Infinite

Infinite (インフィニット, Infinitto?) is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anthropomorphic jackal and the former leader of the Jackal Squad mercenary group, holding the title of the "Ultimate Mercenary" (究極傭兵, Kyūkyoku Yōhei?). Infinite originally targeted Doctor Eggman before joining the Eggman Army, only to fall at the hands of Shadow the Hedgehog while defending one of Eggman's facilities. Ashamed of his failure, Infinite chose to wield the power of the Phantom Ruby not only as a means of becoming stronger, but also to abandon his previous identity. With his newfound power, Infinite aided Eggman in expanding the Eggman Empire to its largest size to date after defeating Sonic the Hedgehog. Near the end of the War to Take Back the Planet, Infinite faced Sonic and the Avatar multiple times, until he was defeated during the decisive battle for the planet, losing the Phantom Ruby soon after. Infinite secretly escaped by faking his demise and eventually met someone who showed him an Astroscopic Lens. Infinite mastered the artifact's abilites and sought to obtain the other Lenses to restore his power. However, he would eventually be defeated again by the combined efforts of Team Chaotix and their allies, though seemingly not for good. Before acquiring the Phantom Ruby’s power, Infinite was a selfish and arrogant individual whose Jackal Squad had a vicious reputation. Openly encouraging his subordinates to go for the kill, he had no qualms about taking lives to obtain bounties. He also had a large ego, using the title of the "ultimate mercenary". The Phantom Ruby revealed that Infinite's deepest desire at this time was a desolate world: this is because he hated the people of the world, calling them shallow and petty, and wishing to tear it all down. He then ignored his comrades and chose to join the Eggman Empire to achieve his goal. While working for Doctor Eggman, he held little respect for his employer. However, Infinite's ego was completely shattered when he was so easily beaten by Shadow the Hedgehog. Infinite was furious about Shadow defeating his subordinates, but he completely detested his own terrified reaction to Shadow's power in this encounter, conflicting with his preconceived views of himself. This sent him into a spiral of fear and self-hatred, leading him to cast away his previous identity and wear a mask so he no longer had to see his own cowardly face. Once his pride was crushed and he was faced with true fear, Infinite comforted his ego by using the Phantom Ruby to grow stronger so he could inflict fear in others instead. Infinite again arrogantly believed he was unbeatable, his pride returning a hundredfold. He showed great pleasure in destruction and sadistically tormented those in the Resistance as he crushed their forces, relishing in his own ability to make others fear him, the same fear and despair that he once felt. At his core, Infinite has a selfishly individualistic outlook on the world and a sadistic fascination with fear, a trait that is emphasized by his eerie design; especially by his inspiration, the namahage, a Japanese monster known for frightening children. His goal to trap the world in a "never-ending nightmare" as revenge also indicates his love of tormenting others with fear. Infinite speaks in a theatrical and self-important manner, with Shadow noting that he had a "big mouth". He also proved to have a darkly dry sense of humor, often mocking his enemies with cruel jokes. Unlike Dr. Eggman, who excitedly reveals his plans while gloating to his enemies, Infinite never revealed anything about himself, remaining aloof and mysterious. He claimed that it was natural for the strong to vanquish the weak, placing himself at the top of the hierarchy. Though his confidence was not without validity, Infinite's hubris was so great that he would sometimes leave his enemies to grovel in fear rather than finish them off, believing fully that they were no threat to him; this may also be inspired by his encounter with Shadow, who did the same to him. Similarly, his confidence was such that he even rubbed Eggman in on the latter's failure to stop Sonic repeatedly especially compared to his defeating him on the first try. On some level, Infinite also desired a challenge, as he wondered if the world had any challenges left after foiling Operation Big Wave. He was, however, able to acknowledge attributes of his opponents he deemed commendable, as he acknowledged that Omega was "spirited" before defeating him and during his rematch with Sonic, he begrudgingly acknowledged that Sonic had improved since their last fight. In the Japanese version, he uses the impolite pronoun "ore" (俺) and often calls his opponents trash. Despite his illusory power, Infinite was clearly still scarred by his encounter with true power. He remained highly insecure and loathed his "old self", assuming that Shadow didn't remember him because he was too pathetic back then. His illusion of Omega also descended into a mantra of "I AM NOT WEAK", seemingly reflecting Infinite's inner torment. Infinite also refused to count on anyone but himself, forming illusory Phantom Copies as little more than drones in his army. This was ultimately his downfall, as the teamwork of Sonic and the Avatar was capable of defeating his lone wolf mindset. Both Sonic and Amy noted that Infinite's existence was ultimately a sad and lonely one that he imposed on himself. Before obtaining the finalized Phantom Ruby, Infinite was apparently a strong fighter in his own right, his skills having earned him the title as the "ultimate mercenary". However, he was nowhere near as powerful as the likes of Shadow the Hedgehog. On his own, Infinite was shown to be fairly fast and agile in his movements, being capable of high-speed leaps and lunges across several meters, although his speed was easily outclassed by Shadow's Chaos Control abilities. He has also demonstrated above-average durability by taking a sound thrashing from Shadow and then getting back up. He was also skilled at swordplay. In The Chaotix Casefiles, after losing the Phantom Ruby, Infinite adopts a more cunning and methodical approach. He operates covertly to steal the Astroscopic Lenses, disguising himself as others to infiltrate secure locations. He demonstrates quick thinking under pressure, dodging attacks and escaping using misdirection, and shows strategic patience, waiting until his opponents are distracted before striking. After being fused with the Phantom Ruby, Infinite gained powers superior to those of the Master Emerald's. In his own words, Infinite had acquired "unrivaled" power and the "ultimate strength" through his gemstone. Infinite's newfound strength proved so great that he was able to effortlessly defeat figures like E-123 Omega and Silver the Hedgehog, and ultimately best even Sonic the Hedgehog twice, the first time with great ease. He was even able to single-handedly overwhelm the entire Resistance army during Operation Big Wave. His power was such that not even the Miles Electric was able to give an accurate reading of his capabilities. After his fusion with the finalized Phantom Ruby copy, Infinite acquired the ability to generate, destroy, and manipulate virtual realities, which he could turn into virtual reality projections to interact with reality. Said virtual realities are illusions, which Infinite creates by exercising control of one's visual and depth perception by feeding the brain false information.[49] He was able to use his projections to enable his virtual realities to interact with the real world in order to bestow powers on himself. Having no limitations to the illusions he could create, Infinite had, within the influence of his Phantom Ruby, unlimited abilities. Within his Ruby's virtual realities, Infinite was able to make himself faster and stronger than even Sonic. His speed was so great that he was able to outpace Sonic while he was boosting. Similarly, his strength became potent enough to knock away someone of Sonic's size with enough force to crack a concrete arch upon impact. He also used his Ruby to give himself the power of flight and levitation, deadly energy beam emission, energy ball projection, self-replication, size enhancement, shockwave manipulation, gravity distortion, object materialization and teleportation. He was even able to manifest giant monsters in his likeness, trap beings in virtual realities, create a whole sun that moved according to his will and mimic the special techniques of others, such as Metal Sonic's exclusive V. Maximum Overdrive Attack. In battle, Infinite primarily used his finalized Phantom Ruby copy to generate crimson cubes that he could skillfully and willingly move around. If an opponent got struck by these cubes, they would be sent into a virtual reality where they were assailed by objects manifested by his Ruby's power. He could generate a large number of these cubes and arrange them into a variety of different shapes and forms. Infinite could also use his Ruby's power to create Phantom Copies that cause his victims to falsely perceive the presence of other characters. These copies are described by Shadow as having "mass and form, but no heart or soul". These copies, so long as Infinite desired, could also carry the memories, powers and personalities of the originals. Accordingly, Infinite could create an unlimited number of them. He could also alter them to make them stronger than the originals, such as enhancing the size of a Metal Sonic Phantom Copy granting him the ability to use electrified versions of his energy cubes as well as to materialize objects to use as a shield. Using his finalized Phantom Ruby copy's power, Infinite was also capable of manipulating nothingness itself, allowing him to create Null Space, which is a seemingly inescapable void in space-time where absolutely nothing exists. When opening a portal into Null Space, Infinite could reinforce such