Infinite

Infinite (インフィニット), formerly known as the "ultimate mercenary" (究極傭兵), is the secondary antagonist in Sonic Forces. He is an anthropomorphic jackal, and was formerly the leader of the Jackal Squad mercenary group. During a raid, Infinite was hired by Dr. Eggman to protect his facility, only for him and his squad to fall at the hands of Shadow the Hedgehog. Ashamed of his loss, Infinite decided to obtain the power of the Phantom Ruby as a means of not only becoming stronger, but to also abandon his "weak", past self.

Concept and creation
During the original drafts, Infinite was originally called "Zero". His final name ("Infinite") was intended to reference the nature of his ability.

According to Shun Nakamura, Infinite was created with an impressive and strong presence in mind since he would be accompanied by old bosses in Sonic Forces. This is the reason why he was made stronger and faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. His nature likewise inspired the staff to elaborate on his origin story. Sonic Team was also peculiar about giving him a cool, but evil design, with his mask being designed especially to emphasize his evil nature.

Appearance
Infinite is an anthropomorphic jackal with black fur. He has white long and stiff dreadlocks, a white collar of some kind, and white stripes on his back that resemble a ribcage. He also has a bushy tail with a white tip, and wears black gloves with silver streaks on the back, covering his sharp fingers. He also has pointed, metal black hi-tops, with his personal infinity symbol engraved on red soles. His right eye is colored blue, though he has a scar across it, and his left eye is yellow. He also has a medium-long white muzzle with cheek tuffs, a black nose, and noticeable fangs.

After abandoning his old identity, Infinite began wearing a silver-colored mask with large ears with white and black circular patterns on the inside, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye is visible through a red visor, his right eye is covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eyepatch, that is connected to his mask's right ear, which glows red when he uses his power.

Infinite possesses the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype that is fused to his chest. When Infinite channels the power of the gemstone, he can surround himself in a red aura, with red, glitch-like pixel particles scattered throughout his body.

Past
Infinite was once the leader of the Jackal Squad, who decided to invade one of Dr. Eggman's bases one day to steal his devices for a bounty. The doctor, who recently discovered the Phantom Ruby, used the newly-found gemstone to conjure an army of Egg Pawns, giving the Jackal Squad some opposition. Infinite commanded his forces to handle the robots as he targeted Eggman straight ahead. Infinite's sword, however, struck against the Phantom Ruby, giving a vision of what Infinite desired the most: a desolate, destroyed world. Eggman, who also saw Infinite's vision, realized that he and the jackal leader together could accomplish their goals. Offering Infinite a chance at joining his side as the Jackal Squad was cornered, Infinite accepted the proposal.

Later on, Infinite and his squad eventually fell victim to Shadow the Hedgehog, who infiltrated Eggman's Facility, which they were assigned to guard. After being berated by Eggman for his incompetence at protecting the facility, Infinite ambushed Shadow, only to be completely subdued by the brooding hedgehog. Calling the jackal leader worthless, Infinite broke into a tantrum, realizing just how weak and humiliating he truly was.

Infinite would then seek out the alligence of the Eggman Empire, fusing with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype in an attempt to become stronger and seek out vengeance against Shadow. With his newfound power, Infinite abandoned the former, weak version of himself, gaining a mask to hide his scars, symbolizing his rebirth.

Shortly after obtaining his powers, Infinite was dispatched by Dr. Eggman to deal with E-123 Omega, who had proceeded to slaughter a whole lot of Eggman's henchmen on his way through Eggman's base. Confronting Omega, Infinite proceeded to effortlessly defeat the robot with his abilities.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, Infinite became the right-hand man of Dr. Eggman. When Eggman attacked a large urban center with his robots, Infinite engaged Sonic the Hedgehog alongside replicas of Shadow, Metal Sonic, Zavok and Chaos created by the Phantom Ruby. Overwhelming Sonic with his power, Infinite defeated and captured Sonic.

After's Sonic's defeat, Infinite and Eggman would go on with their conquest unrivalled. Eventually, the doctor was able to conquer 99% of the planet, resulting in the Eggman Empire controlling that much of the world. Instated as the leader of Eggman's entire army, Infinite worked alongside his replicas of Sonic's past foes to install fear into the subjugated population. However, a rag-tag Resistance founded by Sonic's friends continued to oppose the empire, though they proved to be of little threat.

Some time after the defeat of Sonic, Infinite faced and effortlessly wiped out a Resistance squad, before turning his attention to the sole survivor, cowering in fear, though pathetically attempting to resist with a Wispon. Mocking and taunting them for their fear, Infinite did allow the survivor to flee with their life, only so he could relish in their terrified screams as he laughed with sadistic pleasure.

Later on, Infinite came into contact with Resistance member Silver the Hedgehog in Mystic Jungle, and, although didn't intend to meet Silver, decided to crush him anyway to send a message to the Resistance. The fight was fast and heavily one-sided, though Silver did manage to knock a Phantom Ruby prototype from Infinite's possession, something neither of them noticed. Knocking Silver on his back, Infinite prepares the finishing blow, only to be interrupted by Sonic. Intrigued by Sonic's arrival, he remarks how he can "smell the fear off him", and is glad he left an impression, though Sonic smugly states the smell is his body odor from running, and that he isn't scared, not even knowing Infinite's name. Infinite then finally introduces himself, and Sonic, while "asking" about what Infinite's favorite color was or whether he liked long romantic walks on the beach in his trademark banter, demands to know the source of his power. Infinite refuses and knocks Sonic away to deal with him.

Eventually, Infinite is surprised that Sonic is more powerful than before, though he still manages to beat him. Seeing Sonic defeated on the ground, Infinite mocks Sonic, calling him too weak to finish, and leaves.

Meeting Eggman in Green Hill, Infinite destroys what he thinks is the final Phantom Ruby prototype. Eggman brings up Infinite's encounter with Sonic, and Infinite lets slip that he let him go, something that Eggman is greatly concerned over, though Infinite dismisses his concerns, stating that Sonic is not a concern for a being like him. Infinite then hears something, but dismisses it as nothing, and asks if the plan goes on as usual, which Eggman confirms, and the two briefly relish at the thought of their so-close victory, before Infinite leaves.

Later, the Resistance launches a full-scale assault on Eggman's capital city of Metropolis. Things go well for them, but Infinite then appears, and, on Eggman's orders, activates the Phantom Ruby on the entire Resistance, creating towering, monstrous versions of himself, causing the Resistance to fall into chaos and lose at least 80% of their forces. Watching the anarchy, Infinite wonders aloud if the world will send him a challenge, just as the survivor from all those months ago, now a Resistance rookie, approaches them, though Infinite doesn't recognize them. Sensing their fear, Infinite taunts them, asking if they'd rather stay and die, or flee in terror. However, the rookie holds their ground, and Infinite engages them in combat. After a bit of fighting, Infinite finally recognizes the rookie as the one they spared all those months ago. He summons cannons to finish them off, but, because the rookie found the Phantom Ruby prototype Infinite dropped earlier, they are immune to the Phantom Ruby's effects. Though at first shocked, Infinite dismisses them, stating only two days remain before the Resistance is wiped out, then once again leaves.

After this, despite their crippled forces, the Resistance finds the power source of the Phantom Ruby on the Death Egg and destroy it. Infuriated, Eggman, Orbot, Cubot and a reluctant Infinite retreat, with only five hours before the plan. The Resistance once again attacks Metropolis, however, Infinite and Eggman catch Sonic off-guard and send him to the Phantom Ruby's Null Space, alongside the rookie, who attempted to save him. Eggman then reveals that he anticipated the Death Egg's destruction, and built a back up under Metropolis. However, Sonic and the rookie do escape and track down Eggman and Infinite once more, with both villains surprised and displeased at their survival. Out of options, they once again flee.

Infinite, Eggman, and the Eggman Empire's remaining forces rally at the Eggman Empire Fortress. As the Resistance storms the fortress, Infinite confronts them with an army of his replicas. Fighting through, Sonic and the core members of the Resistance face him. Responding to Sonic sarcastically asking if he missed him, Infinite states that he did indeed miss Sonic, as he looked forward to finally finishing the Resistance. Blasting them back, he begins mocking them, but is interrupted by the sudden arrival of E-123 Omega, who, having finally been repaired, has joined the battle seeking vengeance for his previous defeat. Irritated, Infinite creates a virtual sun that is slowly falling upon them, which, as a part of their perceived reality, will destroy them. The Resistance can do nothing as Eggman and Infinite gloat, but the sun suddenly disappears just as it is about to hit, thanks to the rookie and their Phantom Ruby prototype. As the battle resumes, Infinite flees the battlefield, followed by Sonic.

Facing him once again, Infinite claims that he can still beat Sonic, despite the strain generating the sun took on the Phantom Ruby. Cocky as ever, Sonic pays no heed to his mocking and fights him. Soon after, the Phantom Ruby recharges, and Infinite prepares to unleash its power, only to be once again be interrupted, this time by the rookie. Working together, the rookie and Sonic manage to finally defeat Infinite.

Kneeling in defeat, Infinite struggles to comprehend his loss, while Sonic claims that it was the heart, soul and the bonds of friendship that beat him, all things Infinite and his replicas lack. As his body warps and glitches, unable to control the Phantom Ruby anymore, Infinite is then dragged off towards the base under where his current identity was originally conceived, all the while struggling and protesting that he can still fight.

By the time Eggman appears with his Death Egg Robot powered by the Phantom Ruby, Infinite is nowhere to be seen, making it unclear what happened to him. Infinite is included in the hordes of replicas that Eggman generates to crush the Resistance, but they fade away upon Eggman's defeat.

Personality
Infinite is an enigmatic and mysterious, yet lethal and dark figure. He is cold and stern, though deeply sadistic and cruel. Prior to becoming Infinite, however, he had at least some degree of care for his men in Jackal Squad, as he angrily confronted Shadow over the destruction of the Jackal Squad before fighting him. He is also extremely sadistic, taking great pleasure in the pain and torment of others. He even willingly lets the Avatar run unharmed, just so he could relish in their terrified screams. His violent disposition was present even before his transformation into Infinite, as evidenced by his striking the Phantom Ruby with his sword, causing it to reveal a desolate, war-torn world. It also seems that he greatly dislikes stagnation, admitting as he joined Eggman that he had grown tired and bored of the world, and desired to change it, evidently for the worst, just to provide some amusement.

Extremely collected and confident with a cynical, nonchalant demeanor, Infinite presents himself as perceptive and aloof, toying with and barely sparing his enemies a thought even in direct combat. He also appears rather arrogant and sure about his strength, as he often exhibits a sense of superiority when talking to others and shows little respect for figures like Sonic. His arrogance was evident even before becoming Infinite, as he constantly referred to himself as the "Ultimate Mercenary". Fittingly, he also mocks those who find strength in others, believing that one can only rely on themselves, and that friends and allies are nothing more than a "fleeting illusion". He is, however, able to acknowledge attributes to his opponents he deemed commendable, as he acknowledged before attacking Omega that the latter was "spirited" and during his rematch with Sonic, he begrudgingly acknowledges that Sonic had improved since their last time.

His most notable character trait, however, was his inferiority complex, especially regarding any perceived weakness he might have. This was most especially apparent when he fought Shadow and was easily beaten by him. After Shadow bluntly told him he was worthless and told him to not show his "pathetic face" to him ever again, Infinite proceeded to rage about how he was not weak before ultimately subjecting himself to being fused with the Phantom Ruby prototype, and completely discarding any trace of his old identity, to the point where he refused to show his own face. Other indications of this trait were shown where he expressed disgust at Eggman calling a retreat, viewing it as a tacit admission to weakness. Even after his defeat, Infinite tries to insist that he can fight on, even as he is pulled from the battlefield. This inferiority complex is implied to have developed into a mad obsession with strength. When Shadow runs through a Phantom Ruby-made Green Hill, Infinite's thoughts are echoed through a false Omega, constantly repeating that he was not weak, almost like a paranoid reassurance, showing Infinite as a truly insecure individual.

Owing to his obsession with strength, Infinite also demonstrates a Darwinian view of life, which is especially evident with his fight against the Avatar at Metropolis, where he declares that the weak ultimately exist solely to be vanquished by the strong, and later his admission that he underestimated how desperately the feeble will cling to life when the Avatar managed to hold their own against him.

Powers and abilities
Described as powerful, Infinite is said to possess a strange ability. His power surpasses even that of Sonic's, whom he was able to defeat in combat with relative ease (a feat prior performed only by Shadow), not only once, but twice. He was also able to effortlessly defeat E-123 Omega in a flash. Likewise, Infinite was also capable of defeating Silver the Hedgehog with ease. His power was such that not even the Miles Electric was able to give an accurate reading of his capabilities.

After gaining the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite obtained unprecedented speed and acceleration that surpasses even that of Sonic himself, able to easily dodge one of Sonic's attacks even when he was boosting at point-blank range and move several meters almost instantaneously. He possesses far greater strength than Sonic as well, enough to knock away someone of Sonic's size with enough force to crack a concrete arch upon impact. Prior to being fused with the Phantom Ruby, he was skilled at swordplay, and was shown to be fairly fast and agile in his movements, although his speed was easily outclassed by Shadow's Chaos Control abilities.

Due to Infinite's fusion with the finalized version of the Phantom Ruby prototypes, he acquired the ability to generate, destroy and/or manipulate virtual realities. The virtual realities in question are said to be illusions, and these illusions are generated by distorting the spatial (depth) and visual (optical) information perceived by a living target of intention. The effects of the virtual realities created by the Phantom Ruby are said to be potent enough to cause any illusory injury due to their influence, to affect the victim's physical body. In battle, Infinite primarily uses the Phantom Ruby to generate a large supply of crimson red cubes that he can skillfully and willingly move around. If an opponent is struck by these cubes, they will be sent into a Virtual Reality where they are assailed by objects manifested by the Ruby's power. He can generate and arrange a large numbers of these cubes into a variety of different forms. He can also use them to manifest other objects, such as turrets for example.

Infinite can also use the ruby's power to create virtual reality constructs that cause victims to falsely perceive the presence of other characters, such as Zavok and Chaos. These constructs are described by Shadow as having "mass and form, but no heart or soul". These constructs, so long as Infinite desires, can also carry the memories, powers, and personalities of the originals. He can also alter them to make them stronger than the originals such as making Metal Sonic bigger and granting him the ability to use electrified versions of his energy cubes as well as materialize objects to use as a shield. Infinite can also use the Ruby's power to alter his own appearance such as making himself bigger for his final battle with Sonic.

Using the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite is also capable of limited spatial manipulation, allowing him to distort gravity and create Null Spaces, which are seemingly inescapable voids in space-time that function similar to that of a black hole. Some of Infinite's other Phantom Ruby-based skills include the ability to fire energy blasts from his hands, the ability to teleport in a manner that makes it seems as if his body is being deconstructed into cuboid objects, and the ability to levitate through the atmosphere and through space.

Weapons
Prior to receiving the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite possessed a red sword, which he used with great proficiency, using it to slice through robots with ease.

Weaknesses
While the Phantom Ruby's powers of illusion are formidable, they can be countered by someone who has a Phantom Ruby as well as the Avatar was able to survive Infinite's illusion during their fight in Metropolis and was able to foil Eggman's plan to destroy the Resistance with a virtual replica of the sun. Likewise, the Phantom Ruby's illusions only work if the target is within the Ruby's field of effect. Also, the Phantom Ruby requires a tremendous amount of energy to function, such as the energy provided by the Death Egg. Should its energy supply be cut off, the Phantom Ruby would be rendered inert. This weakness, however, was not fully exploited as Eggman had a back-up energy source built under Metropolis in the event of the Death Egg's destruction.

Another weakness of Infinite's is his extreme sense of pride and constant need to satisfy his sadism. When Infinite destroys the Avatar's squad, he willingly lets them run away unharmed as he enjoyed the sounds of their screams. Later, when he has Sonic at his mercy a second time, rather than finishing him there and then, he just leaves, seeing Sonic as something he need not bother himself with, something that Eggman himself chewed the jackal out for. Both these actions proved to be Infinite's downfall when Sonic and the Avatar ended up beating him together.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Arguably the person who had the most impact on Infinite was Shadow the Hedgehog. After his squad was destroyed by the brooding hedgehog during an attack on Eggman's base, Infinite, furious, attempted to attack him, only to be effortlessly defeated. Before he left, Shadow made clear his disgust, and demanded never to see his "pathetic face" again. Infuriated that he'd been humiliated, the mercenary took Shadow's words to heart, and went on to discard all remnants of his old life, becoming the entity known as Infinite.

Much later, Infinite once again encountered Shadow, having defeated Omega, and was ecstatic, though Shadow failed to remember him. Infinite's reaction to this was to cast Shadow into a false interpretation of Green Hill, where Shadow would be falsely contacted by an Omega who at first, seemed to be perfectly normal, but as time progressed, soon devolved into incessantly repeating that he was not weak. Infinite later uses a false Shadow to help instill fear into the Resistance during Eggman's reign.

It's implied that Infinite was afraid of Shadow before he took his current identity, visibly trembling as the hedgehog criticized him.

Sonic the Hedgehog
His first meeting with Sonic the Hedgehog had him beating the blue hedgehog effortlessly. This ultimately had Infinite's ego receiving a massive boost. When meeting Sonic for the first time since he defeated him at Mystic Jungle, Infinite proceeded to sense a smell from Sonic and assumed the smell was fear of encountering him due to last time, though Sonic corrected him and explained the smell was actually sweat due to Sonic having ran all the way there, and also smugly explained that Infinite had not left an impression on him at all. Because of his beating Sonic twice, he proceeded to spare him, solely because he deemed him not worth killing. However, he does express shock that Sonic held his own for longer than he expected, due to his data indicating he won't be a challenge from last time before ultimately threatening to have him "hold [his] tongue" next time they fight. This would ultimately prove to be his downfall, as not only did Sonic proceed to inspire the Avatar to fight off against him, but both Sonic and the Avatar proceeded to bring him down for the count even with a fully charged Phantom Ruby.

Similar to Erazor Djinn, Infinite also derogatorily referred to Sonic as a "filthy sewer rat", with Sonic asking if he's ever seen a hedgehog before, and even offering to "show [Infinite] his spines."

Avatar
Infinite had a personal connection with Avatar, as he had been responsible for slaughtering their friends during one of his raids during the six months between Sonic's defeat at his hands and the Avatar's joining of the Resistance, with Infinite ultimately sparing them simply to satiate his more sadistic nature of watching them flee in terror. They later re-encountered each other at Metropolis, with Infinite trying to intimidate Avatar, although they, due to Sonic's word of encouragement, ultimately chose to fight Infinite instead of giving in to fear. Infinite then tried to finish them off when remembering who they were, although due to Avatar's possession of a Phantom Ruby prototype, they managed to evade the attack, leaving Infinite shocked before ultimately dismissing the matter and leaving them be. Ultimately, the Avatar alongside Sonic ended up bringing him down for the count.

Dr. Eggman
When Infinite and his squad raided Dr. Eggman's base for weapons to sell, the doctor's army overwhelmed them, and the Phantom Ruby allowed Eggman to get the upper hand against Infinite. Impressed by the jackal, Eggman offered him a place in the Eggman Empire. Infinite, having grown bored with his life, agreed to his proposition. Infinite was later a willing subject in the Phantom Ruby experiments, and had the final version merged with his very being.

Following Eggman's domination of the Earth, Infinite would continue to prove loyal to the doctor, serving as his right-hand and enforcer, though he did not hesitate to voice his displeasure with some of Eggman's choices, and openly acknowledged himself as the better of the two, giving him somewhat more of an equal footing with the doctor than most. Interestingly, Infinite is one of the only powerful entities that Eggman aligned himself with who did not end up betraying him.

Jackal Squad
It would seem that Infinite was close to his former squadmates in the Jackal Squad, as he was furious when Shadow destroyed them. Likewise, the rest of the squad seemed to place a lot of faith and trust in Infinite, believing that they could survive on their own, though ultimately, Infinite's desire to end his boredom proved more important to him than the interests of his teammates.

Silver the Hedgehog
Infinite briefly encountered Silver the Hedgehog at Mystic Jungle. He admitted that killing Silver was not part of his agenda, but he was more than happy to do so due to his belief that it would keep "the rabble" in line to demonstrate that hope is not worth holding on to. However, Silver was unshaken by his claims before fighting him. However, he ended up defeated easily by Infinite, and would have been killed had Sonic not interfered. Ironically, Silver, during this battle ended up sewing the seeds for Infinite's ultimate defeat as well as the failure of Eggman's plan to use an artificial sun to destroy the Resistance, as during their battle, one of Silver's blows caused one of Infinite's Phantom Ruby prototypes to be discarded, with Infinite not noticing this.

Allies

 * Jackal Squad
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Replicas

Enemies

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Avatar
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Amy Rose
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * E-123 Omega
 * Chaotix
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee

Theme songs

 * "Infinite" - Tyler Smyth and Andy Bane

Trivia

 * Infinite is the second Sonic video game character to be depicted with heterochromia, with the first being the Commander.
 * Infinite has a brief cameo in the "Come Join the Eggman Empire" propaganda video nearing the end, where he emerges from behind the Egg Pawns when Eggman claims that the possibilities for those under his Empire are "infinite", acting as a subtle pun.
 * Infinite is the most frequently fought boss in Sonic Forces, fought a total of three times over the course of the game.
 * Infinite is the second villain which disparagingly refers to Sonic as a rat with Sonic correcting him regarding his actual species. The first is Erazor Djinn.
 * It's unknown what Infinite's real name was prior to his transformation by the Phantom Ruby.
 * Concept artwork for the stage Null Space implied that Infinite would have been encountered in the level to some capacity.