Reality is a Bitch

The first eight characters listed, known as the Infinity 8, retain the same titles as those of the Eight Phases from the original .hack series. Note: The "Infinity 8" can also be known as the "Eight of Epitaph".

• Haseo, the Terror of Death (ハセヲ, Hasewo) (Ryou Misaki) - Adept Rogue: The protagonist of the G.U. franchise and a PKK (Player Killer Killer). He is first shown seeking Azure Kite, who is believed to be the infamous Player Killer Tri-Edge, who sent his friend Shino into a coma. He is depicted as skilled and quick-witted, but prone to lose his temper. He is trained by Kuhn and Pi of the guild Raven to control his Avatar, Skeith. Haseo is Sora from the first version of The World
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• Atoli, the Mirage of Deceit (アトリ, Atori) (Chigusa Kusaka) - Harvest Cleric: Seemingly the female lead of the series. The World is the first net game she has played and she is very friendly and upbeat. She is part of the Moon Tree Guild and idolizes Sakaki. She also appears to be fond of Haseo despite the fact that he only spends time with her because her PC (Player Character) resembles Shino of .hack//Roots. She is a 16-year-old high school student named Kusaka Chigusa in real life. She controls the Avatar, Innis.
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• Kuhn, the Propagation (クーン, Kūn) (Tomonari Kasumi) - Steam Gunner: A strong and flirtatious man who wishes for peace in The World. He is a member of "Raven" and part of the project to destroy AIDA. He was once a member of the newbie help guild Canard, and even now, he is admired by Silabus and Gaspard. Kuhn currently lives by himself and is single despite his popularity with girls in The World. He controls the Avatar, Magus. In reality, he is the ex-boyfriend of Mai Minase, one of the heroines of .hack//Liminality, and a former coma victim from the previous version of the World, much like Haseo/Sora.
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• Yata, the Prophet (八咫, Yata) (Takumi Hino) - Macabre Dancer: Formerly Naobi, Guildmaster of TaN, he is now the Guildmaster of Raven. Yata is a System-Administrator and in charge of Project GU, a project meant to use Epitaph-Wielders to destroy AIDA within the game. He was formerly known as Wiseman, a Wave Master who helped Kite during the first four .Hack games. Sakaki takes over GU for a short period of time in vol. 3 which makes him withdraw and ultimately results in his Avatar going berserk. He controls the Avatar, Fidchell.
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• Sakubo, the Machinator (朔望, Sakubō) (Iori Nakanishi) - Shadow Warlock: Supposedly a PC played by two people; Saku, who speaks in Kansai-ben, and Bo; a shy and quiet player. Saku is an alternate personality of Bo (albeit the much more forward of the pair), and is obsessed with Endrance. They control the Avatar, Gorre.
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• Endrance, the Temptress (エンデュランス, Endurans) (Kaoru Ichinose) - Blade Brandier: A player with so much skill and power that he's considered superior even by the greatest players in The World. He is the Emperor of the Demon Palace in Lumina Cloth and has numerous fans. However, he's extremely cold and only ever shows emotion towards the cat he has on his shoulder. In real life he is a 20-year-old hikikomori and the former .hacker Elk. In the game he is also an Epitaph User that controls the Avatar, Macha
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• Pi, the Avenger (パイ, Pai) (Reiko Saeki) - Tribal Grappler: Previously a member of TaN known as Ender, she encounters Haseo shortly after he's Data-Drained and comments on his strange powers. She is a member of Raven and involved in the project to take down AIDA. She trains Haseo in the game to use his Avatar, and is attacked by AIDA when they reach the end of the dungeon. Haseo then Data Drains her infected Avatar. She's a 24-year-old system engineer named Saeki Reiko in real life, And controls the Avatar, Tarvos.
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• Ovan, the Rebirth (オーヴァン, Ōvan) (Masato Indou) - Steam Gunner: The former Guildmaster of the Twilight Brigade (a Guild devoted to finding the Key of the Twilight) and an old friend of Haseo's. He is one of the greatest mysteries of The World and seems to know more than he lets on. His PC's data is apparently as large as that used for an entire game field. This is because of his left arm, kept sealed away, which has an AIDA (in the form of a third arm, named AIDA ) attached to it. It is revealed that he is the person who PKed Shino and leaves the A-like signs around on fields. Has the uncontrollable Avatar, Corbenik.
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