's voice and yours. Ralsei becomes shocked over what is "supposed to" happen, and even ''Kris'' becomes concerned with what the Player's doing, judging from their facial expression that Ralsei reads. This, as well as Spamton NEO's dialogue at Kris, avoids calling the Player out as an entity, [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall but still manages to shame them indirectly]].
* YouCantFightFate: After finishing your Vessel, the game renders your choices void, tells you "nobody can choose who they are in this world", and puts you into Kris's role instead. This continues with superficial dialogue choices and the same outcome with different events during Chapter 1. The Weird Route of Chapter 2 allows the Player to Defy this, catching Ralsei by surprise at one point. However, this is primarily achieved through gaslighting Noelle through her connection to [[AndIMustScream Kris]] and [[ExtremeDoormat natural submissiveness]] and goading Noelle on until she starts causing lethal injuries against opponents, massively spirling events OffTheRails as a result. [[ExactWords The Soul's choices don't matter]], but through [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating others]] with Kris as an intermediary, [[LoopholeAbuse it can goad them into making decisions that do]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Voice]]
!!██████
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voice.png]]
[[caption-width-right:168:'''I HAVE SOMETHING. SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU. SOMETHING I THINK YOU WILL FIND''' '''''[[CallBack VERY, VERY INTERESTING.]]''''']]
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during the [[CharacterCustomization opening]][[note]]"gonermaker" in the game files[[/note]], and the one who revealed ''Deltarune'' to the public. They will also host the file select screen if the game is closed and reopened during Chapter 1, but otherwise is completely absent from the game after the opening sequence. Everything presently known about them is littered with similarities to '''W.D. Gaster''', the [[RetGone erased character]] from ''Undertale'', although given [[SecretIdentity they never bothered to properly introduce themself]], [[RiddleForTheAges who can say...]]
----
* AddressingThePlayer: Though you seemingly control Kris, you're really controlling the SOUL, which acts as the player's stand-in.
* AllLovingHero: A compassionate playthrough of the game results in this, which tends to run counter to Kris's mischievous and moody normal self.
* AlmightyIdiot:
** Lured by whatever the mysterious VOICE was offering at the start of the game, you are told that you have no ability to make meaningful choices and denied your vessel. The SOUL is instead cast into Kris, and you are stuck with the game's established outcomes. On top of that, Kris can remove the SOUL from their body at certain moments.
** Chapter 2 offers you the chance to take actions guaranteed to shake up the story, but you need to lack the moral restraint against [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential doing depraved stuff]] like {{gaslighting}} and ''cold-blooded murder'' to follow the requirements. When Spamton projects onto Kris, he compares the situation to how he "LOST IT" when he "TRIED TO SEE TOO FAR."
* AmbiguouslyEvil: Like ''Undertale'', ''Deltarune'' questions the player's morality by scrutinizing how the player treats the beings of a world when free of apparent consequences. In Chapter 1, although the game [[{{Railroading}} railroads]] you away from meaningful choices, there are times when the player may fail to consider how uncomfortable Kris might feel when made to act certain ways. Still, [[InnocentlyInsensitive it (usually) isn't out of malice and can only be deduced after the fact]]. The game downplays its moral significance by claiming to have only one ending, but it puts the player in the uncommon scenario in which [[MeatPuppet the vessel the player inhabits is alive]] and aware of what the player does. The player's potential for kindness and cruelty is therefore put to the test. Chapter 2, more like the Genocide Route in ''Undertale'', gives the player the [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential ability to make extremely significant moral choices]].
* AmbiguousSyntax: Checking the reflection in the Dreemurr household changes from "it's only you" (in Chapter 1) to "it's what ''they'' call ''you''" (in Chapter 2), emphasizing the nature of your control over Kris. This can make it difficult to tell [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou who's truly being addressed]] during dialogue with characters that [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits give tutorials]] and [[MediumAwareness reference the nature of the game]].
* AntiAntiChrist: After making "CONTACT" with the VOICE (whose ID for printing their dialogue is [[NumberOfTheBeast 666 during the Vessel creation and 667 on the Game Over screen]]), the SOUL enters Kris's body [[SymbioticPossession to use Kris as a vessel]]. Despite being LovecraftLite, the SOUL can be a force for good and help the heroes in their journey to finally banish "The Angel's Heaven."
* TheAntichrist: The SOUL essentially becomes this in the Weird Route of Chapter 2. There, the SOUL [[CompellingVoice manipulates]] Noelle, through her trust in Kris, into becoming a living weapon. Thanks to the alterations from the normal route, by the time the Fountain is sealed, Susie will comment that it doesn't feel like she and the others are heroes.
* AntiHero: The SOUL can be anywhere on the spectrum the player chooses. It can be a KnightInSourArmor, who constantly makes Kris be a bit of a jerk but still recruits Darkners, or an outright NominalHero who constantly beats the snot out of Darkners and treats their companions like dirt.
* AxCrazy: If the SOUL so chooses, and fully realized on the Weird route of Chapter 2, though you are much more on the ManipulativeBastard and {{Sadist}} side of things. Manipulating and {{Gaslighting}} Noelle into doing the actual violence for you.
* BigBad: If the SOUL so chooses, and fully realized on the Weird route of Chapter 2, where the SOUL can make Kris do terrible things to Noelle including gaslighting, mental abuse, and eventually attacking Berdly. The outcome leaves her deeply traumatized and Berdly possibly dead, and the game heavily implies that even Kris is disturbed by what the SOUL made them do. This is reinforced by the chapter villains, as Queen more or less ceases to be the villain as nothing she did could even hope to compare and the King from Chapter 1 openly expresses disgust for your actions.
* BigGood: If the SOUL so chooses, they can make Kris engage with and befriend others they wouldn't normally. While this [[SoProudOfYou delights their monster mother]] Toriel, the townsfolk who've known the human [[ThePrankster since childhood]] immediately pick up on the fact [[OutOfCharacterAlert that something's suspicious]] about their actions.
* BloodKnight: Seam tells you that taking on [[{{Superboss}} the Holders of the Shadow Crystals]] means facing enemies far stronger than the common foes you'll come across on the adventure, which is nothing but enticing to players looking for a challenge.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The choices you make while controlling the party or going through the game's menus might baffle the world's inhabitants or intrigue the VOICE respectively. The latter finds your behavior interesting if you constantly copy the same files over and over, or if you repeatedly "threaten" to erase a file and cancel the effort several times.
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: It's hard to call the SOUL using Kris as their vessel anything but mind control, as Kris is aware of and displeased with their influence. However, outside of the Weird Route, that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing. Kris on their own may be unwilling or unable to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] from the Dark Fountains -- [[AmbiguouslyEvil or even actively planning something equally dangerous]]. On a more personal level, one could point to how the SOUL has forced Kris to be more social and lead them to making friends they themself actually care about (Susie especially).
* ButThouMust: Enforced. The greater forces at large have stripped you of meaningful choices, and thus you must abide by whatever occurs. The Weird route gives you the opportunity to weasel out of this situation...[[VillainProtagonist by manipulating events to turn for the worse]].
* CompellingVoice: Implied to be how the SOUL commands the other characters by using Kris as a proxy. Susie has to go out of her way to add a global Action to hers and Ralsei's menus and Noelle states she can still hear a voice ordering her even if Kris is knocked out during the evil version of their fight against Berdly. It is specifically noted it isn't Kris's voice telling her to fight throughout the chapter.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: For a Player taking the Weird Route. While the Anomaly of a Genocide Route was welcomed as a "[[BigBadDuumvirate partner]]" by Chara, who will wonder if they believe they are above the consequences of their actions and [[DealWithTheDevil tries to oppose this by tainting future playthroughs]], the SOUL of a Weird Route takes advantage of the ''lack'' of consequences to do as they please, and already had their control somewhat-opposed by Kris ''before'' the route.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: In ''Undertale'', it is much more ambiguous as to whether The Player is an in-universe character that controls Frisk like a puppet. ''Deltarune'' wastes no time establishing early on that the Player is a separate entity from Kris, that the SOUL is in your direct control as a result, and that Kris is not at all at ease about the situation.
* ControllableHelplessness:
** Once Kris throws the SOUL into the cage in TheStinger of Chapter 1, you can still move inside of it, but you can't escape.
** Once Kris runs the tap in the bathroom in the ending of Chapter 2, you can shake their body around for a second before they kneel and manage to rip the SOUL out.
* TheCorrupter: A hidden route on Chapter 2 reveals that Kris isn't the only person the SOUL can influence. It can also command party members like Noelle, with ''much'' darker results.
* TheCorruption: While Spamton provides the means through the Thorn Ring, it is only through the Player's urging and planning that Noelle gains the will and strength to kill. Every SAVE point comments how both Kris and Noelle are feeling power, and even after returning to Castle Town, the SAVE point claims you can still feel it "in your hands".
* CosmicPlaything: From the setup for Chapter 1's demo, the terms and conditions require you to "ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FROM NOW ON". By agreeing to play the game, it's repeated that you can't make decisions to radically shift the story beyond slight differences. The Weird Route subverts this in the worst way possible.
* CreativeSterility: You cannot make Kris play the piano via controlling the SOUL.
* CuriosityIsACrapshoot:
** You may have a purpose for trying to exhaust all the possible choices and interactions, but it doesn't make sense to the world's in-game inhabitants. Repeatedly flushing the toilet or switching between entering and exiting the house will result in Toriel asking if Kris is feeling okay.
** Reaching the {{superboss}} of Chapter 2 requires following the advice of a TreacherousQuestgiver, and from Susie and Ralsei's perspective, it's just Kris deliberately getting themself into danger for little reason.
* {{Egopolis}}: Ralsei's Castle Town is named after whatever you put as the "Creator's" name in the opening sequence.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Kris doesn't have any supernatural or magical elements of their own as a human, yet thanks to your control, will get access to the Yellow SOUL shooter mode to fight Spamton.
* EnemyWithin: During the SOUL's possession.
** Inverted with a [[TheConscience pacifistic SOUL]], whose moral and kinder tendencies guide a mischievous Kris into a [[KnightInShiningArmor more heroic archetype]]. Played Straight in the Weird Route as they become an outright demonic influence on Kris and Noelle, forcing the former to abuse their childhood friend and ordering the latter to kill their classmate, Berdly. If Kris runs out of HP, Noelle will refuse to escape with Berdly since [[HearingVoices she can still hear the commands]], and after every turn, Kris ''immediately'' gets back up.
** From Kris's end, it's ZigZagged, in the general sense that they're "enemies" due to the difficulties of SharingABody. When the SOUL is more in control during possession, Kris may show disagreement with their decisions by using monotonous delivery or body language to convey what they really feel and mean to others. But as creepy and [[LackOfEmpathy inconsiderate]] as Kris can get, their actions without the SOUL's influence haven't been shown to be completely harmful to others.
* EnemyWithout: Whenever Kris manages to tear the SOUL out.
** Kris has their own goals separate from the SOUL's agenda and always deems it necessary to forcibly retake control over their body to accomplish them. Whether it's to [[PokeThePoodle simply hoard their mom's pie to themself]] or to slash the tires on her car and create a new Dark Fountain in the house, they want to avoid risking interference from possession.
** Inverted with a kinder SOUL. They are responsible for pacifist runs and can force Kris to act more personable and talkative than usual, something Kris detests at times. Downplayed if the Player executes the Weird Route; though they grant Noelle fatal spells, dramatically alter the events of the story and unnerve Kris, they are still susceptible to getting torn out and [[ControllableHelplessness are not physically capable enough]] to cause further harm with such an abstract form.
* EvilAllAlong: Taking the [=SnowGrave=] route in Chapter 2 recontextualizes the SOUL's actions in the rest of the game from benevolent to seemingly biding its time until it can affect things in a truly malicious manner.
* EvilFeelsGood: Spamton NEO's rant in the Weird Route [[InvokedTrope accuses them as experiencing this]], giving into their worst impulses and resorting to corrupting Noelle so they can experience a taste of freedom. The game gives opportunities for the SOUL to rub salt into the wound by [[KickTheDog intimidating Noelle when she's visiting her father in the hospital]], in the event where this is well and truly the case for the Player.
* ExactWords: The game's first chapter makes it clear that your choices do not and will not matter, never changing the outcome in any meaningful way. By Chapter 2, however, there is a way to change the context of the story's events in a much more significant manner, with ''Noelle's'' choices being the key. Your decisions may not matter, but everyone else's will.
* ExpendableAlternateUniverse:
** With multiple SAVE slots, consequences between different storylines never need to bleed into each other, allowing you to follow a Pacifist run in one file, a low-recruitment playthrough in another, and even relegating the Weird Route to its own slot without fear of it affecting another game. The VOICE practically encourages this, saying "PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE" upon making every file identical before completing Chapter 1.
** An Inverted case happens with the Shadow Crystals. If you defeated them in one file but did not in another, you can still get their Crystals just outside of Castle Town in the hole to the left after finishing their chapter, [[PlayerNudge at Seam's suggestion]]. You only need to fight them in one SAVE file to get their PlotCoupon and rewarded equipment, the latter matching the Pacifist or violent outcome.
* FaustianRebellion: The Weird Route of Chapter 2 is implicitly portrayed as this.
** The Player is granted access to ''Deltarune'' through cooperation with the VOICE, who has [[NumberOfTheBeast some demonic themes]] and expresses great hope for "CREATING A NEW FUTURE WITH YOU", after depriving them of the ability to make meaningful choices. The SOUL, in turn, has the opportunity to make the most out of the limited possession they have over Kris and their friends, following a series of events that shift the story into an altered direction.
** Spamton [[SatanicArchetype takes on a manipulative and complicit role]] as he [[DealWithTheDevil offers to make Noelle stronger]] with the painful Thorn Ring. In exchange, the story takes an off-putting turn as Queen's mansion is overrun by him. The SOUL is prevented from sealing the Fountain by Spamton NEO as a consequence for executing the route, who is reveling in his control over Cyber World and intends to punish Kris for trying to put a stop to it. Despite his power, the Player's will overrides his ambitions by ordering Noelle to make quick work of him.
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Exaggerated. You only input your name while the most visual basis you get is the red SOUL, which has no face, gender or backstory.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Since Kris and Ralsei are still in the jail cell while Susie and Lancer fight, the SOUL flies from the upper right corner of the screen where the cell is whenever it's Lancer's turn.
* GoodIsNotNice: Even if you purposefully avoid becoming a VillainProtagonist via the Weird Route, you can still treat characters pretty roughly, influencing the heroes into beating the crap out of everyone and making Kris in particular do things they dislike.
* TheHeart: [[ShapedLikeItself Duh]]. The SOUL is the one that keeps the Three Heroes together where Ralsei falters, and helps lead the team through Kris. More literally, the SOUL is the one that has to evade the spells and attacks of enemies, for if it gets hit, the targeted party member(s) take damage.
* HeartBeatDown: Of course what the human SOUL [[ShapedLikeItself takes the shape of]], and as Chapter 2's {{Superboss}} battle shows, has at least some its own unique modes.
* HelloInsertNameHere: The real name you give as the creator of the discarded "vessel" from the intro overwrites Kris's save file with yours. The game makes it clear from the start that the SOUL is meant to be your personal role, for better or worse.
* HijackingCthulhu: Kris occasionally has chances to defy the player's demands, and even rarer, moments where they can tear the SOUL right out of their body to act on their own.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: The potential harm you can inflict on Noelle unnerves the normally-stoic and creepy Kris.
* HumansAreCthulhu: In your eyes, you're just controlling your designated PlayerCharacter and trying to find the {{Easter Egg}}s in a videogame. To the inhabitants of ''Deltarune'', you are an otherworldly being that made "contact" with the mysterious VOICE and was summoned to its universe, taking form by ''[[DemonicPossession possessing]]'' Kris, seemingly against their will, so they can face off against terrifying {{Superboss}}es in the Dark World.
* ImmortalityHurts: With the ability to SAVE and return to certain points, you're able to retry bosses and areas that were tough enough to drain your party's HP. Getting ''past'' them is another matter entirely.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Even if you don't go out of your way to be malicious, the player is likely to compel Kris to act in discomforting ways. Your ability to tell what Kris wants is limited mostly to indirect signs visible after the fact. The conventions of video games leads one to take your control over Kris at face value and never consider their feelings at all. In particular, completing Spamton's sidequest will have you taking many bizarre actions Susie calls out as foolish, ignore signs Kris is afraid of Spamton, and end up traumatizing the kid by forcing them to face the chapter's {{superboss}} -- all just to see more of the game and collect an object of completely unknown use.
* KickTheDog:
** They can take the Manual from Ralsei and the Bouquet from Asgore and toss them from their inventory.
*** In the Manual's case, Ralsei tries to put it back in your inventory the first time, thinking it was an accident. After the successful second time, he just apologizes meekly and promises to make a better one.
*** Tossing the Bouquet (which you can do in front of Asgore) might use the text, "You threw the X on the ground like the piece of trash that it is", one of the usual phrases that can accompany the throwing away of any other item in the game.
---->* You threw the Bouquet on the ground like the piece of trash that it is.
** In the Chapter 2 Hometown Epilogue, if you went down the Weird Route, you have the option to visit Noelle at the hospital and reveal that it wasn't actually a dream. It can get worse if Kris is ordered to move closer, or if they confront her while equipped with her watch, further rubbing salt into the wound.
* KnightOfCerebus: The SOUL becomes this in the Weird Route during Chapter 2, showing how dark of a path (that's even worse than the Genocide route in Undertale) the player can potentially take by emotionally manipulating Noelle to become a living weapon, killing everyone she comes across, including Berdly. All of the humor and lightheartedness in Chapter 2 is sucked dry when the SOUL manipulates both Kris and Noelle into this particular route.
* LovecraftLite: The SOUL is a difficult concept for ''Deltarune''[='s=] inhabitants to study and grasp according to one of the library books, and while able to warp the storyline into something else with the Weird Route, the SOUL has just as much potential to guide the heroes to [[GoldenEnding the best outcomes possible]]. They also aren't immune to being torn out and sealed elsewhere whenever Kris has the opportunity.
* {{MacGuffin}}: The only thing that can seal a Dark Fountain is a human SOUL. Because Kris is Hometown's TokenHuman, they're the only person with it.
* MagicallyBindingContract: The terms and conditions before booting Chapter 1 only say, "YOU ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FROM NOW ON". Start playing, and the game proceeds to demonstrate how little your decisions matter during its opening sequences.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: If the Player makes a choice that goes contrary to the Weird Route's prerequisites, the game accompanies it with a cheerful jingle as if expressing relief. This alerts you to what the mistake was, allowing you to reset to a previous state if you didn't mean to abandon the run.
* MindRape: The player is a corrupting, abusive mental influence on Noelle in the Weird Route, and may even be outside of it.
* MustMakeAmends:
** When trying for a different playthrough, a player could attempt a pacifist outcome after seeing the circumstances of the violent end for Chapter 1 and the low-recruitment epilogue for Chapter 2.
** A player may choose to willingly abort the Weird Route of Chapter 2, with the option of either continuing with a normal run from where they left off or resetting to before the chapter's diverging point.
* NominalHero: A more neutral run less focused on recruitments, while avoiding the sadism of the Weird Route, lets you guide the trio to their end goal of sealing every Fountain with a much less heroic slant.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: While Ralsei refers to the SOUL as the manifestation of Kris's being, it is also responsible for damage the rest of the party can take. It can also influence other members like Susie and Noelle (to varying degrees of success), gets removed and placed back into Kris's body at their will, and is the key to sealing the Dark Fountains away. The most distinctive thing about the SOUL, however, is its nature as an entity ''separate'' from the body it inhabits. Being the Player's method of interacting with the world, it comes with its own modes without prompting from Kris and is able to alter the story with limited control through the Weird Route, much to Ralsei's brief shock.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: The SOUL's actions don't line up with Kris's, such as being terrible at the piano when Kris is a great player, or talking and being more sociable while under the SOUL's control. Several characters comment about it, [[ItsProbablyNothing but don't take it seriously]]. The Weird Route of Chapter 2 makes Noelle realize that something is ''seriously off'' about Kris and that nobody seems to notice, and the fact that "Kris" has been manipulating her into doing horrible things with a terrifying voice that isn't theirs ''does'' make her take it seriously.
* OutsideContextProblem: The SOUL has abilities almost none of the other characters have for themselves, such as the Yellow "shoot 'em up" mode and the ability to SAVE. The first file you use actually ''overwrites Kris's'', and Ralsei [[AntiPoopSocking suggests you SAVE to take a break]] at the epilogue of Chapter 2, but nobody else is ever seen using it.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: You have the option to order the beatdown of the more aggressive enemies, such as the holders of the Shadow Crystals. In the Weird Route, Spamton intends to get revenge on Kris for trying to seal the Fountain just when he's managed to take over Cyber World, and you in turn have to defeat him by summoning Noelle to finish him off.
* PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration: A combination of different variations of this.
** The SOUL takes the role of an '''Advisor''' to Kris, who had their own personality, life and free will until the start of the game. With its possession, they influence how Kris must act in situations, even if they do not enjoy said choices, as is the case with throwing away the Ball of Junk.
** Both Kris and the Soul [[HeroicMime do not speak in the text boxes]], and actions and the overall story are rather fixed. The ways that Kris can act and communicate carry an implication of their personality. Kris's personality in certain scenarios is usually up to player interpretation.
** The player has a direct role in the story, being the '''Controller''' of the SOUL that is in turn possessing Kris. Kris is aware of this and, in the Chapter epilogues, removes the SOUL in order to act on their own.
** The SOUL itself is a '''FeaturelessProtagonist''', while Kris is effectively a Deconstruction by having their own lives beforehand. Checking the mirror in Chapter 2 reinforces the idea that '''You Are You''', since the FlavorText claims the reflection is simply "What they call 'you'".
** There is also a subversion of '''AnAdventurerIsYou''', as the character creation is immediately rendered void to be replaced with Kris. The element of a KarmaMeter is also downplayed, yet still retains a part in the story.
* PowersThatBe: The forces behind the game have removed your ability to make meaningful, impactful choices in ''Deltarune'''s universe. In turn, the SOUL is also a "power" in this universe, being a possessing force that guides the heroes on their journey. You may not be that almighty, however, given that Kris can remove you from their body, albeit with some struggling.
* PreferableImpersonator: Though many characters notice Kris's change in attitude when under the SOUL's control, from their perspective Kris is [[TookALevelInKindness suddenly more kind and personable]], so they don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Toriel makes many mentions in Chapter 2 that she's amazed Kris has spent a whole day with a friend.
* ReadingAheadInTheScript: In a meta sense, this is how one can describe the Player looking through the files of the game. Pulling things like the Weird Route off could have been discovered and executed after paying attention to the very specific actions you'd need to take, with almost no in-game indication of its existence. The game accounts for this, since there are a handful of messages intended for dataminers, and this lets you connect the dots between the "UNUSED" dialogue lines with the "FEAR" message at Spamton's shop that was apparently trying to "TALK TO [[AmbiguousSyntax YOU]]".
* RealityWarper: {{Downplayed}}. Being a representation of the player, they exist in a different context than the rest of the characters, which allows them to do stuff like hear characters' {{Inner Monologue}}s without their knowledge.
** Aside from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s Data Manipulation, your TimeMaster powers are [[AdaptationalBadass greatly increased]]: Now you have ''three'' timelines at your disposal and you can not only Reset but also Overwrite and even [[TimeCrash Erase]] them. Keep in mind for the last one that Chara needed LV 20 to do something like that.
** In Chapter 2, they take it a step further by trying to actively ''interfere'' with the game world in ways that shouldn't involve them, such as making Kris ''reply'' to Noelle's {{Inner Monologue}}s and steering her out of her intended story path, as well trying to control Susie via a DialogueTree when she's having a private conversation with Noelle. Just like with Susie's prison sequence in Chapter 1, the latter fails, as Susie completely ignores the player's selected input, suggesting that the SOUL cannot easily interfere with the story without using [[DecoyProtagonist Kris]] as an intermediary.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Whatever is going on in the world of ''Deltarune'', the SOUL can say anachronistic things to Sans and Undyne that only make sense to ''Undertale'' players, such as greeting Sans like an old friend when you're meeting for the first time, or mentioning Alphys to Undyne when they've never met. An even more significant example is the SOUL using abilities from ''Undertale'' without being prompted, such as turning yellow during the fight with Spamton NEO.
* SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan: For whatever reason, even with the reveals that you are not Kris and that Kris has enough agency to remove you, the SOUL seems to be bound to Kris's body and cannot inhabit any other character, along with being unable to directly influence Kris into going too far from their true character (whatever that "true character" even is). While at first it seems like a SealedGoodInACan situation where you can't do much about the AmbiguouslyEvil Kris's actions after they [[AndShowItToYou rip you out]] and shove you in a cage, Chapter Two reveals you are equally capable of good and [[SealedEvilInACan evil]], with Kris themself expressing increasing frustration at the SOUL possessing them and seems to [[EveryoneHasStandards get unnerved]] by you taking agency to do something genuinely evil like [[CorruptTheCutie corrupting Noelle]].
* SentientPhlebotinum: It's a SOUL after all, specifically the player's. It can influence or if left loose outright brainwash those under its sway.
* ShadowArchetype: Their choices are controlled by a higher power... just like how they control the choices of Kris.
* ShipperOnDeck:
** The SOUL can force Kris to pursue relationships with any one (or all) of the other party members. If curious, the SOUL will learn through cross-examination of multiple choice questions and party member flavoured-tea, Kris seems to favor Susie. Picking either Ralsei or Noelle when asked by Susie who Kris would take to the festival at the end of Chapter 2 will result in Susie noting Kris gave their [[ThatCameOutWrong answer in a confused tone of voice]], and if you choose nobody Susie complains about Kris staring at her.
** Given a dark turn in the Weird route, in which the player makes Kris call Noelle something "more" than a friend and Spamton in turn will call Noelle Kris' [[SlutShaming "hochi mama"]].
* SpacetimeEater: Three SAVE slots are available for you to duplicate, erase and transfer at your will, which is the equivalent to time manipulation in the logic of these universes. The VOICE hints that doing so is more than just messing with files.
* SpannerInTheWorks: After locking into the Weird Route, Ralsei will ask if Kris wants to think about what Susie's doing with Noelle, and the game refuses to give you the option to answer. Ralsei is caught off-guard, and tries to ask again, but Susie ends up returning anyway. Normally, he'd be fine even if Kris answered "no", but the fact that he couldn't even prompt the dialogue option surprises him.
-->'''Susie:''' Alright let's go!\\
'''Ralsei:''' H-huh? What!? W-wait [=--=] wait!? Wait, we were supposed to [=--=]
* SplitPersonalityTakeover: The SOUL serves as this for Kris, though thus far, the reasons why are unknown.
* StalkerWithACrush: The Snowgrave[=/=]Weird route has the SOUL force Kris to act as one towards Noelle, demanding Noelle ride the Ferris Wheel with them, having Kris declare that Noelle is something other than their friend, and forcing Noelle to wear rings, while Spamton NEO makes disparaging comments calling Noelle a "Hochi Mama" and "Side Chick" to Kris.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Chapter 2 introduces recruitment, where electing to fight enemies instead of befriending them will lose access to their spot in Castle Town, but "make you stronger". It allows you to level-grind Noelle through the violent Weird Route, giving her access to its exclusive Thorn Ring to cast even stronger spells.
* SupportingProtagonist: You are not Kris, who everyone focuses on as the protagonist and leader of the Three Heroes, but rather the SOUL inside Kris that lets the trio get as far as they do with none the wiser. Interestingly enough, this lets you follow Susie's perspective momentarily rather than sticking to only Kris all the time like with Frisk in ''Undertale''.
* SymbioticPossession: You influence specific individuals in-game, this time a whole party instead of just one individual (to the point of following Susie when she's separated from Kris). However, your influence this time is more limited and fundamentally beneficial. Susie only seems vaguely guided by the player. Kris is far more susceptible to your control, but starts acting on their own (by defending Susie in a cutscene) more readily than Frisk did.[[note]]Kris also outright rebels against you in the end of Chapter 1, but that may be the result of ''someone/something else'' [[DemonicPossession possessing them]].[[/note]] Most significantly, you ''cannot'' make any of them but the ExtremeDoormat Noelle kill people.
* TechnicalPacifist: Certain strategies may even use [=FIGHTing=] as buildup to sparing enemies, such as attacking the barriers Queen sets up. There's also the Yellow "[[UnexpectedGameplayChange shoot 'em up]]" mode that lets you counter Spamton's attacks without directly hurting him to increase his spare gauge.
* TimeMaster: This time around, you have access to three save slots that you can choose to duplicate, erase, and bring to the next chapter with ease. It's implied by the VOICE, in the menu before Chapter 1's completion, that there's more to simply copying data, such as when they say "PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE" if you chose to make every file the same.
* TomTheDarkLord: An entity akin to the VOICE that has the option to either help save the world or corrupt it, named after anything you might go by. It's especially the case when going down the Weird Route.
* TheUnfettered:
** A player [[HundredPercentCompletion trying to find anything and everything]] the world of ''Deltarune'' has to offer will inevitably risk the safety and will of the Delta Warriors.
** Whether it's to get a chance at experiencing freedom in a world where "your choices don't matter", or simply because they [[ItAmusedMe wanted to see what would happen if they followed it]], the SOUL executing the Weird Route classifies them as this. It's enough for Spamton to start drawing parallels with his own views by psychologically projecting his feelings onto Kris.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset: It's through your presence that the heroes are able to make decisions, take and avoid damage in battle, and seal the Dark Fountains away, the accompanying soundtrack for the last one fittingly titled, "YOUR POWER".
* UnwittingPawn: It's ''painfully'' obvious that you're being manipulated by several parties, but since we don't know what's going on and the game employs almost constant {{Railroading}}, there's really not much choice except let everyone and their mother put you on strings and hope for the best.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: You are the guiding force that is meant to direct and help the heroes on their journey, and although it's stated that you can't help by much, you still have opportunities to make your presence count.
** Through trial and error, you can assess the dialogue and actions Kris would prefer to take in order to make them seem more in-character, or at the very least avoid putting strain on them with actions that go against their will. There's no real benefit to this besides [[ThrowTheDogABone letting Kris be themself]] while you're still in control.
** As Kris normally isn't too sociable or nice themself, you can make them act much kinder during your adventures in the Dark World and across town.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Along the way, you can also use your rather limited influence to cause the cast pain and trouble, with Kris's treatment being foremost. Then there's the role and character the player portrays during the Weird Route.
* WickedHeartSymbol: If taking a more violent approach and[=/=]or willing to go down the Weird Route, the SOUL assumes a more villainous role while keeping the simple form of a floating heart.
* YouBastard: During the Weird Route of Chapter 2, ''nobody'' is happy with the events caused by the Player's manipulation, as the narration always makes sure to distinguish the difference between Kris's voice and yours. Ralsei becomes shocked over what is "supposed to" happen, and even ''Kris'' becomes concerned with what the Player's doing, judging from their facial expression that Ralsei reads. This, as well as Spamton NEO's dialogue at Kris, avoids calling the Player out as an entity, [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall but still manages to shame them indirectly]].
* YouCantFightFate: After finishing your Vessel, the game renders your choices void, tells you "nobody can choose who they are in this world", and puts you into Kris's role instead. This continues with superficial dialogue choices and the same outcome with different events during Chapter 1. The Weird Route of Chapter 2 allows the Player to Defy this, catching Ralsei by surprise at one point. However, this is primarily achieved through gaslighting Noelle through her connection to [[AndIMustScream Kris]] and [[ExtremeDoormat natural submissiveness]] and goading Noelle on until she starts causing lethal injuries against opponents, massively spirling events OffTheRails as a result. [[ExactWords The Soul's choices don't matter]], but through [[ManipulativeBastard manipulating others]] with Kris as an intermediary, [[LoopholeAbuse it can goad them into making decisions that do]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Voice]]
!!██████
[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/voice.png]]
[[caption-width-right:168:'''I HAVE SOMETHING. SOMETHING I WANT TO SHOW YOU. SOMETHING I THINK YOU WILL FIND''' '''''[[CallBack VERY, VERY INTERESTING.]]''''']]
The disembodied voice who speaks to you during the [[CharacterCustomization opening]][[note]]"gonermaker" in the game files[[/note]], and the one who revealed ''Deltarune'' to the public. They will also host the file select screen if the game is closed and reopened during Chapter 1, but otherwise is completely absent from the game after the opening sequence. Everything presently known about them is littered with similarities to '''W.D. Gaster''', the [[RetGone erased character]] from ''Undertale'', although given [[SecretIdentity they never bothered to properly introduce themself]], [[RiddleForTheAges who can say...]]
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!!CharacterSpecificPages
[[index]]
* '''[[Characters/DeltaruneKris The SOUL]]'''[[note]]As a subpage of their host[[/note]]
[[/index]]
[[index]]
* '''[[Characters/DeltaruneKris The SOUL]]'''[[note]]As a subpage of their host[[/note]]
[[/index]]
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[[Characters/DeltaruneTheThreeHeroes The Three Heroes]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneKris Kris]], [[Characters/DeltaruneSusie Susie]])\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneDarkners Darkners]]: [[Characters/DeltaruneCardKingdom Card Kingdom]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneCardCastleRoyalty Card Castle Royalty]]) | [[Characters/DeltaruneCyberWorld Cyber World]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneQueen Queen]], [[Characters/DeltaruneSpamton Spamton]])\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneLightners Lightners]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneNoelle Noelle]], [[Characters/DeltaruneBerdly Berdly]])\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneDarkners Darkners]]: [[Characters/DeltaruneCardKingdom Card Kingdom]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneCardCastleRoyalty Card Castle Royalty]]) | [[Characters/DeltaruneCyberWorld Cyber World]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneQueen Queen]], [[Characters/DeltaruneSpamton Spamton]])\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneLightners Lightners]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneNoelle Noelle]], [[Characters/DeltaruneBerdly Berdly]])\\
to:
[[Characters/DeltaruneTheThreeHeroes The Three Heroes]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneKris Kris]], [[Characters/DeltaruneSusie Susie]])\\
Heroes]]\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneDarkners Darkners]]: [[Characters/DeltaruneCardKingdom Card Kingdom]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneCardCastleRoyalty Card Castle Royalty]]) | [[Characters/DeltaruneCyberWorld Cyber World]]([[Characters/DeltaruneQueen Queen]], [[Characters/DeltaruneSpamton ([[Characters/DeltaruneSpamton Spamton]])\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneLightnersLightners]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneNoelle Noelle]], [[Characters/DeltaruneBerdly Berdly]])\\Lightners]]\\
[[Characters/DeltaruneDarkners Darkners]]: [[Characters/DeltaruneCardKingdom Card Kingdom]] ([[Characters/DeltaruneCardCastleRoyalty Card Castle Royalty]]) | [[Characters/DeltaruneCyberWorld Cyber World]]
[[Characters/DeltaruneLightners
