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| “ | We all get what we deserve. No more, no less. | „ |
| ~ Nemesis |
Nemesis is the personification of Retribution and the daughter of Nyx. In Hades, she is only mentioned as one of the previous bearers of the Stygian Blade.
She appears in Hades II as a member of the resistance against Chronos. Her official role is to serve as a sentry for The Crossroads but she will occasionally slip away from her post and appear at the beginning of regular encounters to challenge Melinoë and see which of them can slay more enemies or she may have already killed all the enemies of a location and is waiting to make a trade with Melinoë for an item. Additionally, she can enter chambers and block Melinoë out of them and take items from Charon's Shop.
Nemesis only appears in Erebus, Oceanus, and the Fields of Mourning during a Night otherwise she can be found at her post in the Crossroads where she can be interacted with.
Characteristics and Personality[]
A fiery and tough-hearted goddess who strongly opposes Melinoë, acting as her rival. Nemesis inspires Melinoë to always strive to be better.
Nemesis is hot-blooded, vulgar and tends to be brutally honest, her words are like barbs to Melinoë. She is direct and to the point, proud and arrogant about her abilities. However, Nemesis is also cold, condescending, and resentful, Melinoë remarks that one wouldn't expect such behavior from a goddess of retribution. Nevertheless, she is one of Nyx's most loyal and obedient children, to her mother and her family.
Nemesis has a competitive streak and loves to prove herself and her skills, competing in a body count to see who can take down more monsters. She seems to take everything personally and turns everything into a competition. Occasionally, she acts impulsively and recklessly, putting herself in harm's way and behaving like an adrenaline-fueled fool. When Melinoë enters a room, to test her, Nemesis will tell her to hit her as hard as she can or the other way around in exchange to reward Melinoë.
Her effort is admirable, particularly noticed by Melinoë, who, although not openly admitting it to Nemesis, sees her as a role model. Though both train hard, Mel and Nem comment that Nemesis has always been the stronger, tougher, and braver of the two. This is why Nemesis is constantly frustrated at being relegated to a useless guard post, while a newcomer barely out of diapers is tasked with taking down a titan.
Although she's very stubborn and acts like a full-time tsundere, Nemesis often speaks without thinking and later regrets it. Deep down, Nemesis is so rude to Melinoë because it's evident that this is her way of dealing with the pain. She also misses the rest of her kidnapped family a lot and deeply blames herself for not being there, so her jealousy makes her take it out on Melinoë, believing that as the goddess of retribution, it was her duty to be there to save them. In reality, she wants Melinoë to give up to spare her. Other characters like Moros have noticed that over time, she will change her attitude towards Melinoë and treat her better, striving to be better.
Physical description[]
Nemesis is portrayed as a tall, stately woman with an emphasis on the muscles she gained from her training. She has long dark hair tied in a bun, two large wings with crimson tips around her head, and piercing golden eyes. Nemesis is similar in looks to her mother Nyx but appears more combat ready. Her silver armor is adorned with gold and red accents, with a shield on her left arm and her sword in the other. Her posture is straight and confident. She also wears large hoop earrings and red nail polish.
Background[]
Nyx gave birth to Nemesis at some point after the Fates, but before the twins Hypnos and Thanatos; the exact order of her middle children isn't specified. Unlike Moros, Nemesis was actually raised by Nyx, and mentions having a positive relationship with her mother. Some time after Poseidon discarded the Stygian Blade (which he presumably used against Chronos) it came into the possession of Nemesis. It is unknown how long she wielded it or how she was separated from it before the events of Hades.
Although she grew up in her mother's care, Nemesis is not seen in the House of Hades, and she does not indicate that she witnessed the events surrounding Zagreus' birth. This would suggest that she reached adolescence and left the nest before he was born. The Stygian Blade was housed with the other Infernal Arms in the courtyard at the House of Hades, which allowed Zagreus to wield it and utilize Nemesis' Aspect.
At some point, the Stygian Blade ended up back in her possession, taking on her associated Aspect. She avoided capture during Chronos' capture, presumably because she did not live in the House of Hades with her younger brothers and mother. As a child of Nyx, she is permitted to take refuge with Hecate at The Crossroads. After Chronos' conquest, Hecate enlists Nemesis to protect The Crossroads and its residents, a task Nemesis feels is a waste of her talents.
Hades II[]
During the events of the game, Nemesis initially serves as the guardian of the Crossroads but eventually abandons her post in an attempt to confront Chronos on her own. Determined to face him without assistance from Melinoë, she ultimately fails, as she is repeatedly forced back by the Infernal Beast. Along the Underworld path, Nemesis encounters Melinoë and either challenges her, offers a Fair Trade interaction, or even provides free resources out of her generosity.
Affinity[]
As of Early Access, Nemesis' affinity gauge is maxed out at 9 
hearts.
Book of Shadows Entry[]
Trivia[]
- The blade Nemesis wields is the same Zagreus can wield when the Stygian Blade is under the Aspect of Nemesis.
- The Nemesis Crest item bought in the Well of Charon doesn't seem to be present anywhere in her design.
- In the initial myth, Nemesis was portrayed as a winged figure (symbolically still present in her design) alongside the Wheel of Fate (the object on her left arm), determining the fate of mortals. She was also depicted as a "griffin" - a winged creature with horns, beak, and lion's body. Over time, however, she gradually lost her anthropomorphic nature, specifically with the griffin.
- Nemesis is older than Eris[1], and according to the official Japanese translation, Melinoë refers to Nemesis as Hypnos' (姉) "Onee-chan," meaning "big sister", indicating that she is also the older sister of Thanatos. Nemesis is younger than The Fates and addresses them as "Oneesan-tachi," meaning "older sisters" (お姉さんたち). She refers to Charon as "Karon-nii," meaning "big brother Charon" (カロン兄), and Moros as "Moros-nii" (モロス兄).
- If the player is fast enough, they can enter chambers before Nemesis does, triggering special dialogue from Melinoë.
- She mentions finding it cumbersome to remove her armor, so she almost always keeps it on.
- She helps Melinoë in much the same way as Heracles. Only different is that Nemesis intervenes as Melinoë goes down and Heracles intervenes as Melinoë goes up.
- Her not living in the House of Hades might come from how it was said she resided in Mount Olympus in Greek Mythology.
- Conversations between Artemis and Melinoë about Nemesis seem to imply that Nemesis and Artemis had at one point a very close relationship (possibly intimate) with each other. However, during the game's events they appeared to have broken it "off" and Artemis reassures Melinoë that she can pursue Nemesis as a romantic partner if she wants to.
Gallery[]
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Nemesis icon when activating a bough in the Fields of Mourning. -
Year-end first illustration of HADES II, 2023 by ade_ri_00B
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Nemesis resolution 2022.
Additional notes[]
For additional information on Nemesis that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Nemesis
References[]
