Vector is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL anime. An Emperor from Barian World,[2] he manipulated Dr. Faker and Vetrix to fulfill his own ambition of destroying Astral World. After his first defeat at the hands of Yuma Tsukumo, Reginald Kastle and Kite Tenjo, he orchestrated a new scheme by taking on a human form on Earth and calling himself Ray Shadows (Rei Shingetsu in the Japanese version), as part of a scheme to break Yuma and Astral's bond. When that failed, Vector released the god of the Barian World, Don Thousand, and became his host. They collaborated efficiently, but Thousand eventually betrayed Vector by absorbing him to restore his power. A reformed Vector was revived by Astral after Yuma defeated him in their ceremonial Duel. His actions establish him as one of the central antagonists of the series, having been the prime instigator of most of the story's events through his manipulations of Dr. Faker and Vetrix along with cooperating with Astral's nemesis, Don Thousand, and his treachery against his former colleagues. Vector's true form is colored gray and black with tiny pink gems found on the sides of his body, with a crudely shaped Barian Emblem at the center of it. He has purple eyes with black outlines, and bulbous spiked, gray hair with bangs curling outward around his face. He wears a dark gray short sarong decorated with pink gems around the waist and possesses a pair of black demonic wings also adorned with pink gems on them. He also originally wore a dark purple cloak, while in his true form. His eyes bulge quite noticeably sometimes, highlighting his insanity. While in his energy form, Vector resembles a red winged version of Astral. When Vector possessed Dr. Faker, Dr. Faker's appearance became demonic, changing Dr. Faker's skin red, as well as giving him horns, wings and sharper nails. As a human, he has fair skin, and his bulbous spiked hair is colored orange. Under the guise of Ray Shadows, he wears the first-year male uniform of Heartland Academy, a white shirt with red-lined sleeves and collar, a red tie, blue pants, and a pair of brown shoes. During Heartland Academy's festival, he wore a "Dandylion" cosplay. He also has a very unique Duel Gazer, larger than a normal Duel Gazer with a large red lens and a black head gear that wraps around his head. After he was sent to Earth by Don Thousand, Vector discarded the Heartland school uniform in favor of a dark outfit consisting of a black fur-collared jacket over a purple shirt, dark purple shoes and black pants. His Baria Crystal is a red jeweled necklace. When Vector watches Duels, he no longer uses his unique Duel Gazer; instead, the iris of his left eye turns red. After absorbing the power of four of the other defeated Barian Emperors, Vector's form also changes to reflect his more powerful state, sporting a garb with resemblance to Don Thousand's and a crown similar to an Egyptian hedjet. Vector's design sheets refer to this form as "Rampant Vector" (ランパント・ベクター, Ranpanto Bekutā).[3] In the past, he was a prince who had sliver sashes across his chest, a wind chime-like necklace, a red jeweled sliver necklace on his head, sliver earrings, silver bracelets on his right arm, a purple cape with a hood, purple pants with pointed shoes, and a large golden gauntlet covering his entire left arm, with a spike protruding from said gauntlet. Though he was revealed to have been a kind and benevolent ruler before his corruption, in the present, Vector is manipulative, unpredictable and utterly insane, whose sole motive for gathering the "Numbers" is to destroy the Astral World and the Human World. Vector has also been shown to be extremely cunning, with a tendency to make convoluted, yet effective plans; he made use of various pawns like the Tenjo and the Vetrix families, manipulating both parties and escalating their conflict in order to make them gather "Numbers" more quickly and to destroy the Astral World. On his return, he gave Astral "Number 66: Master Key Beetle" in order to lure him and Yuma into attempting to travel to the Barian World. He then generated a portal to transfer them to "Sargasso the Different Dimension Battlefield" where he and his fellow Barians would have a Dueling advantage.[4] Another example was giving Yuma the "V" cards while posing as Ray Shadows, as both a way to gain his trust and later as part of a Dueling strategy to destroy his Deck and Life Points, as well as corrode Astral's trust in Yuma and make him embrace the darkness.[5] Cruel and sadistic, he enjoys tormenting others for his amusement, even shown to have no compassion for his fellow Barians, even insulting them when they are hurt, much to Mizar's disgust.[6] Even in his past life, though he took his own life to atone for his actions, he was shown to be extremely psychotic and paranoid, unlike the other Barians, due to his altered personality. Vector also has a tendency to act alone, making plans on his own without any regards to his fellow Barians, even going as far as to ambush Alito[7] and siding against Girag[8][9] just to further his own twisted agenda. He has a great hatred for Yuma Tsukumo, Astral, Kite Tenjo, and Shark - due to the four constantly interfering with his plans - particularly Yuma, whom he takes pleasure in taunting him and causing him pain.[4][5] He also demonstrates a tendency to break out into fits of deranged laughter. After being defeated for a second time by Yuma, Vector's hatred for the boy grew to extremely dangerous levels, even going up to the extent of releasing the Barian deity, Don Thousand.[2] He also is shown to be distrustful as noted by Number 96, calling him a "second-rate villain" for using dirty tricks to manipulate Duels.[10] Vector also considers himself a god due to he and Don Thousand merged as one, and as such did not care if he and the Barians were all being used by Don Thousand.[11] It was then revealed that the majority of his persona was due to Don Thousand's manipulation of his memories, and that he was a truly benevolent potentate who detested the concept of war and cared for his people. He got very upset at Don Thousand for this and yelled in agony. However, despite knowing what Don Thousand did, Vector ultimately tossed it aside, continued to mock Nash, and expressed a false remorse.[12] When he saw how far Yuma went to rescue him even after he tried to take Yuma with him as he was about to be absorbed by Don Thousand, Vector had a change of heart, deciding to sacrifice himself while sincerely saying "Yuma-kun" one final time to Yuma.[13] Following his revival, he is shown to be on good terms with the other Emperors. Vector is extremely egotistical, referring to himself as "the strongest Barian warrior" and uses "kono ore" to refer to himself.[6] As Ray Shadows, he used the boyish "boku", which is common for young boys who are usually demure in nature. When pretending to be a member of the "Barian Cosmic Crime Unit", he used the formal and neutral "watashi" and a deeper voice. He also used "watashi" when he possessed Dr. Faker. He also has a habit of making sounds using the word "jyan" (roughly equivalent to "ta-da") when revealing actions that he has done, doing so to Yuma and Astral after revealing that he was Ray,[5] and when he was Dueling Marin and Dumon. During the aforementioned Duels, Vector occasionally used "Ray's" voice to taunt his opponents.[11][17] In the English dub, Vector uses his regular voice to taunt Yuma, but he uses his Ray voice whenever he emphasizes a statement. As "Ray" he would commonly say "for the best" and subsequently as his true self would use the phrase "for the worst" to mirror it. In the English dub, he would use "the Ray Way", doing so in a mocking tone when he revealed himself. In a similar manner to ZEXAL, Vector can merge with another being, except that he is the only one in control, shown when he possessed Faker.[18] When he does this, the merged form resembles his true form. Much like Girag, Vector can also brainwash humans into doing his bidding, though they act more like sleeper agents, not acting on the orders bestowed until a specific time, as seen with Brooke.[19] He is also the only known Barian, who aside from taking on a human form, can also assume an energy form, which is physically similar to Astral. Like others of his kind, Vector also has the ability to teleport through portals.[6] He can also make himself invisible, and phase from one spot to another, as seen when he reunited with Dumon and Mizar.[6] He can create powerful illusions. Doing so, he can effectively create a copy of himself, which he can Duel through while still in his original body. These illusions can take the form of his original Barian self even on Earth.[5] He also has great physical endurance, as he was able to swim through the waters of the Barian Sea that were burning through his body.[2] Vector can also create energy waves that push his enemies back.[20] After becoming the host for Don Thousand, he was able to revive Girag and Alito from their stasis.[2] He is also capable of utilizing telekinesis, shown when he used the ability to levitate Mr. Heartland.[21] After getting more power, he was able to hold back Don Thousand and incinerate him[12] however it is shown Don Thousand only let Vector believe he was stronger before absorbing him.[13] Before becoming a Barian Emperor, Vector demonstrated the capability to play a Shadow Duel. How he was able to do so is unknown. He demonstrates an uncontrollable loathing towards Nash, claiming he "disliked him" from the moment the two met (though most likely Nash's authority) and even going as far as creating a "point system" in which Nash would score 1 point each time Nash spoke, annoyed Vector or did anything and decided to betray him after scoring the grand total of 100,000,000 points.[11] Vector is also shown to be afraid of Nash to an extent, as he was horrified and backed away when he found out he was still alive,[52] and had to be calmed down by Don Thousand when he started to panic at Nash possibly remembering what he did.[53] Vector has a habit of sitting on Nash's throne when the latter is absent.[6][28] Their animosity goes far back in the past, as they went to war with one another, which ended with Nash losing his sister and his army. It is so strong that Vector mused that his heart filled with rage whenever he thought of Shark - before he knew that Shark was actually Nash.[21] During Nash's final duel with Yuma and Astral, Vector's spirit supported Nash as the latter refused to detach the xyz material that contained Vector's soul. In the end, they become allies in the fight against the new threat to the Astral World. Vector disliked Marin because she was Nash's sister. This hatred extended up to the time that they were reincarnated as Barian Emperors and up to the point when Vector took Marin hostage after Nash annoyed him enough to betray him. However, Vector also feared Marin and Nash when they returned to the Barian World and had to be calmed by Don Thousand after he thought that they remembered what he did to them. After the Barians attacked Earth, and Nash ordered the other Emperors to find the remaining "Number" holders, Vector had his own plans to absorb his fellow Emperors to gain their powers (including Marin). When Marin and Dumon returned to the Barian World, he told them his plans and revealed that he revived Don Thousand. He also began to make Marin suffer as he used "Number 43: Manipulator of Souls" to inflict damage to her. The conflict began to get worse when Vector revealed that he attempted to kill Marin and her brother, which made Marin angry and plan to defeat him, even willing to end the Duel in a draw. After Marin mocked him for his combo being broken, Vector got his revenge by revealing that Nash had been captured. He also stole Nash's energy as he restored his Life Points. However after Dumon died to save Marin, she was once again angry with Vector, and had her "Number C103: Ragnafinity" attack his "Manipulator of Souls" but lost to him. In the end, they become allies in the fight against the new threat to the Astral World. Vector's "Over-Hundred Number" is "Number 104: Masquerade",[5] with its upgraded "Chaos" form being "Number C104: Umbral Horror Masquerade".[45] Vector acquired "Number 66: Master Key Beetle" via unknown means and intentionally lost a Duel to Yuma in order to give the card to Astral.[6] After the defeat of Number 96, his power returned to its origin - Don Thousand.[50] This resulted in Vector obtaining the "Numbers" that Number 96 owned, among them "Number 65: Djinn Buster"[22] and "Number 96: Dark Mist"[11] itself, as well as their corresponding "Number C" forms, "Number C65: King Overfiend" and "Number C96: Dark Storm". Don Thousand gave Vector access to four fake "Numbers" - "Number 1: Infection Buzz King",[52] "Number 2: Ninja Shadow Mosquito",[62] "Number 3: Cicada King"[50] and "Number 4: Stealth Kragen".[21] These he gave to the Fearsome Four of the Dark Dueling World.[50] Vector obtained "Number 43: Manipulator of Souls" through unknown means and also upgraded it into "Number C43: High Manipulator of Chaos" After beginning his vendetta against his fellow Barian Emperors, Vector obtained the "Over-Hundred Numbers" they had previously owned - "Number 102: Star Seraph Sentry" from Dumon, "Number 103: Ragnafinity" from Marin, "Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus" from Alito and "Number 106: Giant Hand" from Girag. This also gave him access to their "Number C" forms - "Number C102: Archfiend Seraph", "Number C103: Ragnafinity", "Number C105: Battlin' Boxer Comet Cestus" and "Number C106: Giant Red Hand", respectively.[17][22][59] Presumably, he also gained "Number 58: Burner Visor" from Girag and "Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu", "Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk" and "Number C80: Requiem in Berserk" from Alito. Vector also has access to "Number C5: Chaos Chimera Dragon" and presumably its base form as well.[12] After his loss to Nash, his "Numbers" were taken by Don Thousand when the latter disposed of him.[13] Vector uses an "Umbral Horror" Deck focused on Rank 2 and 4 Xyz Monsters. He utilizes cards such as "Umbral Horror Ghoul" and "Umbral Horror Ghost" to access his "Numbers" quickly, while also using "Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp" to modulate Levels between them. Vector uses several different strategies throughout his Duels. In his first Duel against Yuma he combines "Magical Tomb" with "Number 66: Master Key Beetle" to lockdown his opponent, but this was actually a deliberate ploy meant to be countered by the "V" cards he gave Yuma. During his next Duel against Yuma, he focuses on milling his opponent's Deck through cards such as "Number 104: Masquerade" and "Vain Betrayer". At the same time, the pre-set Field Spell Card "Sargasso the Different Dimension Battlefield" and "Sargasso Lighthouse" ensure his opponent suffers large amounts of effect damage while he remains unscathed. After becoming the host for Don Thousand, Vector shifts his strategy to Rank 2 Xyz Monsters such as "Number 43: Manipulator of Souls" which he uses alongside "Don Thousand's Throne" to constantly inflict damage to his opponent whilst he remains unscathed, effectively making it so his opponent must perform a One Turn Kill to defeat him. He uses cards such as "Evil 1" and "Damage Pot" as counters should his opponent be able to do so. He also has "Number C43: High Manipulator of Chaos" as a contingency if this strategy fails. Finally, during his Duel with Nash, Vector heavily focuses on "Number C" monsters, using cards such as "Chaos Caller" and "Rank-Up-Magic Admiration of the Thousands", giving him easy access to them.