Legend of Delta Rune

Legend of Delta Rune
Scene from the legend showing the Delta Rune
Type	Plot Mechanic

The Legend of Delta Rune is a legend known among the Darkners in Deltarune.

When Kris and Susie arrive in Castle Town for the first time, they meet a mysterious hooded figure (later revealed to be Ralsei) who offers to tell them the legend. Ralsei claims that the Prophecy was foretold by time and space. If Kris and Susie decline to listen to the legend, Lancer instead summarizes it when he intrudes.

After clearing a Chapter, it serves as the game's introduction when opening that Chapter from the game's main menu.

Text

Once upon a time, a LEGEND was whispered among shadows.
It was a LEGEND of HOPE.
It was a LEGEND of DREAMS.
It was a LEGEND of LIGHT.
It was a LEGEND of DARK.
This is the legend of DELTA RUNE
For millenia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance,
Bringing peace to the WORLD.
But if this harmony were to shatter...
a terrible calamity would occur.
The sky will run black with terror
And the land will crack with fear.
Then, her heart pounding...
The EARTH will draw her final breath.
Only then, shining with hope...
Three HEROES appear at WORLDS' edge.
A HUMAN,
A MONSTER,
And a PRINCE FROM THE DARK.
Only they can seal the fountains
And banish the ANGEL'S HEAVEN.
Only then will balance be restored,
And the WORLD saved from destruction.
Today, the FOUNTAIN OF DARKNESS-
The geyser that gives this land form-
Stands tall at the center of the kingdom.
But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon...
And with it, the balance of LIGHT and DARK begins to shift...

Delta Rune

The Delta Rune on the mat in Kris's room in Castle Town

The Delta Rune is a symbol that appears in both Undertale and Deltarune.

In Undertale, Gerson tells the protagonist about a prophecy and how it relates to the Delta Rune symbol. Gerson states that the triangles represent the monsters below, while it is believed that the winged circle represents the Angel from the prophecy. Undertale's prophecy (distinct from the Legend of Delta Rune) foretells that an angel will descend from the surface and bring freedom to the monsters who live underground. An alternate interpretation of this is that it is an "Angel of Death" who will "free" them from the mortal realm.

In Deltarune, no explanation is given for the meaning of the Delta Rune. The three triangles may represent the heroes of the prophecy — on the mat in Kris' room in Castle Town, the triangles on the Delta Rune are colored like the heroes: the left triangle is pink (like Susie), the right triangle is blue (like Kris), and the lower triangle is green (like Ralsei). It is possible the winged figure above them represents the Angel's Heaven, following a similar meaning to Undertale's one.

Although the legend is only mentioned by Darkners, it appears in Hometown in multiple ways. Portions of the symbol also appear throughout Hometown: The winged circle appears on top of the Hometown church and the cemetery gate. The complete Delta Rune emblem appears on the School's door, atop the door and the front mat of Toriel's House, and the rug in Kris and Asriel's room. Father Alvin and Rudolph Holiday mention the angel, which seems to be a central figure in Father Alvin's religion.

Gallery

The Three Heroes as depicted in the game's intro cutscene

The Three Heroes banishing the Angel's Heaven

Development material layouts of the Legend cutscene

Trivia

him.png, with increased contrast to make the text visible

• From 2016 to 2017, deltarune.com contained nothing but a single image, with the filename him.png. This image appears to be completely black like the website's background, but actually contains very low contrast Wingdings text. The text reads "THREE HEROES APPEARED TO BANISH THE ANGEL S HEAVEN", referring to the same events as the legend.
  • In 2015, deltarune.com's him.png instead was low contrast Wingdings text that read "THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY VERY INTERESTING," the final paragraph of the text in the inaccessible room room_gaster in Undertale. This quote was paraphrased in one of the tweets from the official Deltarune and Undertale Twitter that was tweeted in-character as the voice in the lead-up to Deltarune's announcement.
  • The fact that the text is in Wingdings and is in a file named "him.png" suggests that W. D. Gaster is the one speaking.
• Although the legend states that the three heroes can seal the fountains, Ralsei later tells Susie that Kris is the only one who can seal them.
• The Delta Rune symbol above the door of Toriel's home has the triangles inverted vertically.