Who will set the vast garden ablaze? (Deltarune Theory)
With Chapter 5 on the horizon (basically less than a week from now), I think its time to revisit the big question that everyone had regarding Chapter 5.
Who will set the vast garden ablaze?
Of course, the most obvious culprit is Asgore, yeah? After all, Asgore (supposedly) is the Ch 5 main boss according to this Prophecy Panel.
And then there's Toriel and Sans, which can definitely lead to that supposed "jealousy".
But what if I told you it might not be Asgore? At least, mainly Asgore on his own. Honestly, I could genuinely see Chapter 5 involving multiple people's jealousy culminating in the "inferno". But I personally think there is a far bigger suspect in who will set the garden ablaze, more so than Asgore.
Many people theorise that Chapter 5 is Ralsei's Chapter. He is the last character of the group to fully develop into his own person, and it's highly theorised that to mirror Susie's character arc, he'll learn how to use fire magic offensively. Toby even foreshadows it in an interview, and in the same one, hinted at Susis's character arc regarding healing.
Ralsei KNOWS fire magic already. We see him utilise fire magic in one of his ACTs, "Light Up". He uses fire magic and Balthizard becomes all "smokey".
Ralsei technically doesn't need to learn fire magic, he already knows how. So why does he never have fire magic be easily accessible? Is it because its weak and cant be used in a fight?
That doesn't make sense when fire is suggested to be a critical aspect of the Third Hero, as the Third Hero depictions always show him surrounded by flames. His fire magic seems to be a part of the PROPHECY.
Maybe he doesnt allow it being used for pacifism? Yeah, sure. Though he doesn't exactly resist if you choose to fight. Even though he strongly suggests against fighting in Ch 1 and Ch 2, he doesn't like actively going against the Player's choices or actively restrict them either. He WANTS to make our choices matter after all.
And again, there was the entire Titan Fight. If Ralsei can use fire, why did he never let us use it there? This is the same guy who ordered us to fight the Titans on the spot. Why would he be holding back...?
And this is rather suspicious because we know Ralsei knows the game mechanics to a point he even occasionally exploits them, namely the "Think of Susie" moments by using our ability to switch perspective to have private moments with Kris.
And that's where it hit me.
Ralsei KNOWS the Prophecy, and I mean everything about it. If fire magic is depicted in that panel of the Third Hero, his fire magic must be a key part of the Prophecy which Ralsei knows about from the start. Ralsei knows EVERYTHING about the Prophecy, so he must know the location of the Chapter 5 Dark World, yeah? And he must know the key events that will happen there. The garden being charred by an inferno of jealousy. And we learn since Chapter 1, he's been trying to change the Prophecy.
Ralsei know about the garden being set ablaze.
In that same Prophecy, it states that Ralsei has fire magic.
Ralsei is trying to change the Prophecy.
Ralsei hides his fire magic.
Are you seeing what I'm trying to say here?
Ralsei should know from the Prophecy that a Dark World gets set ablaze. And he happens to be the one person in the group who can wield fire. Potentially powerful fire. Heck, we see the depiction of the Third Hero being surrounded by flames, indicating its the main part of the third hero.
Ralsei knows the rules of the world, he would def know how to hide fire magic from the Player.
This can only lead to one conclusion. Ralsei is involved in setting the garden ablaze. You can't spin this in a different way.
Why do you think Ralsei was so insistent on being the healer, on being kinder? Sometimes to the point he even occasionally cuts Susie off and heals himself when doing such?
I don't think it's because Ralsei is trying to stick to his role. We know that this isn't his motivation in the slightest with the Prophecy. If he's trying to change the Prophecy, why would he so adamantly adhere to a role that was given to him by the very Prophecy he's trying to change?
Unless... he wasnt trying to stick to his role. He was trying to change it. He knows how capable of destruction he is, so he pivots to the extreme opposite of that so that it can hopefully change one day. Were his attempts to look "cuter" also his own attemps to make himself less scary? Something to think about...
Ralsei also has this interesting dialogue with Puppetscarf too...
Its as if Ralsei is very hesitant about being placed in a position of fighting.
There's already a precedent for Ralsei trying to take on roles he's not meant to as people realised that his statement of "If there's any pain I can take in your place..." might actually be tied to Ralsei being constantly targeted by enemies, notably in Chapter 1, despite being the one with the least HP (may have been removed due to being too annoying for players later). Another case of Ralsei potentially trying to take on a role he's not meant for.
This also creates the perfect set up Ralsei's character arc, by making him face a part of the Prophecy that involves him directly. This would force Ralsei into a position where he has to think more about himself, his role in the Prophecy and what he can do to overcome it. It forces Ralsei to focus on himself more.
Ralsei's arc isn't gonna be like Susie's where his new magic will empower him as a person. It's the exact opposite. While Susie's arc is about her realising her own potential, Ralsei already knows of his potential and fears it. Chapter 5 being where he faces that fear head on.
Fire magic may manifest as something Ralsei had always feared, that the Prophecy is inevitable. His role hasn't changed, and his actions may still lead into destruction.
And I think that can be a more interesting angle with Ralsei's character arc, while also recontextualising a lot of Ralsei's character from the first chapters.
This also makes things rather interesting regarding his relationship with Kris. We know that the value of Kris and Ralsei tea can increase to 100 after Ch 4, which makes me think Chapter 5 will focus more on their relationship. The shop is the place where Asgore, someone in Kris' family, a loved one, stays at. If Ralsei is the one destined to set his garden on fire, what does this mean for Kris and Ralsei's relationship? From Chapter 1 all the way to Chapter 4, Ralsei always hid something from the Player and Susie. Now it'll be interesting where there will be a switch where it's now with Kris instead. Ralsei splitting up with Susie to tell her about the Prophecy in Chapter 5 involving his magic, making this a perfect continuation of him learning to be honest to Susie more.
I think it makes the most sense and also sets up a lot of story potential if Ralsei ends up being the one to set the garden on fire, or at least being set up to be the one to do so. Forcing him to face the Prophecy head on, making him reflect on his identity and the role he has in the group. I can see it being both Asgore and Ralsei at the same time if the two fought, but this still leads to Ralsei being a big factor in it. There's a chance we might be able to subvert the Prophecy, but in a way that it ends up not being Ralsei and someone else entirely sets the garden ablaze, but who knows. Maybe depending on what we do and what happens, this can either lead to hope or despair. Which may change the Gang's outlook in Chapter 6 once the Roaring truly begins.
