Z-ARC

Zarc is a character and the main antagonist appearing in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is the original incarnation of Yuya Sakaki (Standard Dimension), Yuto (Xyz Dimension), Yugo (Synchro Dimension), and Yuri (Fusion Dimension). Zarc's growing aggression led him to destroy the Original Dimension and take on a dragon form known as Supreme King Dragon Zarc. During a confrontation with Ray Akaba, Zarc's soul was split into four and reincarnated into four different lives. He is the original owner of the Four Dimension Dragons.

Appearance
Zarc shares mixed traits of his four dimensional soul fragments. Zarc has silver hair with light green highlights, having striking similarities in hair design to the dual-hair color of all of his dimensional soul fragments and Yuri's side-parted hair. He wears a blue and white jacket with orange borders, like Yugo's Duel Suit, and a black undershirt. He is shown to wear thick red-brownish gloves, black pants with a brown chaps, faded gold knee pads, dark-blue suspenders with faded gold buckles hanging from a red-brownish belt with two large holsters, like Yuto's belt, a large faded gold buckle, and brown shoes with dark-blue outlines and straps.

Zarc's revived body takes the form of Yuya - the final survivor of the battle between his reincarnations, particularly his hair and signature goggles. His overall appearance is a a mixture between draconic, human, and demon. His body turns gray and become bulkier with spikes protruding from his shoulders, arms, and ankles while his eyes turn bright yellow and glow faintly. His face is covered in veins and his ears are replaced by wing-like appendages. The red portion of his hair also becomes slightly darker, no longer having ruby-colored shine. In this form, he no longer wears shoes as his feet have expanded and become spiked, his pants are tattered at the cuffs, and his shirt is almost entirely gone; the only part that remains is held on by his belt; the rest has been torn off due to his enlarged muscle mass and the large pair of black demonic wings that now sprout from his back.

Personality
While Zarc's initial personality is largely unknown, it is shown that parts of his personality are similar to those of his reincarnations. He has a passion for entertaining Duels similar to Yuya's love for Action Duels, albeit different in that he shows little to no care for his opponents' well-being, willing to physically injure them ruthlessly like a gladiator, rather than make an amicable connection to both them and the audience. Like Yuri, he is shown to be extremely ruthless and violent towards his opponents, sparing no one and shown taking pleasure in harming his opponents and Dueling spectators in order to satisfy his hunger for power. Like Yuto, he displays extreme aggression and great anger. Like Yugo, he also desires to stand at the top of the Dueling world.

Zarc's most defining trait is his lust for power, having been fueled by the crowd's desire for more brutal Duels in the ARC System. His desire to become stronger was so great, he had been driven to insanity, while also fueled by the anger of his four dragons. In his own twisted view, Zarc thinks that his rampage was his way of responding to people's expectations and that his revival was the result of people's desires for him to keep winning.

After reviving, he shows excessive pride and boastfulness, believing that he is the ultimate existence that should govern over everything. During his Duel with Aster Phoenix and Sora Perse, he calmly informs them that Yuya is gone and is unfazed by their continued attempts to reach Yuya.

Abilities
Zarc has the unique ability to hear the voices of Duel Monsters and entered an Awakened state when he fused with his dragons. Following his split, he has the ability to possess his reincarnations by forcing them into an Awakened state to compel them to merge with each other and facilitate his rebirth.

History
Zarc was a resident of the Original Dimension. He was a Duelist who claimed to be able to hear the voices of Duel Monsters and connect his heart with them. Due to this, he was very skilled in Dueling and quickly gained the advantage on the field, soon becoming an undefeated Duel champion and widely known as a superstar in the newly conceived ARC System. He started to change after he accidentally severely injured one of his opponents yet the audience kept cheering for him, leading Zarc to believe such aggressive Dueling was fine if the audience desired it. Since then, Zarc's Dueling became more violent. At first, he simply wanted to answer his fans' expectations, however as he continued to Duel more and more ruthlessly, Zarc himself became obsessed with becoming the strongest.

Eventually in a tournament after becoming Duel champion, he Summoned his four dragons to destroy everything in his way. Feeling that his dragons were also not yet satisfied with their battles and seeking to attain the strongest power, Zarc fused himself with his four dragons, becoming a single dragon that people called the Supreme King Dragon Zarc. After Zarc's declaration of destruction, the armed military was unable to stop his continuous attacks on the world, and eventually he was only able to be opposed by other Duelists who collaborated with the military to stop him, but none were able to come close to matching his newly fused powers and were wiped away along with the opposing military forces.

As Zarc destroyed the city, he was confronted by Ray Akaba, who used four cards to defeat him, which angered him and he vowed to become one before his dragons separated from him. However, the result of their battle led to the United World to be split into Four Dimensions while his soul split into four, reviving in each of the dimensions as Yuya Sakaki (Standard), Yuto (Xyz), Yugo (Synchro), and Yuri (Fusion).

Duel Academy
After Yuya Sakaki, who had fused with Yuto, defeated Yuri, who had fused with Yugo, Zarc took control of him and told Declan, Riley, Sora, and Aster that their wish for him to only think about winning had worked. He declared that he would continue until he had destroyed the entire world. Yuya absorbed Yuri and Summoned "Astrograph Sorcerer" to fuse with his dragons again into the Supreme King Dragon Zarc.

When challenged by Sora and Aster, Zarc took the form of a monstrous Yuya and told them this was his original form and Yuya was his alter ego to full his resurrection and no longer exists. He challenged them to a Duel and Pendulum Summoned two "Supreme King Servant Dragon Darkwurms". He then used the Pendulum Effects of "Supreme King Gate Zero" to reduce the effect damage of "Destiny HERO - Dystopia" to zero and "Supreme King Gate Infinity" to increase his LP by the damage would've taken. When Aster called out to Yuya, Zarc simply stared at him as it failed and used the effect of "Darkwurm" to negate the attack of Aster's "Dystopia". He then used the effects of "Zero" and "Infinity" again when Aster used "D - Soul Burst" to inflict damage to all Duelists. However, one of his "Darkwurms" was destroyed when Aster used the second effect of "Dystopia". When Sora destroyed his second "Darkwurm" with "Frightfur Chimera", Zarc used the effects of "Zero" and "Infinity" a third time, raising his LP to 8000. When Sora tried to use the effect of "Chimera" to Special Summon "Darkwurm" to his field, Zarc reminded him that Pendulum Monsters returned to his Extra Deck. However, Sora revealed he already knew and tried to make Yuya remember his past, but Zarc simply smirked as it failed.

When Zarc revived his "Darkwurms", Aster used "D - Hyper Nova" to destroy all of his monsters while Sora used "Frightfur Mad Parade" to inflict damage for every monster destroyed. However, he used the effect "Astrograph Sorcerer" to Special Summon it from his hand and revive his monsters. He then used the second the effect of "Astrograph Sorcerer" to banish "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon", "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon", and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" to Integration Summon "Supreme King Dragon Zarc". Fused with "Supreme King Dragon Zarc", Zarc told Aster and Sora that he is Pendulum, Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion, the ultimate existence who governs everything. When Shay and Kite joined the Duel and turned it into an Action Duel, Zarc stated he'll only praise the courage that the first challenged him. He then used the effect of "Zarc" to destroy of all of Sora's and Aster's monsters and inflict damage to them equal to the total ATK of the monsters destroyed, defeating them. He then prepared to take on Shay and Kite next.

When Shay Xyz Summoned "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon", Zarc thought it was interesting to Duel Xyz users and brought out "Supreme King Servant Dragon Dark Rebellion" during Shay's turn due to its own effect. When Shay attacked "Zarc", Zarc used the second effect of "Dark Rebellion" to prevent Xyz Monsters from attacking as long as he control one. Shay then attacked "Dark Rebellion" but Zarc used the third effect of "Dark Rebellion" to reduce "Rise Falcon's" ATK to 0 and add it to its own. However, Shay then used "Overlay Burst Armor" to detach all of its overlay units to protect it from destruction and reduced the damage to 0. When Kite used the effect of "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon" to take control of "Dark Rebellion", Zarc used the effect of "Zarc" to protect his monsters from the effects of Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monsters. Zarc attacked "Cipher Dragon" and used the effect of "Dark Rebellion" to reduce "Rise Falcon's" ATK to 0 and add it to its own. When Kite used "Rank-Up Gravity" to force Zarc's monsters to attack Monsters special summoned by Rank-Up-Magic cards and banish them if they didn't attack, Zarc used the fourth effect of "Dark Rebellion" to return it to his Extra Deck and Special Summon two "Darkwurms" from his graveyard to reduce "Neo Cipher Dragon" and "Revolution Falcon's" ATKs to 0. He told Shay and Kite that they should be honored to be defeated by him and attacked them both. Shay and Kite used "Miracle" and "Evasion" respectively, but Zarc used the third effect of "Zarc" to destroy them due to being added to their hands outside the Draw Phase. He noticed Gong and Jack joining the Duel and defeated Shay and Kite.

When Jack Synchro Summoned "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend" and tried to use the effect of "Scarlight", Zarc told him he already lost the moment he summoned a Synchro Monster. He Tributed his two "Darkurms" to Synchro Summon "Supreme King Servant Dragon Clear Wing" and used the effect of "Clear Wing" to negate the effects of "Scarlight" and destroy it. But, Jack used the effect of "Brutal Red" by sending it to the graveyard to prevent "Scarlight's" destruction and increase its ATK by 1,000. When Jack attacked "Clear Wing", Zarc used the effect of "Clear Wing" to negate the attack, destroy "Scarlight", and inflict damage equal to its ATK. However, "Scarlight" is not destroyed due to the effect of "Brutal Red". When Gong Synchro Summoned "Superheavy Samurai Swordsman", Zarc told him his defensive display was doomed to fail. When Gong told Yuya to remember his Heavystrong Dueling and how they inherited the Dueling styles from their fathers, Zarc started to mumble Dueltaining and Heavystrong. This caused Gong told Yuya to call up his Dueltaining soul and attack like before while he'll take it with his Heavystrong Dueling. Zarc started to laugh when Gong and Jack joined forces and called it foolish. When Gong told Yuya to come with his Dueltaining, Zarc accepted but told him it was a bit rough.

He equipped "Supreme King Violent Spirit" to "Clear Wing" and attacked "Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei", using the effect of "Clear Wing" with "Violent Spirit" to destroy all of Gong's monsters. But, Gong used the second effect of "Superheavy Samurai Bushin Fudomyo'o" to protect itself and "Scarlight" from destruction and end the battle. Zarc was laughing again, telling Gong his tactic was interesting and that he responded to his Dueltaining. When Jack attacked "Clear Wing", Zarc used the effect of "Clear Wing" to negate "Tyrant's" attack, destroy it, and inflict damage equal to its ATK. However, "Tyrant" is not destroyed, due to the effect of "Fudomyo'o". Zarc used the effect of "Supreme King Violent Spirit" to destroy all monsters, defeating Gong in the process, but the effect of "Net Resonator" protected "Scarlight" and "Tyrant". Jack had "Tyrant" attack "Clear Wing" again, but Zarc used the effects of "Zero" and "Infinity" to reduce the effect damage to zero and increase his LP by the damage would've taken. He told Jack that was the most fun and decided to give him a reward with his own hands: despair. He noticed Sylvio and Crow intruding the Duel and defeated Jack.

Deck
Zarc uses a "Supreme King" Deck, which focuses on maintaining dominance of the field with his ace monster, "Supreme King Dragon Zarc." The effects of "Zarc" let him control the duel, protecting his monsters from the effects of the opponent's Extra Deck monsters and also allowing him to freely destroy cards added to an opponent's hand outside of the Draw Phase, effectively preventing them from using Action Cards.

Offensively, Zarc's main tactic is to summon the "Supreme King Servant Dragon" versions of the Four Dimension Dragons, which possess effects that let them dominate control the field when faced with opposing monsters of the same Extra Deck summoning method as them. Their effects also let Zarc summon them to the field on the opponent's turn so long as he controls "Zarc," and in the case of "Supreme King Servant Dragon Clear Wing," he can perform a Synchro Summon without the need for a Tuner monster.

Due to incorporating Yuya into himself upon his resurrection, Zarc is capable of Pendulum Summoning. Utilizing the Pendulum Monsters "Supreme King Gate Infinity" and "Supreme King Gate Zero" he is able to make himself immune to any type of damage and gain Life Points equal to that damage. This not only makes Zarc nearly impervious to damage, but attempts to damage him usually only serve to further increase his Life Points.