Scylla was not always a monster. In her earliest life, she was a beautiful sea nymph, beloved by the sea god Glaucus. This affection incited the jealousy of the powerful sorceress Circe, who secretly poisoned the waters where Scylla bathed, transforming her into a horrific creature. This mythological background is referenced in EPIC: The Musical through both dialogue and musical motifs, highlighting Circe’s lingering impact even in stories where she does not appear in person.

In The Thunder Saga, Odysseus and his crew are led into Scylla’s lair after receiving guidance from a Siren. Tension rises when Eurylochus admits to opening Aeolus’s wind bag, which caused the ship’s original detour. In a grim and calculated decision, Odysseus instructs six torches to be lit—foreshadowing the sacrifice of six men. As Scylla emerges, she violently snatches the marked sailors, confirming the hero’s prediction and illustrating the cold decisions he now makes for survival.

This moment marks another major shift in Odysseus’s character arc. While he once may have sought to save everyone, his experience has hardened him to the point of knowingly sacrificing men to minimize greater loss. Scylla’s attack serves as both a literal and symbolic representation of the journey's toll. She is not just a monster to evade, but a living punishment—one created by jealousy, sustained by fear, and embedded into myth as a reminder that some evils cannot be avoided without blood.