The story
Hyde Kido (城戸 灰都(キド ハイド), Kido Haido): A second-year high school student and the protagonist of the series. He is attacked by a Void on his way home from school, is saved by Linne, but still awakens as an in-birth. Feeling indebted to her, he joins her cause in stopping Hilda's plans, and agrees to eventually cede to her wish and end her immortal life. He gains the ability to wield the legendary blade called the Insulator that holds the power to kill immortals. Despite his newcomer status, Hyde is able to contend with more experienced in-births due to the Insulator's power. Hyde is successful in ending Hilda's plans and bring about a relative peace to the city before Kuon's return brings about the Final Night. Hyde is childhood friends with Yuzuriha, friends with Orie and Tsurugi, a rival to Seth, and Vatista's caretaker.
Linne (リンネ, Rinne): The ancient immortal princess of the Night Blade who has roamed the country for the past 500 years. She was cursed as an immortal alongside her older brother, where Linne's soul transfers to a new host body against her will every time she dies. Linne and Waldstein arrive in Kanzakai, which was close by to the ancestral home of the Night Blade 500 years ago, to investigate the rising cases of in-births and EXS-related activity. Linne and Waldstein identify Amnesia and its leader Hilda as targets to deal with unless Hilda completes her goals of becoming a Re-Birth and becoming a larger threat. During her investigation, Linne runs into Hyde and later saves him from a Void attack but she fails to prevent him from becoming an in-birth. However, Hyde's ability holds the potential for Linne to permanently die so she decides to train Hyde with Wald, making a promise to Hyde for him to one day end her life. Linne's current body is that of an elementary school student. Linne was also involved with a young Seth 10 years prior to the story where Seth promised her that he would be the one to save her from her immortality.
Waldstein (ワレンシュタイン, Warenshutain): A giant and brutish half-Void who fights with weaponized armed claws. He has some wisdom gained from his centuries-long life. He is a former high-ranking member of Licht Kreis before his defection to Night Blade after a war between two organizations, particularly after Kuon saved him from becoming a Void-Fallen. Honoring his oath to Kuon, Waldstein served as Linne's guardian and father-figure for over 500 years. With Kuon's return, his duty of protecting of Linne comes to an end and Waldstein joins Kuon's plans to bring out the Immortalize, if only to have his rematch with the man who once both defeated and saved him.
Carmine Prime (カーマイン・プライム, Kāmain Puraimu): A delinquent and solitary third-year high school student. His prowess has gained the attention of many in-birth organizations across the city, but his severe aversion to groups has him antagonize nearly everyone he meets. He uses a red substance in battle which he thinks is his blood, and thus suffers from placebo wherein he feels weakened should he use his powers for too long. Carmine was scouted by Gordeau to join Amensia to which Carmine vehemently refused and promised to show up and beat them down for the trouble. Carmine is later defeated by Kuon and Carmine swears revenge on him.
Orie Ballardiae (オリエ・バラーディア, Orie Barādia): A second-year high school student and a fifth-rank Executor of the Licht Kreis. She was orphaned ten years prior to the story where her parents were killed by a Void who had the ability to speak. She was recruited into the Licht Kreis and trained as one of their executors, befriending Lex, Kaguya, and Mika and becoming the squad leader of their group. She is sent to Kanzaki alongside her friend Lex Bartholomew, to go undercover, observe, and report on the worsening In-birth situation in Kanzakai as a student "Orie Harada" ("原田 織依"(ハラダ オリエ), "Harada Orie"). She becomes close friends with Hyde after transferring to his school.
Gordeau the Harvester (ハーヴスター・ゴルドー, Hābesutā Gorudō; Harvester Gordeau): A bartender, and one of the co-founders of Amnesia, an organization seeking to dominate the Hollow Night. Gordeau is considered one of the most powerful in-births in the city and was responsible for bringing Chaos into Amnesia's fold after realizing they desperately needed someone with intelligence to guide their actions. He leaves the organization after an accident involving the death of a friend and fellow Amnesia founder, Roger the Survivor (サーヴイヴー・ロジャー, Sābaibā Rojā; Survivor Roger), who was transformed into a Void-Fallen during the same night Amnesia dueled against Bankikai. Gordeau provisionally returns to Amnesia as a mercenary for hire, both defending Hilda's goals while also hunting for Wagner for killing Roger. Gordeau finds it unbecoming for someone his age to feel so powerless and grudge-bearing when he fully knows Wagner saved his life where he hesitated to put Roger down.
Merkava (メルカヴァ, Merukava): A mysterious humanoid-Void capable of speech. He is amnesiac, before he was transformed into a monster. He was once a human allegedly seeking to become a Re-Birth, but the process failed and he was left with a human conscious living inside a Void's body, constantly driven to sate an unnatural hunger. Merkava is all but confirmed to be the Void behind the death of Orie's parents. As a Void, Merkava does not use EXS, but a power known as False (abbreviated as "FLS"). He is the only character to have two Arcade endings in Sys:Celes, with using Infinite Worth EXS against Kuon in the final stage of Arcade Mode results a bad ending, while his good ending has him revert to a human once again.
Vatista (バティスタ, Batisuta): Unit code, 10,067. An ancient "Autonomic Nerve" designed as an anti-Void weapon from eons past. Due to her inhuman origin, she lacks common sense and understanding of human society and social norms. 500 years ago, she gave her seventh wing to Kuon that eventually became the Insulator to save Waldstein's life. Vatista awakens from her slumber in the present day due to the massive fluctuations of EXS in the city, and she seeks to find the one responsible. Like Merkava, Vatista uses the power of FLS rather than EXS. She meets Hyde out in the Night and when Hilda's defeat unexpectedly has Vatista still operational, Vatista concludes that her mission was not complete. Vatista tells Hyde that she planned to stay awake and wait in the park for another month but Hyde offers his home for Vatista to stay in.
Read the full text
Seth the Assassin (アサシン・セト, Asashin Seto; Assassin Seth): A first-year high school student and a descendant of the original Night Blade clansmen. He met Linne ten years ago, when she was inhabiting another body named Chitose (チトセ). Seth made a promise to her that he would free her from the immortality forced upon her but his powers were incompatible with his goals. In the present day, he gains a pair of daggers named the Eliminators from Chaos, who himself was supplied by an unknown benefactor, in exchange for his skills to be used for Amnesia's purposes in targeting problematic In-births in the city that would threaten their position. Seth accepts the offer as the Eliminators give him the chance he always sought after to save Linne from her fate. Seth seeks to end Kuon and Linne's tortured lives and absolve his family line of their crimes. He is a rival to Hyde because of this as Hyde is reluctant to end Linne's immortality.
Yuzuriha (ユズリハ): A carefree swordswoman hailing from the clan who abandoned the Night Blade centuries ago and founded the Dual Moon Single-Blade Style of swordsmanship. Wielding her family heirloom the Iris Blade: Kamiji-no-Homare, nicknamed "Ayame" (アヤメ), Yuzuriha acts as the neighborhood guardian, patrolling the night to subdue quarreling in-births and save people from Void attacks. She is a childhood friend of Hyde, before an awkward incident led to them avoiding each other.
Hilda the Paradox (パラドックス・ヒルダ, Paradokkusu Hiruda; Paradox Hilda): The first boss character of the original release and Exe:Late sub-series, and the leader and co-founder of Amnesia alongside Gordeau and Roger. She seeks to become a Re-Birth due to her exceptional EXS capacity. Her excessive use of her powers have caused her "other-self" to take over her psyche, slowly turning her more unhinged and bloodthirsty to the point it has evolved her powers. Hilda is eventually defeated by Hyde and her ambitions are temporarily put on hold. Her second attempt to become a Re-Birth is personally thwarted by a restored Kuon. Hilda returns to make her third and final bid at becoming a Re-Birth in the Final Night.
Bloody Chaos (ブラッディ・ケイアス, Buraddi Keiasu): Real name Kei Asuma (明日真 景(アスマ ケイ), Asuma Kei). Amnesia's chief tactician and de-facto second-in-command who has the ability to project and manifest a creature based on the catalyst of his choosing that is limited to books. He is accompanied by Azhi Dahaka (アジ・ダハーカ, Azi Dahāka), a monstrous lizard-like Void summoned from the Chaos Code stolen from a Licht Kreis facility shortly before joining Amnesia. He is the one who hired Seth with the Eliminators he gained from an interested third party. Chaos is revealed to have been supporting Kuon for a considerable amount of time in order to learn the secrets of the Hollow Night. After Kuon regains his powers and announces the Final Night, Chaos breaks away and seeks to stop him.
Nanase (ナナセ): A second-year middle school student who is attacked by a Void and turned into an In-Birth. Misunderstanding how one becomes an In-Birth, she mistakenly believes Hyde to be responsible for her transformation despite him being the one who saved her. Later, Nanase temporarily has a truce with her pursuit of Hyde and follows Phonon's footsteps to join the EFG in Sys:Celes,
Byakuya (ビャクヤ): A middle school boy accompanying his "sister", Tsukuyomi (ツクヨミ). In truth, Byakuya's real sister died in a car accident and Byakuya ventured into the night in a fit of sadness and rage. In an attempt to die out in the wilderness, Byakuya becomes an In-Birth when he encounters a powerful Void. Byakuya eventually meets Strix (ストリックス, Sutorikkusu), a former member of the disbanded Bankikai, who he insists on escorting around the Hollow Night because she resembles his sister. Strix accepts her role, because she cannot access her powers to defend herself as a result of becoming a Zero Vessel (器割れ(ゼロヴェセル), Zero Vesseru). He helps Strix search for her former fellow member, Zohar, who went insane after being tainted by the Abyss as well as the presumed death of their leader, Ogre.
Phonon the Chemeti (シュメティ・フォノン, Shumeti Fonon; Chemeti Phonon): Real name Yoshiko (良子(ヨシコ)). Nanase's upperclassman and childhood-friend with a chūnibyō personality. She is recruited to join a student-led organization called the Exist Force Guardians (EFG), who seek to protect their fellow students from Voids and groups of other In-Births as an on-and-off member. Phonon joined at the promise of receiving a weapon, where she receives her pet-snake and whip Muniel. Phonon expresses her intent to leave the organization multiple times as she finds the rules of the EFG too limiting but frequently cites her affiliation with them.
Mika Returna (ミカ・リターナ, Mika Ritāna): A tenth rank Executor of Licht Kreis and a member of Orie's team. She is reckless, stubborn and hyperactive to the point she is often punished by her superiors for her hastiness. Despite her petite frame, she wields extraordinary strength and her gauntlets amplify them even further. Mika was initially meant to be sent to Japan alongside Orie and Lex for their assignment but her failure to pass a written exam barred her from leaving. Mika decides to stage a daring escape from Licht Kreis headquarters and boards a plane that is shot down and is forced to survive on a remote island before trying to reach Japan by raft. Mika is eventually able to reach Japan and reunite with her friends.
Gaien Enkidou (円鬼堂 凱庵(エンキドゥ ガイエン), Enkidō Gaien): An experienced martial artist who goes by simply Enkidu (エンキドゥ). He felt that human opponents did not challenge him enough for his quest for strength and became an In-Birth to challenge those with supernatural abilities. Enkidu's EXS powers are pointed out by multiple characters as being incredibly faint and that his combat prowess is predominantly his own skills in martial arts. He ends up joining Amnesia after Hilda promises him that in their organization's quest for dominance she will provide him all the worthwhile challengers he seeks. He particularly wishes to duel Gordeau and Waldstein. After achieving victory over Waldstein, he decides to leave Amnesia and later sides with Kuon in Sys:Celes who similarly promises him the prospect of fighting many powerful challengers seeking to stop his plans. The shackle on his wrist is revealed to be suppressing an entity separate from the alter-ego that is within every in-birth.
Miyashiro Erika Wagner (宮代(ミヤシロ)・エリカ・ワーグナー, Miyashiro Erika Wāgunā): A high-ranking fourth rank Executor of Licht Kreis and the scion of the esteemed Wagner family who have faithfully served the Licht Kreis for at least five centuries. Famed as the prodigious "Void Hunter", she is Orie's self-proclaimed rival after a perceived slight. Wagner was sent to school in Japan as both punishment for her previous misconduct and to grow past her sheltered upbringing. She is usually accompanied by her two aides, Sakurai and Murayama. She was responsible for mercy-killing Roger when he transformed into a Void-Fallen after the duel between Ogre and Hilda. Initially attending a prestigious all-girls academy, she later transfers to the same school as Hyde, Orie, Seth, Carmine, and Tsurugi.
Londrekia Light (ロンドレキア・ライト, Rondorekia Raito): Wagner's self-proclaimed rival and a member of Ritter Schild, a male-only branch organization of Licht Kreis resulting from Waldstein's defection to the Night Blade that made Licht Kreis' supreme leader Adelheid throw out all the men from her organization. Londrekia was created specifically to defeat the heirs of the Wagner bloodline and has cryo-based abilities to counter the Wagner's fire-based abilities. He ultimately seeks to have both organizations make amends and unite again to strengthen their ability to help and protect others. He becomes acquainted with Merkava and offers him a chance to become human again should the Ritter Schild find a way to reverse his condition.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ecole Software, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4