Lambdadelta

	This article is about a character in Umineko When They Cry.

Overview

Other Appearances

Gallery

Sprites

Lambdadelta
Identification Details
Japanese	ラムダデルタ
Nicknames	Lambda (ラムダ, Rambda) Super Paper (herself)
Titles	Witch of Certainty (絶対の魔女, Zettai no Majo)
General Information
Born	June 20
Age	1000+
Gender	Female
Blood Type	Unknown
Fantasy Race	Witch
Likes	Candy bars
Dislikes	Boredom, being ignored
Affiliation	Senate
Portrayal
First Appearance	Turn of the Golden Witch
Japanese VA	Fuyuka Ono

Lambdadelta (ラムダデルタ, Ramudaderuta) is the Witch of Certainty and Beatrice's sponsor who has come to observe her game. She first appears in Turn of the Golden Witch.

Profile

The Witch of Certainty, who has lived for a thousand years. She embodies the idea that "hard workers are rewarded" and is revered even by humans. Though she is a witch, she does not stray far from the concepts of humans. For that reason, her power as one worshiped by humans is incalculable. However, she is fickle about whose efforts she chooses to reward, and in many cases, she bestows her favor upon those who entertain her the most. Her immense, swift, and terrifying power can make any witch surrender in an instant. However, she is often reckless, and Bernkastel was able to take full advantage of that.

Appearance

Lambdadelta appears as a girl in her teens with short, blond hair. Her eyes are amber in the original visual novel and Pachi-Slot and red in the anime and console adaptations.

She wears a pink hat and dress and white-and-pink-striped stockings and shoes. Her dress is adorned with pumpkins and pinkish-red bows, some of which are candy-shaped. She also wears black long gloves.

Personality

Lambda's defining trait is how emotive she is. She always wants to have fun, even if the means to that end seem contradictory to her role. Lambda is playfully cruel and doesn't care what kind of suffering others go through so long as it entertains her, though she occasionally shows compassion. This is exemplified in Alliance of the Golden Witch where she takes Beatrice's side but tries to make Battler stand up and fight when he loses faith in himself. Lambda is arrogant, having declared herself the strongest witch in the universe at one point and claiming that she's had historical buildings erected in her honor after granting people's wishes.

On the other hand, Lambda isn't very diligent. In End of the Golden Witch, her records for the Court of Illusions, which she oversaw, are just several lines long as opposed to Bernkastel's thousands of pages. Lambda also has shades of idiocy, where she refers to herself as "super paper", a seeming acknowledgement of her thick-headedness, in reference to the rock-paper-scissors rivalry she has with Bern and Beatrice. Lambda's stupidity may just be an act however, as she will rarely take on a serious tone of voice. At other times, she remembers her Logic Error and breaks down.

Abilities

As the Witch of Certainty, Lambda can grant wishes and make them succeed as a certain fate, however she typically grants this boon to people that already have the determination needed to make their wishes come true.

For direct combat purposes, Lambda can create black holes and candy bombs. She can turn objects and other people, including herself, into konpeitou candies. Lambda can also use Red Truth.

Background

Long ago, Lambda was a Human. She was trapped inside of a logic error, being one of the few witches alongside Bern to succeed in solving one. It's implied she was responsible for Bern's creation when she trapped her in one of her own games. Bern later defeated Lambda, alluding to this game being created from a "firm fate".

At some point, Lambda met the human form of Beatrice and took great interest in her game board built around Rokkenjima, granting her witch powers in exchange for borrowing it to trap Bern. The extra arc Memoirs of the ΛΔ expounds upon this in that she granted a girl's wish for certain determination to become a god at some point in the past. The result of this wish is supposed to have created a new witch for Lambda to play with.

Relationships

Overview

• Bernkastel (rival, friend, enemy, lover)
• Beatrice (friend, sponsor, witch guardian of, miko)
• EVA-Beatrice (ally, witch guardian of)
• Battler Ushiromiya (ally, opponent, sponsor, witch guardian of)
• Ange Ushiromiya (opponent, witch guardian of, miko)
• Featherine Augustus Aurora (opponent)
• Lion Ushiromiya (piece)
• Willard H. Wright (piece)
• Yasuda (sponsor, witch guardian of, miko)

Bernkastel

Lambda loves Bern and has a great interest in her. She wants to have a mutual understanding with her since they've both suffered through logic errors in the past. According to Whose Tea Party?, Bern used to be much different and started opening up when Lambda started playing with her.

The two witches often banter with each other through cruel yet lewd remarks. Bern sometimes loses control of her emotions, and so Lambda has to keep her calm.

Beatrice

Lambdadelta is Beatrice's Witch Guardian and Beatrice is the Miko of Lambdadelta. During the conversation about witch powers in the ??? of Legend of the Golden Witch, Bernkastel says Lambdadelta might have a good compatibility against Beatrice since she would be able to kill Beatrice's "endless" nature. It is later revealed that Lambda bestowed Beatrice with witch powers when the latter was a lowly human and now acts as her witch guardian. Lambda doesn't really see Beato as a friend however, and won't hesitate to get rid of her if she disappoints. This is exemplified in End of the Golden Witch where, after Beato surrenders and falls comatose, Lambda continuously mocks her by asking her to speak if she has any problems and acting ecstatic when she doesn't.

Battler Ushiromiya

Lambda is an opponent to Battler by proxy of siding with Beatrice. Lambda prioritizes having fun and, despite her antagonizing Battler a lot, she will give him rousing speeches when he loses faith in himself and keep Beato's game going, as seen in Banquet of the Golden Witch and Alliance.

In End, Lambda becomes Battler's witch guardian when he uncovers the truth of Beato's game and names him the new Golden Witch. From this point forward, Lambda does a lot more to help Battler prove he truly understands Beatrice and mediates some of his games. She still takes a passive stance during Battler's other conflicts in later arcs, but she comes around and gives assistance after seeing his determination.

Ange Ushiromiya

Lambda is also an opponent to Ange, similar to Battler. However, Lambda sees value in Ange as a tool to help her stay with Bern forever. She tries convincing Ange to become her piece instead of Bern's and stall the game for as long as possible, but it fails. Lambda considers Ange a failure after this and is not very interested in her development in later arcs, as seen in Requiem of the Golden Witch when she tells a distressed Ange to pipe down as the true events of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders are playing out. However, in Twilight of the Golden Witch, Lambda comes to sympathize with Ange and names her and the rest of the Golden Land residents as her mikos, fighting on their behalf.

Role in the Story

Legend of the Golden Witch

Lambdadelta's name is first mentioned in the ???. She is said to have been dethroned by Bernkastel alone in the past and "terrifying because of her cruelty".

Turn of the Golden Witch

Lambda first appears in the ??? when Beatrice invites her to bet against Bern for her victory. She offers to help Beatrice while planning to take revenge on Bern for defeating her. After everyone else leaves, Lambda gives Battler a rousing speech and encourages him to save Rosa from Beatrice's torture and get back in the game.

Banquet of the Golden Witch

Lambda gives EVA-Beatrice the recommendation needed for her to become the new Golden Witch and becomes her guardian. She attends the coronation ceremony.

In the Tea Party, Lambda shows annoyance that Bern's new piece Ange suddenly barged into the game board without warning. She later has a private talk with Beatrice and shows disdain that she isn't trying to win. Lambda reminds Beatrice that she became a witch in exchange for Lambda being allowed to use her perfect game board. If Beatrice falls short of victory then Lambda won't hesitate to take away her powers and throw her into the worst Fragment.

Alliance of the Golden Witch

Lambda tells Ange in private that Bern has tricked her. Even if Ange were to stop Beato's game and set her family free, they won't return to her own future; they will return to a six-year-old Ange of a different Fragment, while this 18-year-old Ange is just a piece and will disappear when Beato's game ends. She also mentions Bern's promise of finding a Fragment where Ange was living happily with her family but couldn't find it, and claims that such a thing doesn't really exist. Lambda gives Ange the offer of becoming her piece instead, with the goal of keeping Beato's game running for as long as possible; if Ange accepts, she can stay with her brother forever and will be allowed to reveal her identity while Lambda traps Bern.

Beatrice decides to abandon the game, believing that Battler is unfit to fight her; neither side will be able to make a move, and so there is no winner or loser. Lambda tries to convince Battler to prove his qualifications, but he is unable to and soon disappears. Beato abandons the game board, and Bern leaves with Lambda chasing after her. Beato s later forced to return to the game board after intervention from Ange. Lambda shackles her to a chair, intent on keeping her there and watching over her for eternity until she wins the game. Battler also comes back thanks to Bern and manages to regain his spirit and qualifications, but Ange sacrifices herself for it and is torn apart. Lambda comments on the sad scene as it plays out.

In the ???, after Battler and Beato's big debate, Lambda and Bern lie in a bed and talk about the game. Lambda reveals she set the rule about Ange not giving her name, feeling that she and Battler would demolish Beato otherwise. They also mock Battler's theories, with Lambda correcting some of them in red truth. Bern and Lambda talk about how much they see Beato as their plaything and declare on their titles that Beato will lose for all eternity, and a miracle will certainly not occur.

End of the Golden Witch

In the place of Beato, who stepped down from the position of Game Master in the 4th game, Lambdadelta serves as the new Game Master in the 5th game. Therefore, it is expected that, while the 5th game may be quite similar to the previous ones, there will be differences... She hates boredom as much as Bernkastel, and depending on the situation, she may become either an enemy or an ally to Beato or Bern.

Beato falls comatose, having given up on the game still, and Lambdadelta wants to take over as Game Master for her. Battler won't allow it since this game is supposed to be between him and Beato. Lambda promises that she'll arrange the game the same way Beatrice would, insisting that it will help him understand her better. Bern threatens Battler with making the Fragment of Ange being sad in the future a reality, and Battler reluctantly acknowledges the game but says Bern can substitute for him if Lambda's going to replace Beato. Lambda accepts this arrangement and begins the game with Bern.

When Battler rejoins the game, Lambda replays everything from the start to show him what's happened. She presses Battler for his theories regarding certain scenes such as Kinzo's appearance and discussion with others despite his death. As the game continues, Lambda gives red truths in response in Bern's blue. (See End of the Golden Witch/Colored Text for a comprehensive list.)

When Bern explains how she solved the epitaph, Lambda transports her and Battler to the Sea of Fragments and gives him some training on how not to lose himself in it. When Bern's Battler substitute (Bern-Battler) solves the epitaph on the game board and finds the gold room, Lambda confirms in red that it's real. During the game, Lambda also acts as The Man From 19 Years Ago when calling Natsuhi on the phone.

Lambda arbitrates a 24:00 court session in the Court of Illusions to determine if Natsuhi is the culprit, with Erika and Bern acting as prosecutors and Battler as defense. A new rule is implemented where Humans who speak in red must have appropriate proof. The trial goes on and Natsuhi is eventually presumed guilty. Lambda awards victory to Bern and Erika when Piece-Beatrice demands to be convicted in place of Natsuhi. Lambda decides to punish her by having her meet the same fate of the other losers in Beatrice's past games and summons a horde of goats to tear her apart, remembering that their contract called for Beato to pay with her life if she failed to entertain her.

Before the goats can kill Piece-Beatrice, Dlanor stops them and announces that Battler still wants to debate. Battler gives a red truth saying Natsuhi is not the culprit, but Lambda invokes the previous rule and asks for proof. Battler is shut down, and Lambda plays along with Erika and Bern's theory that Natsuhi had an affair with Kinzo.

In the ???, Battler revives. Lambda resicnds the previous judgement and acknowledges Battler as the new Golden Witch and Endless Sorceror, reopening court so he can present his new evidence. Battler and Erika exchange blows, and when Battler successfully uses Gold Truth, Lambda understands that eh has truly understood Beato's game. Lambda declares the game to be even and passes her role of Game Master to Battler.

Dawn of the Golden Witch

Lambda watches over Battler and Erika's game to ensure it runs smoothly. She shows a lot of awe and concern when both sides pull off some daring moves, especially with Erika not wanting to declare Detective's Authority at the start. Lambda, Bern, and Erika talk about the closed rooms in the first twilight. Lambda refuses to give red since she knows how the rooms are constructed and tells Bern to just trust her non-red observations. Later, Bern gets angry when Battler threatens to kick her out when he notices her trying to interfere with the game, and Lambda has to mediate between them.

Battler and Erika debate over Battler's corpse disappearing from his closed room. Lambda takes a look at what both sides have planned and comments that Battler's move looks horrible. She warns him not to cause a Logic Error, or else the game board will be blown away. Battler claims that he escaped the room despite the chain being set and sealed with tape, and Lambda concludes it's a valid move. The trick involves Battler switching places with Kyrie, who was also a first twilight "victim", however Dlanor announces that Kyrie cannot save Battler in red. Lambda is shocked that Dlanor can repeat this in red despite Battler not confirming it himself and says that Natsuhi could do it instead. She's denied in rd as well, and Lambda desperately says that the other first twilight victims could switch places with Battler, but Erika soon reveals they're all dead because she killed and decapitated them.

With the threat of a logic error looming, Lambda suggests to Battler that he either admit he messed up or reconstruct the closed room trick with new logic. Battler insists he can still solve the logic error and is sent to a guest room similar to the one his corpse was in. Until Battler can solve it, his mind will be trapped there forever. Lambda gives Battler some advice as a "survivor of hell" and says he should be able to keep going so long as he hates Erika and Bern. Battler is shocked at her demeanor, and Lambda starts to go crazy from remembering the logic error she herself went through a long time ago. She wishes the Game Master luck and leaves.

Chick Beato is still determined to save Battler from his logic error, and Lambda decides to give her advice as well. She tells her that the old Beatrice loved detective novels and closed room tricks, and formed her magic compendium out of those. Lambda assures Beatrice that the old her could solve this trick and disappears, expecting to meet her again soon.

Erika asks Lambda her about her logic error. She says that Bern went through an even worse one when she was still a piece. She references the Infinite Monkey Theorem to put into perspective just how long Bern struggled to escape her logic error, explaining why she's the way she is now. Erika responds with an observation that her own hell had to do with her ability to understand the truth, and that Lambda and Bern couldn't become Witches of Truth because they didn't have that. Lambda feels insulted but lets it slide as a reward for Erika's victory.

Erika plans to wed the comatose Battler and holds a wedding ceremony at the Cathedral. Bern and Lambda watch from a balcony and talk about Battler's closed room, with Lambda betting that Beato will revive and save Battler. Chiester 00 arrives later and secretly informs Lambda that Beatrice plans to storm the wedding. She tells the security detail to prepare for battle, wanting to liven things up.

Sure enough, Beatrice has revived and invades Battler and Erika's wedding, challenging the Witch of Truth to a duel. Erika accepts, and Lambda once again judges the game to ensure Beatrice and Erika's theories are legitimate.

Requiem of the Golden Witch

Lambda briefly appears in the Tea Party, where Ange and Lion are disturbed from being forced to watch the apparent true events of The Rokkenjima Mass Murders, and tells them to just watch.

In the ???, Bern is made the Game Master of Beatrice's final game. Lambda witnesses her red declaration that she will not give this game a happy ending.

Twilight of the Golden Witch

Lambda attends Battler's party and brings several gifts. She also brings Will and Lion with her, having saved them from death and made them her pieces. She enjoys the festivities when Bern arrives and reveals she's also the Game Master and has taken Ange away. Lambda agrees to act as an observer for Bernkastel's game between her, Battler and Beatrice in exchange for Ange's release at the end.

After Ange's release, she and EVA-Beatrice soon attack Rokkenjima and summon goats to devour the island. Lambda has no intention of helping and just sits around watching the chaos. Lion talks with Lambda about how Bern's convinced Ange to seek out the truth of Rokkenjima even if it means giving up her life, but Lambda still has no interest in helping. She thinks the ending for Ange's game is obvious, but Lion tells her to keep watching since they know it won't end as predicted. Seeing Lion's certain faith in Ange despite Lambda herself making a certain declaration to the contrary, she decides to stick around longer.

Battler's party retreats to the Golden Land, where Erika issues an ultimatum and tells them to surrender. As the group pretends to argue amongst themselves, Lambda disguises as a konpeitou and secretly speaks to Battler and Beato, telling them that Bern's group is in the City of Books. Featherine is holding an unveiling of Eva's diary there, but it's protected by a magical barrier that only those with invitations or witches of the Senate can pass through. The invitations are not the way to go however since they deactivated the second the party started.

The group asks Lambda to help since she's a witch of the Senate and has gotten inside, but she's unwilling to since crashing Featherine's party means getting the entire witch world as her enemy. Everyone convinces Lambda that it'll be thrilling, and she'll be able to stave off boredom for a while. Lambda gets angry since the only reason she's still here is to watch an interesting show, not to die horribly with everyone else. Lambda rants about how lame she is and how she lives in a completely different world than the others, plopping down in a chair and getting depressed. Battler apologizes and wants to prove his determination to save Ange.

Ange reunites with the group and wants to go back into the City of Books to retrieve the diary, realizing she still has her invitation. Ange asks Lambda to take her there since she can traverse the Sea of Fragments, and Battler asks to go instead since he exists outside the cat box while Ange needs to live into the future. The siblings argue and Lambda discovers that Ange actually had two invitations, meaning the both of them can go. Lambda agrees to take them to the City of Books, but after that she's going back to the sidelines.

Once they reach the City of Books, Lambda reminds Battler and Ange that they were protected by the rules of the game board earlier, but now that they've left they could be destroyed easily by Bern. Lambda decides she's still going to help because she wants Battler and Ange to show her a perfect happy ending. They sneak past guard cats and find out where the key to the diary is being held. Seeing that more cats are guarding the key and that it'll take time to unseal, Lambda proposes they send someone out as a sacrifice to distract Bern and everyone else. They play rock-paper-scissors to decide who will be that sacrifice, and Lambda purposefully loses. Battler and Ange are concerned that they can't return to the Golden Land if Lambda dies, and she hands them a Fragment that will send them back. Lambda doesn't mind fighting Bern anyway, as she has a score to settle. She turns the siblings into konpeitou, flicks them towards the key, and goes to find Bern.

Bern and Lambda banter and fight. Battler watches them and is unable to comprehend what is going on, describing them as creating and destroying universes. Featherine soon arrives and asks Bern how the ceremony preparations are going. Bern mocks Lambda, saying that any attack she does to her will require Featherine to respond in kind as per their contract. The Witch of Miracles asks where Battler is, but the Witch of Certainty ignores her and makes a small attack towards Bern. Featherine is confused and apologizes on behalf of Bern for anything they might have done to Lambda, giving her a warning not to interfere anymore. Lambda declares that everyone in the Golden Land is her miko and jokes around while focusing on Featherine's memory device, wanting to attack it and make her bug out.

Lambda attacks Featherine, but she stops the story. She's too drunk to write a proper fight scene, so she skips to the end and has Lambda slammed into a bookcase, falling to pieces. The story resumes. As Lambda wonders aloud what killed her, she gives Featherine a parting insult before falling into the City of Books' void. During Bern and Battler's battle later, Bern asks for help but Featherine says she's busy writing Lambda's final moments.

At the end, Featherine reveals that Lambda is still alive and has been moved to audience seating. In the Tea Party, Bern stitches Lambda back together amidst her complaints. Erika plays around with Lambda's limbs and then gives a status report about Dlanor and various other characters.

Lambda is restored and parts ways with Bern. They resolve to meet each other again when something else cries.

Twilight of the Golden Witch (manga)

Confession of the Golden Witch has Lambda appearing to Yasuda and granting her wish of becoming a witch.

Other Appearances

• Memoirs of the ΛΔ focuses on Lambda reminiscing on past wishes she's granted.

• In Jessica and the Killer Electric Fan, Lambda enchants Jessica's play script and sucks her, Battler and Shannon into the story.

• Lambda is a playable character in Golden Fantasia and can be unlocked as a system voice. She has story modes with Jessica, Chiester 410, and Bern.

• The First and the Last Gift has Lambda receiving a new game board from Bernkastel and creating a piece, Miyoko Takano, to take part in it.

Trivia

• Lambda's appearance is inspired by an outfit from the Japanese fashion magazine Gothic Lolita Bible. This outfit appeared in issue 27, page 54.
• Ryukishi07 has personally thought about the relation between Bernkastel, Lambda, and Featherine in great detail.
• Ryukishi07 considers Lambda one of his favorite characters.

• Lambda has some connections and references to the Higurashi When They Cry characters Miyo Takano and Satoko Houjou.
  • Lambdadelta's full name written in Greek numerals (ΛΔ) reads "34". Takano's first name Miyo (三四) is Japanese for "three-four". The manga version of Turn of the Golden Witch's Secret Tea Party features a figure in the background that resembles Takano shortly before the debut of Lambda. Lambda's voice actress Fuyuka Ono also voices Takano's younger self, and the extra arc Memoirs of the ΛΔ in Symphony of Catbox and Dreams has the voices of Fuyuka Ono and Miki Itou, who voices adult Takano, overlaying on each other for the girl whom Lambda grants the power to make certain determination come true. Additionally, Lambdadelta and Takano have the same birthday. In a 2009 interview, Ryukishi suggested that Takano and Lambda were separate characters, and in 2015 said they can be interpreted as having the same "player". In Umineko no Naku Party ni, it's stated that Lambda gave power to a girl named Miyo in a previous game, and that her current form uses the young Miyo as a base.
  • Lambda has a similar laugh to Satoko and shares a penchant for making traps. In Twilight of the Golden Witch, Lambda brings up a cake riddle that Bern says she was stumped by in the past; Satoko is given a similar riddle in Onikakushi.
  • In the Hotarubi no Tomoru Koro ni prologue story The First and the Last Gift, Lambda notes how similar Hirasaka is to Hinamizawa.
  • In Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU, Satoko says her love for Rika is so great that she would "certainly" never allow the latter to win and refers to the conditions that trap Rika in Hinamizawa as a bird cage. This metaphor is used repeatedly by different characters throughout the series, and it is both what Takano has effectively achieved previously and Satoko's goal in this sequel. Lambda has said similar things regarding Bernkastel, who shares similarities with Rika, with Beatrice's gameboard.
  • In the final episode of Higurashi Sotsu, Rika and Satoko's final conversation mimics the end of Umineko, where Bernkastel and Lambdadelta go separate ways and promise to reunite when something else cries. The last lines of Rika and Satoko's dialogue are verbatim Bern and Lambda's. In a post-Sotsu interview, when asked if Satoko was Lambda, Ryukishi said "I don't think there's a direct connection at that point yet. But as you can see from the last episode, the flow of those two may very well be the roots of what's to come, so just as Hanyuu and Eua drifted off to another world, Rika and Satoko's witch personalities may also drift away to other worlds. And then maybe they might become characters in another world's story."
• On two occasions in Twilight of the Golden Witch, Lambdadelta expresses her hope that she will at least make it to the Top 3 or Top 5 in the popularity polls. This is a reference to the official 07th expansion character popularity polls. She did indeed make it to third place in the first poll following Twilight of the Golden Witch's release, though she has since dropped to tenth place in the final popularity poll held in 2012.