ON DELTARUNE'S LAST PROPHECY
This is gonna be a shorter post than usual from me; I just wanted to air out some quick thoughts I have on the Last Prophecy. Of course, right now we aren't really in a position to confidently reach any secure conclusion about what the Last Prophecy is, but I do think we can establish some basic facts about it and rule out some things which it probably isn't. This way, we can come to a rudimentary idea about what to expect, and we'll be better equipped to suss out what it actually is should we get substantive new information in the next Chapters.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS THE LAST PROPHECY
Obvious, maybe, but it's worth stating. The Last Prophecy is the ending of the prophecy, which is to say that it's one of the very last events that the prophecy accounts for. An unused variation of the prophecy states "FOR TO SAVE THE WORLDS, WE LAST OF ALL SAY", which further emphasizes that these are some of the very last lines of the prophecy. It is likely that "ONLY THEN, WILL THE WORLDS BE SAVED" is the very final line in the prophecy. The Last Prophecy probably happens right before, concurrently with, or right after the prophesied banishing of the Angel, given that we know from Ralsei's summary that the saving of the worlds centers around banishing the Angel's Heaven. Ralsei speaks of the Last Prophecy synonymously with the "one ending" which Toby has teased multiple times when talking about Deltarune.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS A TRAGEDY
The Last Prophecy is described as a tragedy in the prophecy. This could simply be a fancy way of communicating that it's a sad event, but I'm inclined to take the specific rhetoric here more seriously. A key feature of most classic tragedies is that they are, seemingly at least, preventable. Frequently, in fact, tragic heroes are given prophetic information about the impending catastrophe, which leads them to try to prevent it. However, because of the hero's hamartia - a tragic error, usually resulting from a lack of information - they unwittingly bring about their own downfall. By the end, both the audience and the hero are liable to judge the events that have unfolded as a kind of cruel joke played by fate itself (often embodied by some specific god(s)) and the callous injustice triggers cathartic feelings of sympathy and mourning in the audience. All this is to say that Susie knowing about the Last Prophecy might be a significant part of the prophecy coming about, and that fate will likely be playing cruel tricks to make it inadvertently result from whatever actions she takes.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS THE FINAL TRAGEDY
"THE FINAL TRAGEDY" only unveils "WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR THE TALE". This is significant context, because it tells us that this ending will follow a series of unfortunate events which will likely distill feelings of hopelessness in both the heroes and the audience. The end of the world seems all but inevitable, but then a final option presents itself, involving some terrible event needing to happen in exchange for the saving of the worlds; this option, however, is no cause for celebration, and judging by the way Ralsei speaks about it, the cost may be so great that the victory is pyrrhic at best.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS NECESSARY TO SAVE THE WORLDS
The Last Prophecy is not arbitrary and does not happen in isolation. It has a specific causal relationship with the saving of the worlds, and is in fact the only option the prophecy presents for that to happen, at least given the events which previously transpire in the prophecy. Ralsei, however, thinks there might be another option to save the worlds, seemingly involving kindness, but it would require early intervention to change the course of the prophecy.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS A CONSCIOUSLY WILLED ACTION
Tumblr user duxarcana translates the unused variation as "If (one) intends to save the world(s)". This gives us the important information that the Last Prophecy involves something which the heroes must consciously decide to do with the specific intent of saving the world.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS IMMEDIATELY INTUITIVE
Susie does not look at the prophecy for more than a few seconds before destroying it, and takes no time to interpret its possible meanings. This suggests that the prophecy does not use vague or ambiguous language but instead bluntly states what happens in such a fashion that its meaning is immediately clear.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS EXTREMELY BAD
It cannot be emphasized enough: the Last Prophecy is insanely, catastrophically terrible. It's so bad that Ralsei, whose purpose is to be the Lightners' guide and to follow the events of the prophecy (a purpose he takes very seriously), attempts immediately to subvert the prophecy and guide it towards a different path. It's so bad that Ralsei is having a Chapter-long panic attack throughout the Dark Sanctuaries and hyperventilating and crying to Susie about the prospect of her seeing it. It's so bad that Susie's immediate instinct is to smash it with her fist in rage and panic.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS ABSURD
The Last Prophecy isn't just bad, it's apparently also kind of ridiculous.
Susie says:
* You're worried about THAT!? Seriously!? * ... this stupid prophecy? * Like something like that would happen. [...] * Why wouldn't you laugh? * It's just stupid.
Susie's obviously indulging in some pretty wishful thinking here - she has good reason to believe that the prophecy should be taken seriously - but her reaction nonetheless speaks to an absurd quality of the Last Prophecy. Susie has a hard time seeing how things could possibly get that bad. The scenario just doesn't really make sense to her, so she laughs at it, and finds the idea that it would happen 'stupid'. Obviously, Susie is pretty scared, deep down. But she uses the outward absurdity of the scenario the Last Prophecy is presenting to discredit it, in an attempt to ease the worries of both herself and Ralsei. This tells us that the Last Prophecy is something of a twist - it's not something you'd expect to happen, and it's hard to predict how things could develop in that direction.
THE LAST PROPHECY INVOLVES THE GIRL
The Last Prophecy first appears in the Second Sanctuary, right off the heels of prophecies about the Girl:
"AND LAST, WAS THE GIRL. AT LAST, WAS THE GIRL" "LOVE FINDS ITS WAY TO THE GIRL."
The fact that a prophecy about the Girl involves her coming "last" also suggests her ties to the Last Prophecy.
Ralsei is particularly concerned about Susie seeing the Last Prophecy. In isolation this doesn't tell us too much, because Ralsei is likely aware that Kris already knows the prophecy (which we also know because Kris plays music from future chapters on the piano, including a piece internally titled lastprophecy). That said, it further contributes to the feeling that the Last Prophecy is narratively tied to Susie specifically. It could also have to do with Noelle, if we take "love finding its way to the Girl" to be alluding to Susie's love interest (alternatively, if we take Noelle to be a candidate for the role of the Girl).
THE LAST PROPHECY IS WHY RALSEI HAS BEEN ACTING STRANGE
* I'm sorry, Kris. * I'm sorry I didn't say the whole prophecy at first. * I just * I thought if I said something different * If we did something different * If we were just kind enough * Perhaps by the time we got here... it would change.
In the 1-2 era, it was widely agreed that Ralsei behaved suspiciously. Ralsei reveals here that the reason for his being so reticent to share certain bits of information is that he was trying to prevent the Last Prophecy. This tracks with some of the things he said in Chapter 1:
* This world is full of all kinds of people, Kris. * In the end, how we treat them makes all the difference. * So let's try our best to get by without FIGHTing. * If we can manage to do that... * I believe this tale may have a happy ending. * Otherwise, I fear that... * ... you may not... find the result favorable.
Ralsei's advocacy for a pacifist playstyle is here explicitly tied to Ralsei's desire for a happy ending. For whatever reason, he believes that using violence is the sort of thing that would bring the Last Prophecy about.
* Kris... * Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hard on her. * ... * But, I just worry that if Susie is too eager to fight... * Then... * Well, let's just be kind to her, OK, Kris?
Again, Susie seems to figure heavily in Ralsei's thoughts about the Last Prophecy. He really doesn't want Susie to use violence. Pretty uncharacteristically, he snaps at her a bit in Chapter 1 over her eagerness to fight. He feels bad about being hard on her, but he's especially worried about her using violence. Ultimately, he falls back to his general rule: "let's just be kind".
Advocating for a Pacifist playstyle is not the only thing that Ralsei does in an attempt to prevent the Last Prophecy. He says "I thought if I said something different", which seems to be alluding to the fact that he gives the heroes a modified version of the prophecy in Chapter 1, which neglects to mention the Roaring, the Titans, the Knight, and the Last Prophecy. It's quite possible all of these things factor heavily into the Last Prophecy taking place. Ralsei seems to be afraid of 'speaking these things into existence', and it appears that he believes if he successfully prevents the heroes from knowing about them, he stands a better chance of steering the prophecy away from these things. Ralsei's refusal to talk about the Knight at all until the end of Chapter 3 is particularly strange, and even in Chapter 4 he's still advising the heroes not to worry too much about it.
* … If it's any consolation… * I don't sense any immediate danger. * If the Knight's only goal was to hurt people… * They would have acted sooner, right? * For now, let's make sure no one else gets taken. * … Susie… * I understand how you're feeling, but… * We… have our own advantages, too! * The Knight only seems to show its face in the Dark World. * If we can just seal the Fountain over to the right… * Then… it'll at least… buy us a little more time. * … until we… have to face our difficulties again.
And at the end of Chapter 4 Ralsei seems very panicked about the Knight creating a Titan. It seems as if the Knight creating the Titan confirms to Ralsei that his actions have been in vain, that the prophecy hasn't been changed and they're still en route to the calamity awaiting them in the Last Prophecy.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS A TRAGEDY FOR THE LIGHTNERS
Ralsei's arc throughout Deltarune's narrative involves him coming to value himself, his autonomy and his own identity. But this necessitates starting from a position of not valuing himself at all. This is perhaps most clearly on display in Chapter 3, where Ralsei tries to urge Susie not to care about him too much, and tries to convince Tenna that caring about his own desires as opposed to the needs of the Lightners is selfish. It's clear to me, then, that the Last Prophecy is not about Ralsei dying, or the Darkners being permanently sealed away, or anything like that. Ralsei simply would not care this much about that - his primary concern is and always has been the Lightners. If the Last Prophecy were about the Darkners going away, he would simply do what he did in Chapter 3, and urge Susie and Kris to forget about him. I also find it unlikely Susie would seemingly think the Last Prophecy is an unthinkably absurd scenario which none of them would let happen if it was something as predictable as the Dark Worlds needing to be sealed away - something which Ralsei has been clear about from the very first Chapters. I get that Susie is slow on the uptake, but like, c'mon.
THE LAST PROPHECY IS SOMETHING SUSIE THINKS THE HEROES WOULDN'T LET HAPPEN
Susie (thinks she) knows her friends, and she (thinks she) knows that they would never let whatever happens in the Last Prophecy transpire. This suggests that whatever act the Last Prophecy describes likely involves a callousness that we wouldn't expect from the Fun Gang.
THE LAST PROPHECY REPRESENTS AN END TO THE HEROES' FRIENDSHIP
Following some confident posturing, Susie gets pretty morose after seeing the Last Prophecy and says to Kris:
* Hey, Kris... * ... * Can I tell you * ... a stupid dream I have? * ... * No matter what * I... want to keep being friends with you and Ralsei. * When the sun comes up again... * I want tomorrow to be the same as yesterday. * And the next day * To be just the same as that. * That in the end * We can always go back to the way things were before. * ... * You don't have to say anything back, Kris. * I... * ... * I know... * You're thinking the same thing * ... aren't you, dumbass?
The placement of this monologue here suggests that whatever Susie saw in the Last Prophecy has her worried that her friendship with Kris and Ralsei might not last forever.
THE LAST PROPHECY HAS A DEDUCIBLE RHYME SCHEME
The prophecy regularly employs an AABB rhyme scheme.
And wouldn't you know it, in the Last Prophecy we read:
AND THEN. WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR THE TALE THE FINAL TRAGEDY UNVEILS. TO SAVE THE WORLDS, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY. [ Prophecy panel shattered ]
And if you have any doubt, the unused variation seals the deal:
FOR TO SAVE THE WORLDS, WE LAST OF ALL SAY:
From this we can deduce that the Last Prophecy ends on an "-ay" sound, rhyming with the words "say" and "way".
Here's a list of possible candidates:
ASTRAY
AWAY
BETRAY
DAY
DISMAY
GRAY
LAY
PAY
PLAY
PRAY
PREY
SLAY
STAY
It could also be a word that imperfectly rhymes with "way".
We can also deduce that the Last Prophecy is likely somewhere in the range of 7-10 syllables long.
THE LAST PROPHECY PROBABLY DESCRIBES THE DREAM WHICH SPAWNED DELTARUNE
Toby Fox has spoken multiple times about the fact that the inspiration for Deltarune came from a fever dream he had in 2011 about the ending of a video game. We don't definitively know that the Last Prophecy was the subject of this dream (for example, the Last Prophecy could hypothetically come to pass in Chapter 6, opening the way for the actual ending which was the subject of the dream, or there could be a postgame with a different ending like in Undertale, etc.), but it would make a lot of sense if it was. The Last Prophecy (the "one ending") being conceptualized first and the rest of the plot having been written backwards from it would tie very neatly into the fatalistic themes of the game, and it introduces a very interesting metafictional parallel between Gaster - whose Deltarune is "still waiting" while the other characters try in vain to resist its coming - and Toby, who's been waiting for more than a decade to depict the dream he had, but may have grown attached to the characters he only initially conceived of as pawns to fulfill the original vision he had. The tension between the inevitability of the ending and the struggle to hope that things can change would be a living part of the text itself.
