Deltarune Chapter 5 Weird Route Explained: Side B, ThornRing, and Twisted Sword

Chapter 5 turns the Weird Route into a save-file problem. Players searching for "sword route chapter 5" or "Twisted Sword recipe" often mix together two different goals: completing Chapter 5 Side B, or preserving ThornRing for a future Twisted Sword craft. Those goals do not use the same route.

The short answer is:

• To play Chapter 5 Side B, complete the Chapter 2 Weird Route, continue it through Chapter 4, then finish the lake sequence in Chapter 5. This ends the chapter early and skips the Flower Kingdom, Pink, the Chapter 5 Egg, and the Chapter 5 Shadow Crystal.
• To preserve ThornRing for the Twisted Sword recipe, abort the Chapter 2 Weird Route before SnowGrave defeats Berdly, with ThornRing unequipped from Noelle and back in the party inventory. This is not a completed Weird Route file and does not lead to Chapter 5 Side B.
• TwistedSwd is still unobtainable in normal play. Its fusion recipe is ThornRing + PureCrystal, but PureCrystal cannot currently be obtained without modifying the game.

Use the Twisted Sword Eligibility Checker before overwriting a route-sensitive save. For the item data alone, see the Twisted Sword crafting guide.

The two routes players keep mixing up

That distinction matters because a Chapter 5 Side B file cannot simply turn around after its ending and collect Pink's Shadow Crystal. Side B skips the entire Chapter 5 Dark World. If your goal is to keep every currently available secret-boss reward while preserving ThornRing, build a separate save for that purpose.

Route map from Chapter 2 to Chapter 5

Chapter 2 freeze route
|
+-- Cast SnowGrave on Berdly
|   |
|   +-- Continue the Weird Route in Chapter 4
|       |
|       +-- Chapter 5 lake: finish all prompts
|       |   `-- Side B ending; Flower Kingdom and Pink are skipped
|       |
|       `-- Chapter 5 lake: let the sequence fail
|           `-- Weird Route abort; enter Flower Kingdom with changes
|
`-- Unequip ThornRing and abort before SnowGrave defeats Berdly
    `-- Keep ThornRing; later chapters continue outside completed Side B

The bottom branch is the practical "Sword Route" save strategy discussed by players. It preserves a confirmed recipe component, but "Sword Route" is a community label, not the name of a currently playable route.

Chapter 2: the actual ThornRing decision

The Chapter 2 Weird Route begins after Noelle joins Kris in Cyber City. Kris must use Noelle's IceShock to freeze every eligible enemy on the required path, force the route-specific dialogue choices, obtain FreezeRing, repeatedly select "Proceed," and buy ThornRing. ThornRing enables SnowGrave, the spell used in the Berdly encounter.

The decisive split happens before Berdly is defeated by SnowGrave:

1. If Noelle casts SnowGrave on Berdly, the Chapter 2 Weird Route is completed. The route is then locked for the rest of that chapter and can continue in Chapter 4.
2. If you want to preserve ThornRing as an inventory item, unequip it from Noelle and abort the Weird Route before completing the SnowGrave outcome.
3. Verify that ThornRing is in the party's weapon inventory, then keep a backup save. Do not rely on remembering that Noelle once wore it.

This is why "complete SnowGrave and keep ThornRing" is bad guidance. ThornRing is consumed by the completed route state instead of becoming a spare crafting material in the inventory. The useful preservation branch is an aborted Chapter 2 Weird Route.

Chapter 4: the required bridge to Side B

Chapter 5 Side B does not unlock from Chapter 2 alone. You must import a Chapter 2 Weird Route completion into Chapter 4 and complete Chapter 4's continuation. That continuation includes another forced choice involving Noelle and ThornRing. The chapter records a route-completion state that Chapter 5 can read.

Aborting during Chapter 4 produces a different continuity. It does not create the completed Chapter 4 Weird Route file needed for the Chapter 5 Side B start. It can also change Berdly's presence at the festival, so a mixed or interrupted save should not be treated as equivalent to a clean normal-route file.

If you are not sure which state you have, keep the original file untouched and compare it with the Weird Route state guide.

Chapter 5: how Side B starts

Load the completion file created by finishing the Chapter 4 Weird Route. The Chapter 5 branch begins in the Light World rather than after entering the Dark World. The sequence requires Kris to leave bed, obtain Bread from Sans, and go to the lake.

At the lake, the game presents an initial set of route-specific choices followed by a longer timed sequence. The timing is not cosmetic: completing the prompts continues Side B, while allowing the timer or sequence to fail aborts it.

For a successful Side B run:

1. Start from the completed Chapter 4 Weird Route file.
2. Follow the Light World setup to the lake.
3. Complete the opening prompts.
4. Continue through the 60 timed prompts without letting the sequence fail.
5. Save the resulting completion state separately from your normal Chapter 5 file.

The completed branch displays "Insert Chapter 7 Side B" and creates a special completion file whose internal name includes _b. The message suggests a future Side B continuation, but it does not prove exactly what Chapter 6 will contain. Treat claims that Side B "definitely deletes Chapter 6" as theory, not confirmed gameplay.

What completing Side B skips

Side B ends before the Chapter 5 Dark World. That means the file does not enter the Flower Kingdom and cannot collect its route content during that run:

• no Pink encounter;
• no Pink Shadow Crystal;
• no Chapter 5 Egg;
• no normal Chapter 5 SAVE points;
• no opportunity to return to those areas after the Side B ending.

This is the most important correction to older Twisted Sword advice. Completing Side B is not a way to gather every Shadow Crystal before crafting the sword. It removes access to Chapter 5's secret-boss branch instead.

If you want to play the normal chapter after seeing the opening Side B material, let the lake sequence fail on a backup. Chapter 5 then continues into the Flower Kingdom with altered scenes. From there, use the Pink Door and MysteryKey guide and the Egg and Shadow Crystal requirements page.

Twisted Sword: confirmed facts versus theory

PureCrystal is the current hard blocker. Seam's dialogue and the Shadow Crystal system create an obvious line of speculation, but the game does not yet expose a normal method to obtain PureCrystal. Therefore the checker can evaluate whether a save preserves known prerequisites; it cannot honestly declare that the sword is craftable now.

Recommended three-save setup

Deltarune gives you enough room to avoid forcing incompatible goals onto one file:

1. Normal / secrets file: collect recruits, Eggs, Shadow Crystals, Pink Coins, MysteryKey, and the Chapter 5 secret-boss reward.
2. Side B file: complete Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 Weird Routes, then finish the Chapter 5 lake sequence.
3. ThornRing preservation file: abort Chapter 2 before the SnowGrave outcome with ThornRing unequipped and in inventory. Preserve this file for future PureCrystal updates.

Back up each file before testing a route trigger. Name the backups by chapter, route, and inventory state rather than by vague labels such as "good" or "test." The Chapter 5 hub links the current secret-boss, Egg, route, and item checks in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Does Chapter 5 have a Weird Route?

Yes. A completed Chapter 4 Weird Route file unlocks a Light World sequence that can end Chapter 5 early as Side B. It is not a standalone route that can be started from a normal Chapter 5 save.

Can I get Pink after completing Side B?

Not on that completed run. Side B skips the Flower Kingdom. Use a separate save, or abort the lake sequence before the Side B ending so the chapter continues.

Can I keep ThornRing and still complete SnowGrave?

Not as the preserved inventory path needed for the current fusion recipe. The known method is to unequip ThornRing and abort Chapter 2 before SnowGrave defeats Berdly.

Can I craft Twisted Sword in Chapter 5?

No, not in normal play. The ThornRing + PureCrystal recipe is present, but PureCrystal remains unobtainable. Any current video showing a finished TwistedSwd uses modified data or a nonstandard setup.

Is the Egg part of the recipe?

No confirmed recipe data uses an Egg. Track Egg progress separately because it is a chapter secret, not because it replaces ThornRing or PureCrystal.

Sources

This guide separates game behavior from predictions using the current Deltarune Wiki documentation for the Chapter 2 Weird Route, Chapter 4 continuation, Chapter 5 Side B, Twisted Sword, ThornRing, and PureCrystal. The wiki documents game strings and route flags; future-chapter outcomes can still change when new official content ships.