This article is about Megaera, not to be confused with Megagorgon|
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This article is about Megaera, the character. For information on the first boss, see The Furies. |
| “ | Halt, Zagreus. Not one step further. Your father sent me. All in all, I'd rather be on your bad side than his. Now you can turn back like a good little man, or I can send you home the painful way. What'll it be? | „ |
| ~ Megaera |
Megaera is one of the three sisters Furies. She is the sister of Alecto and Tisiphone, being responsible for punishing adulterers, oathbreakers, and thieves. She is sent by Hades to stop Zagreus from escaping the Underworld. Zagreus must defeat her before progressing to Asphodel during any given escape attempt.
After her first defeat, Megaera will join the House of Hades as a character that can be interacted with, though she will still attempt to stop Zagreus from entering Asphodel. She will be found drinking in the House's lounge, but only after a run in which she was defeated; if the lounge has yet to be re-opened, she will instead hang around in the hallway, on the opposite side of Zagreus's door from where Nyx usually stands.
Apparently, she has been tasked with handling matters in Tartarus apart from her sisters; this includes dealing with Zagreus. According to Megaera, a war amongst the mortals has made the Underworld particularly busy, and her sisters are handling matters elsewhere.
Characteristics and Personality
The first of the Furies, Megaera or Meg, is confident, obstinate, and conducts her work with perfection. She has a special hatred for oath-breakers and takes joy in torturing them for eternity. Despite her composure, her pleasure in punishing them is evident.
Megaera disapproves of all the attention that Zagreus is causing in the Underworld and dislikes his challenging nature. She doesn't want to stop him, but his continued rebellion forces her into a position she hates. Hades trusts her, and her dutiful, law-abiding nature won't stop her from challenging orders if she has a good reason to do so
Zagreus refers to her as his "ex," and both admit that he was responsible. Although Meg does not hold any resentment about it, she will unload her frustration on Zagreus if she is beaten again for him, and will have to punish him, and will sound like a "dominitrix," "with him being able to even like it".
When she's off duty, she tends to relax inside the Lounge and interact with other underlings of Hades, notably Dusa, whom she considers her 'best friend'. Among her sisters, she's the most balanced, sane, and calm, and often gets irritated with their mischiefs. Megaera has a cold gaze, but also has a sweet side towards her friends and towards Zagreus. Outside of the battle against the Fury boss, she is friendly with him and asserts that she is just doing her job, not for personal reasons.
Megaera has a competitive side, taking note of her wins or losses against Zagreus. She doesn't take losing to him well, but her battles against him fuel a friendly rivalry between the two., not a vendetta. Even if Megaera pleads, whether she wants it or not, if she can't handle the task, her younger sisters will be contacted by Hades in her place, which she considers as 'extreme measures'. Despite appearing relentless, even she can have a fragile side. After a stressful day, in the arms of Nyx, she'll express her work-related frustrations.
Physical description
Megaera exudes a stern but alluring presence with her yellow eyes, pale blue skin, and slightly darker blue hair pulled back into a long ponytail. A large, bat-like wing protrudes from the right side of her back, with the inside being black and blue and the outside pink and red. She has bright pink lips, fingernails, and toenails. Her attire consists of dark gray and deep blue robes adorned with gold plates on her calves, shoulders, and right wrist. Additionally, she wears gold earrings, a headpiece, and piercings in her left nostril and eyebrow. She wears coordinate clothing like her sisters, primarily in shades of blue with gold accents. Megaera carries a bright pink leather whip as her weapon of choice.
History
Before Hades
Megaera, born from the blood of a Titan , was the first of the Furies in emerge from Tartarus. She was created with the purpose of punishing transgressors, thieves, and especially those who committed adultery during their mortal lives.
When Megaera grew up, she was hired by Nyx, alongside her sisters, Tisiphone and Alecto to work in the House of Hades, whom she sees as a maternal figure. She has been a longtime friend of Thanatos. At some point, it seems that she had a relationship with Zagreus, which apparently ended due to the circumstances surrounding it. However, Megaera holds no grudges regarding the matter, and she and Zagreus have moved on, leading their respective lives.
Hades
Megaera is the only Fury around at first, and Hades reaches out to her to stop Zagreus's escape attempts. After she fails a few times, Hades will turn to her sisters, which greatly displeases her.
With time, Zagreus tries to rebuild a friendship with her, and eventually is successful. This leaves her at a tight spot, since she has to stop Zagreus at Hades's order, but doesn't really hate him and doesn't want him to think so.
A situation may come up where Dusa is fired by Nyx. Since both are close, this greatly angers Megaera, and she reachs out to Zagreus to solve the situation, as he was partly the reason she was fired. Eventually, Dusa is re-hired, and both thank the prince for it.
Epilogue
With the family problems solved, and Zagreus's escape attempts becoming official securities checks, Megaera will continue to appear at the end of Tartarus to try to stop him, but now their fights are more like friendly banter.
Affinity
If given Nectar, Megaera will give you the Skull Earring.
After giving Megaera 6 Nectar in total, you will be unable to give her any other gift until you complete a favor for her.
Once completing her favor, giving her Ambrosia will earn you the Companion Battie.
Megaera's affinity gauge is maxed out at 10 hearts, requiring the gifting of 6 Nectar and 4 Ambrosia total.
Favor
In order to trigger the first encounter with Megaera in Zagreus' room (to collect her belongings), she must have been gifted at least 4 Nectar.
After a random number of encounters with the Furies, Megaera will approach Zagreus in his room, and tell him that she's only stopping him from escaping because she has to. After this interaction, Megaera can receive Ambrosia the next time she is met in the House of Hades.
It is NOT necessary to enable the "Extreme Measures" condition of the Pact of Punishment.
Romance
Reaching maximum affinity with Megaera will allow Zagreus to either begin a romantic relationship with her or continue as friends. Thanatos, Dusa and Megaera can all be romanced at the same time with no negative repercussions.
If Zagreus is able to fully romance both Megaera and Thanatos, another scene will be unlocked in Zagreus’s Room, in which he, Megaera and Thanatos meet up and can begin a polyamorous relationship.[1]
Codex entry
Megaera Quotes
For quotes and dialogue regarding Megaera, please refer to Megaera/Quotes.
Combat
Megaera can appear as a boss in Tartarus. For more information on the boss of Tartarus, see The Furies.
Trivia
- Megaera is the only one of the Fury Sisters allowed in the House of Hades.
- When Megaera is off duty, she enjoys spending her time with Zagreus and the other employees in the lounge, especially Dusa, who always keeps her informed about the gossip around the House.
- Megaera shows affection for bats in general (in a conversation, she mentions that she raises bat pups). The Chthonic Companion she can give to Zagreus is a bat named Battie.
- The relationship between Megaera and Zagreus is somewhat confusing, as at one point Megaera claims that she and Thanatos have known each other for a long time, even before Zagreus was born. Some confusion may arise from an item called Portrait, Cerberus, which can be obtained from the Contractor and depicts Megaera, Thanatos, and Zagreus as babies. However, this item does not depict canonical events as it includes Skelly in the image. Therefore, the true nature of their relationship remains somewhat unclear.
- Some in-game artwork adds to the confusion by depicting Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto as already adult beings emerging from Tartarus, although this may be more consistent within the game.
- If Zagreus fights her with Exagryph," she is shocked that he has the device and says she's always wanted to see it in action.
- When fulfilling the prerequisites to form a bond between Zagreus and Megaera, she becomes an optional auxiliary character he can rely on in combat. However, she cannot be called upon during his clashes with the Furies in the Underworld, as her main goal is to impede Zagreus' escape in the realm.
- Megaera mentioned that she was born from the blood of a certain Titan, and given the related mythology, she may have been referring to "Uranus." However, it's worth noting that this information is not yet canonical within the game.
- This would implicitly imply that she and Aphrodite are blood sisters, although it has not been officially confirmed.
- Her relationshipp with Nyx being that akin to a mother and daughter might come from how in Greek Mythology Nyx was considered the mother of the Erinyes according to some sources.
- If Zagreus offers her Nectar, she will immediately claim it as "contraband" and "confiscate" it from him. If he is more skilled, Zagreus will playfully refer to the bottles as "more contraband" and ask her to confiscate them for him. At affection level 8, Meg will openly ask Zagreus to stop doing that and comment that he's never been very good at being upfront about his desires around her.
- It's implied that Meg channels her frustration from her defeats at Zagreus's hands towards Sisyphus, even though there are numerous reasons why he received his sentence in the Underworld.
Additional notes
For additional information on Megaera that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Megaera
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