Astral

Astral is an energy being from the Astral World in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, the secondary protagonist of the series, and is the partner, and eventual friend, of Yuma Tsukumo. Some of Yuma's friends refer to him as 'Dueling Ghost', due to his Dueling skills and invisibility, while Dr. Faker and those who are associated with him, including the Vetrix Family, refer to Astral as 'Original "Number"' (ナンバーズのオリジナル, Nanbāzu no Orijinaru) or 'Emissary from Astral World'. Likewise, Astral himself has stated that he is the embodiment of the Numbers.

Upon arriving in Yuma's world, his memories were scattered in the form of the 100 "Number" cards. While originally he only retained one of the Numbers, he knew that when two or more Numbers confront in a Duel, they will fight each other to consume one another, allowing Astral to absorb defeated Numbers and regain pieces of his memories. Since hunting the other 99 Numbers, he and Yuma have collected a total of Numbers, with the addition of three Chaos Version.

He was sent to Yuma's world with a certain mission, but he forgot his mission due to his amnesia. Number 96: Dark Mist claimed that his mission is what all of the Numbers want - the destruction of the world, which horrified him. However, his true mission is to obtain a powerful card known as Numeron Code that can shape worlds.

Appearance
Astral, being an energy being of the Astral World, has clear blue and transparent body with green markings and blue gems all over his body. He has blue hair that curls up and pointed ears, which are pierced with dangling earrings. Astral also has heterochromia eyes, left eye luminous yellow and right eye is clear white.

In the English version (4Kids version) of the anime, Astral's lower body is sometimes blurred off to remove nudity implications.

Personality
Although Astral has amnesia, he has a very intelligent and level-headed when it comes to Duels. Even in disastrous situations, he does not seem to lose his cool and can think of a strategy. Outside this, arguably because of his memory loss and sudden arrival to another world, he is curious to the point of naivety, for matters as simple as eating, going to the bathroom, or believing that TV shows are real. His naivety would go to such extent so as to ask Yuma why "he needs to be alone" when Yuma's in the bathroom, to which he replies by saying that he would "die" (in the dub, Yuma says that he would turn into a "guinea pig") otherwise, a thing that Astral took literally. When he "discovers" things, he has an habit of saying "observation number one, two, three" and then speak the result of his analysis, the fact that he can successfully continue the counting throughout the series, implies he has great memory. Astral's observations stopped after their first Duel with Kite Tenjo, which left him quiet and depressed. However, after their Duel with Fortuno, which restored his and Yuma's confidence, his observations returned. In the dub, this observation came with a "sub-observation" that he labeled #13-A. As Astral continues to learn about the human world, he showed great interest of feelings and friendship from observing Yuma and becoming more human in the process. During a Duel with Vetrix, Yuma started to eat the rice balls that Tori gave him prior to the duel. Astral could feel what eating was through Yuma, and felt incredibly energetic and lively by the taste of the rice balls, stating he wanted to eat "two, three" of them, while cheerfully saying that being Yuma has been fun in a rather comedic instance.

Astral has a fear of cats, which he defended by claiming that he hadn't done any observations about them, but seems to gotten over it later on. After dueling with Kite Tenjo for the first time, he developed a strong fear towards him, so he always tries to tell Yuma to run from Kite instead of fighting him, to the point of telling Yuma to forget his friends. He first denied that he was afraid of Kite, but later admitted. Later during the Duel with Fortuno, Astral overcame his fear and decided to actually fight. After he and Yuma thought about their previous Duels, stating they came too far to lose now, Yuma called Astral his friend, restoring his fighting spirit.

Usually stoic and cool, Astral doesn't smile much, but he smiled for the first time when Yuma recognizing him as his comrade. Afterwards, Astral begins to smile more often at Yuma since then and even cheered him on with his friends and family when he was trying to do his 20-stack challenge. He still retain his withdrawn nature and tendency to keep his most of thoughts to himself. When observing and learning things unknown and important to him, Astral will only voiced speculations once he gather more evident proof or when a problem presents itself, such as telling Yuma about the world inside the Emperor's Key only after gaining a handful of "Numbers" cards and learning of its origins.

Etymology
Astral means "of the stars", referring to Astral being from another world. Astral is also used to described things relating to a nonphysical realm of existence.

Abilities
Astral is a Duelist of another universe who can only been seen by Yuma Tsukumo and those connected with the Barian World. Others cannot see or hear him, which often leads them to think Yuma is talking alone. Astral can't be touched physically, but is shown to be able to hold Duel Monster cards, though it is unknown if it's only the Numbers or any cards. However, Astral can be seen through photographs, although he only appears as a light blue haze. He is also capable of flight as he is always seen floating, and seems to not rely on things such as food to live. Although, Astral needs his current partner to have Numbers and will start dying if those Numbers are forcefully taken away or when Yuma is losing life points in a Duel with an opponent that has a Number. Astral can only experience the sensation of actual eating when he and Yuma share the same body in Zexal mode.

Even with his loss of memory it has been shown that Astral is indeed a very skilled Duelist, a fact he himself recognizes despite his amnesia, and further demonstrated in how he has advised Yuma on his play, only for him to play the opposite of what Astral dictates and end with rather disastrous results. He also has vast knowledge of the game and most of its cards, like demonstrated in by how quickly he understood Dextra's combo and found its weakness as soon as they arrived He also uses what he knows about a person to win duels. An example is when how he used Mr. Kay's desire to win a perfect duel to set up a situation that used his own desire against him. Astral showed good math skills during Charlie McCay's Duels being able to constantly calculate what were Charlie's chances of rolling 6 again whenever he rolled a dice.

He shares his information on the "Numbers" with Yuma and is capable of somehow manipulating the Numbers cards, this is seen in two ways, one is that without Astral present Yuma is unable to play any Numbers for they do not appear on his Extra Deck. The second is that as so far seen, Astral can pull a Numbers card out of a defeated opponent without direct contact, although it is unknown if this is also linked to a rather psychokinetic ability. Furthermore unlike those who use Photon Hand, Astral seems to be the only who can extract the card itself without taking a possessed Duelist's soul, however he was unable to take Trey's Number due to the Crest protecting him.

He can take all Numbers a defeated opponent has in their Deck that were presented during the duel. However, the Numbers that were not in their Deck are not taken, as shown when defeating Fortuno, as Fortuno used 2 Numbers which were taken, but Fortuno's third was still left with him, kept in a box outside of his Deck. He also has some form of control over how Numbers behave in battle or can gain access to new Number cards at certain times. For example; after Yuma refuses to sacrifice him during the battle against Fortuno, Astral received a jolt of power from Emperor's Key and was able to provide Yuma with a new Numbers card. This also made him visible to the others only during Yuma's Duel against Fortuno, but only visible enough for Yuma's friends to believe Astral is real. For some reason, Astral couldn't absorb Alit's "Number", which is most likely due to the fact that Numbers which have numerical values higher than 100 are not part of his memory.



It has also been shown that Astral is able to make a Duel Disk appear around his arm, coming from the blue aura around him. It was shown multiple times that Astral is able to talk with Yuma telepathically. After The Door opened for Yuma, he and Astral gained the power of ZEXAL, which causes Yuma and Astral to merge their souls, leaving Yuma with most of the body's control. With this, Yuma/Astral wears a white spandex suit with red armor plating, his right eye becomes golden like Astral's left one, his hair turns gold and he gains a golden aura. Also, in this state, they earned the cards "ZW - Unicorn Spear" and "ZW - Phoenix Bow" through an ability called Shining Draw.

Astral is shown to be able to see people's memories, as seen when he touched Hart's head to access his past memory, but this only seems to apply when he touched the person's head.

History
Astral was sent from the Astral World to Earth to obtain the Numeron Code before the Barians do. The Code was an all-powerful card that created reality and could decide fate.

Pre-World Duel Carnival
Traveling through The Door, Astral appeared before Yuma Tsukumo and Reginald Kastle during their Duel, telling Yuma to stand up and win. When Yuma asked Astral who he was, Astral introduces himself and revealed his that he loss his memory when he arrived in this world, assuming that some kind of impact scattered his memories. Noticing the Duel, Astral tries to take over Yuma's Duel, stating that he has to win at all costs with Yuma complaining that it was his Duel. Astral tries to order Yuma around, intentionally or not, to gain the advantage against Shark. However, Yuma refuses to listen to Astral as he is taken down each turn. When Astral informs him that his own life fades as Yuma's Life Points decrease, Yuma takes Astral's advice and uses "Monster Reborn" to Special Summon "Gagaga Magician" from his Graveyard. Astral gifts Yuma with "Number 39: Utopia", an Xyz Monster, stating that "Utopia" is the power he has entrusted to Yuma and that he must use it to win the Duel. With this card, Yuma made a comeback, and manages to pull off a win using it in a combo with "Double or Nothing!". Astral then takes "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon" and finds out that, if he gathers all ninety-nine of the scattered "Numbers" cards, he will recover his memory.



Since Yuma is the only person who can see Astral, which makes everyone believe Astral is a ghost, and that he can't leave Yuma's side, Astral begins to live at Yuma's house. While watching Yuma sleep, Astral thinks about the feeling that he has a very important mission to fulfill and that he's had suppose to take over Yuma's body in order to complete that mission. Astral then think about that "Numbers" have the power to control humans, but Yuma was able to use the "Numbers" card to his fullest while he couldn't. Astral believed it was because Yuma had something and reach towards him, only to be stuck into the Emperor's Key and find the world inside of it. While in the key, Astral explores the "spaceship" and learned it's construction like a puzzle, which is made up of hundreds of gears marked with numbers that react with the "Number" cards that Astral absorbs, making them move and glow. Once Astral senses that Yuma was Dueling, he went back out to see that Mr. Kay is a Number holder. During the Duel, Astral tries to instruct Yuma, but Yuma continues to disobey him. Eventually, Astral uses reverse psychology on Yuma so he can play the correct moves to win the the duel. Once Astral gains "Number 34: Terror-Byte", he remembers that is he is from the Astral World and his world is in great crisis. Astral has also determined that the "Numbers" amplify the emotions that their vessel already had, malicious or not.

As Astral absorbs the "Numbers", bits and pieces of his memories start to return, most of them incomplete. After gaining Number 83: Galaxy Queen, Astral remember his birth, and that he may have had a mother and also he was given the mission to protect his world, possibly meaning he was created solely for this task. Later, Astral surmises from within Emperor's Key that it might have been made intentional by someone to scatter his memories, and wonders if the spaceship is meant to be some sort of message and why it would be in the key. When he absorbed "Number 61: Volcasaurus" and "Number 19: Freezadon", he had a small glimpse of his world, which was apparently being bombarded by explosive energy, stunning him.



After learning about Kite Tenjo, Astral found it very suspicious that someone besides him and Yuma are looking for the Numbers. When Yuma Dueled Kite, he was surprised that Kite's Dueling skills were even superior than his. As Astral and Yuma failed to fight back, Astral was sure Yuma would lose and he would disappear, but Kite cancelled the Duel. He was left shocked at what happened next to Yuma, whose pride was severely hurt and even questioned about his "Kattobingu" spirit. This cause Astral to fall in a very depressed state, worried about Kite when he comes to them again. On an errand for Yuma's grandmother, Astral goes to the Duel Sanctuary, and met with another Number holder, Kaze. Astral was able to overcome his depression to help Yuma with the duel, and gained "Number 12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja" when they won.

As Yuma prepared for the World Duel Carnival, Astral was still shaken up from his Duel with Kite and has his doubts. Yuma eventually learns through a possessed Cathy Catherine that his friends are being held captive by Fortuno. Scared of losing and facing Kite again, Astral was against the Duel, but Yuma persuaded him and the two made off to face against Fortuno. Fortuno introduces himself as Kite's servant and tells him that Kite would be watching this Duel himself, scaring Astral, but not damaging Yuma's fiery spirit. During climax of the Duel, Astral and Yuma were pushed into a corner, and knowing Yuma's friends were in danger, Astral was willing to trade himself for their freedom. However, Yuma refused, telling Astral that he is his friend too, to Astral's surprised. Astral overcame his fear and decided to actually fight. After he and Yuma thought about their previous Duels, stating they came too far to lose now, the Emperor's Key started to shine and granted them a new power, the "Chaos Number", "Number C39: Utopia Ray" as well as making Astral appear and Yuma's friends able to see him for a moment. Using it, they defeat Fortuno and take the 2 "Numbers" cards, and Astral recovered "Number 11: Big Eye" and "Number 16: Shock Master. After Yuma's friends were freed, they all went to thank Astral instead of Yuma, thought they're still unable to see him, and thus were shouting at nothing. Astral didn't pay much attention to it and kept his cool. Watching Yuma and his friends walk off, Astral make his 13th Observation, "As long as you have friends, you are able to hope and believe.", and smiled.

On Yuma's Visitor Day at school, Astral assisted Yuma in trying to locate the Emperor's Key after discovering it missing, and learned that the key given to Yuma by his father. Pondering a possible connection between himself and Yuma's father, Astral asked Yuma about him. He learns much about the origin of the Key and Kazuma Tsukumo, who had a vision of the Astral World being attacked and the sound of its inhabitants screaming. Returning to the house, they found the key on the hammock and goes to Heartland Middle School. During gym class, Astral smiling warmly at Yuma and encouraged him to tackle the high jump of 20-stacks.



After safely recovering "Number 96: Dark Mist" from a stranger, Astral saw a disburting vision of a planet being destroyed. When Bronk Stone knocks off the Emperor's Key from Yuma, a black Ooze comes out of Yuma's Deck Case, which grabs Yuma and starts taking control of Astral. Before Astral gets completely taken over by the Dark Mist, he tells Yuma to give "Utopia" to Bronk. Afterwards, he gets completely possessed and his body changes from white to pitch-black. In a mysterious space, Astral suffers as his body slowly fading away while Bronk Duels against the Dark Mist. Astral manages to get in contact with Yuma and told him to trick Dark Mist to help Bronk win the Duel. Once Bronk defeated Dark Mist, Yuma regained Emperor's Key and Astral iwas freed, allowing him to absorb "Dark Mist" once again.



One night, Astral finally told Yuma about the structure and ship in the Emperor's Key, making him fall out his hammock out of shock. When Yuma questions Astral about the key, Astral tells him that the structure looks like a giant puzzle and something might happen if the Numbers are collected. Inside the Emperor's Key, Astral looks at his collected Numbers, and remembers the vision he saw when "Number 96: Dark Mist" was defeated, wondering what it meant. When Kite manages to steal the Emperor's Key, Astral was trapped inside it and the key was then deactivated and the set "Numbers" became cards again. The cards surrounded Astral and a voice told him to obtain the "power of ZEXAL".



When Kite manages to go inside the Emperor's Key, he finds Astral, who is visible to Kite inside the key. Astral and Kite exchanges information on why the they are collecting "Numbers", and the two engaged in a Duel. In this Duel, Astral uses Yuma's deck to Duel Kite and started playing defensively, using "Gogogo Golem" but was easily countered by Kite's Reverse Buster. As Reverse Buster increased its attack making it 2000, Astral was scared as it may be the start of Galaxy-Eyes Summon. Astral summoned "Gogogo Giant" and using its effect, summon "Gogogo Golem" back. He thought of Xyz Summoning Utopia, but was afraid of Kite's facedown card and so, chose to use Double Defender. Kite then used his facedown "Photon Hurricane" to return Astral's Spell and trap Cards to his hand, making Astral realize there was no reason to be afraid. Kite then tribute Reverse Buster to summon "Photon Leo" and returned Astral's hand back to the deck and draws the same number of cards. Then he equips "Leo" with Photon Spear and inflicted Piercing damage to Astral when Kite attacked and destroyed "Giant". After "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" appeared, Astral become over shrouded with fear towards Kite.



While Astral manages to fight back with "Number C39: Utopia Ray" and reduce Kite's life to 1300, Kite takes the upper hand again and reduces Astral's life to 400. Believing he will lose, Astral gives up and told Yuma goodbye in his thoughts, even shedding tear. When Yuma manages to recover Emperor's Key, which takes him to "The Door" again, The Door opens again and tells Yuma to use ZEXAL, but repeats Yuma's previous warning. Astral was able to sense Yuma's presence and informed him about the Duel, as well as telling him he already "loss" the Duel. Yuma convinces Astral to not give up, and crosses the door, landing in the dimension inside the Key. Astral and Yuma receive the ZEXAL power, fusing themselves in the process. Using this new power, Astral and Yuma created a card that allowed "Utopia Ray" to defeat "Galaxy-Eyes". Kite, in a pinch for the first time, managed to end the Duel in a draw and escaped again.

The next day, a wave of energy from the Astral World and another world passed through Earth causing time to temporally stop and allow Kite to invade his memories. This caused immense pain to Astral, and figured out the Kite was invading his memories. While traveling throughout the city, Astral told Yuma that he fears that something bad might happen if they find all the "Numbers". Later, Astral and Yuma met up with Kite, who subsequently told them that they would meet again in the World Duel Carnival.

World Duel Carnival
Before the World Duel Carnival, Astral reminds Yuma that he must win since the tournament should have many Number holders. Yuma tells Astral that he doesn't plan on just winning, causing Astral to asks Yuma why he doesn't plan on fully winning since that would mean Yuma wouldn't be fulfilling the promise he made with his father. Yuma explains to Astral that he has thought to himself for a long time about what Dueling means to him. Yuma tells him that ever since he met Astral, he started to win despite losing all the time before, but when he lost against Shark and Kite, he understood that he could lose something important from losing for the first time, but he never hated Dueling despite it.Yuma tells Astral that Dueling means bonds and connection to him, and that Dueling and fighting are different. Astral doesn't want to agree to him since he would disappear if he lost, but Yuma tells Astral that he understands how he feels and will do anything to save him. However, Yuma has realized that there is something exceeding winning and losing. Astral asks Yuma what he will do about Kite, where Yuma answers that he will lose his soul if he lost, but it won't change his Dueling.Later, Astral questions to himself what is more important than winning inside the Emperor's Key.

During the first day of the WDC, Astral helped Yuma defeat his first few opponents, but none of them had any Numbers. The first Number holder Yuma and Astral Duel against in the Carnival is Charlie McCay, who uses "Number 7: Lucky Straight's" power to always roll 6 during his Duel. Astral assisted Yuma defeated Charlie, but he allows Charlie to give Number 7 to his niece, which made Astral worry if they would get it back.

During the second day of the WDC, Yuma and Astral watch Quattro use his "Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder" to defeat Bronk and Caswell. When Trey Dueled Shark, Astral watched how Shark resisted "Number 32: Shark Drake" 's influence and defeated Trey. Although he was impressed, Astral knows that he and Yuma must Duel Shark again now he has "Shark Drake" in his possession. Later, Astral discovered that Cameron Clix has "Number 25: Force Focus" and was astounded that the "Number" allowed him predict the future through photographs see the future in his photos. During the Duel with Cameron, Astral figured out the photos is not completely accurate, as the photos only show what Cameron pictures as the future and his opponents subconsciously obeyed the photos. He told Yuma to disobey the prediction, that way his predictions didn't occur and Yuma easily defeats Cameron afterwards. With Cameron's defeat, Astral now has obtained 12 Numbers.



When Yuma Duels against Nistro and Dextra, Astral tries to go help him, but is stopped by Number 96: Dark Mist in the Emperor's Key. Astral asked if he broke the seal, and Dark Mist responded that that's what the "Numbers" wanted to begin with. Astral questioned why the other "Numbers" gave their strength to Dark Mist, who responded once more that it's what they wanted. It's what all "Numbers" want - the world's destruction. He claimed that Astral also wanted the same. Astral denied it, but Dark Mist pointed out his very presence as proof against that. He told Astral to remember his mission and join the "Numbers". Dark Mist attacks Astral using it's true form, but Utopia saves him. After sensing Yuma in trouble, Astral sends Utopia off, losing his only protection from Dark Mist. Meanwhile, Astral tried to out run Dark Mist, but was caught and was beginning to be infected. Just before he was infected entirely, but Astral's bond with Yuma suddenly resonate, and with a mysterious light hit him, freeing him from the Dark Mist. Astral quickly exited the key, and was temporarily viable to others besides Yuma, including Nistro and Dextra, who stated that Astral is the "Original Number". Astral deduced the current Duel before him, and helped Yuma win against Nistro and Dextra.

Later at night, Yuma, Astral, and Tori meet Kite's younger brother Hart Tenjo. After witness Hart's power, Astral learned Hart is able to communicate with him, much to his surprised. Wanting to talk to Hart, Astral asked Yuma to take Hart with them back home, and Astral formed a friendship with him. After Hart went on a search for Kite, Yuma and Astral goes to find him, who he went berserk after failing to find his brother. Astral flies to Hart and touched his head to see Hart's memories and what he wants. Astral explained to Yuma the Hart that he want to get caramel for Kite, allowing Yuma calmed Hart down with it. Then Quinton comes out of a helicopter to take Hart with him using his Crest, but Hart revealed his mission to destroy the Astral World before he left, which horrified Astral. After Hart's kidnapping, Astral reminded Yuma of his previous Duel with Kite in that he mentioned he sold his soul to a devil to save his brother. Astral thinks he is referring to Mr. Heartland and solidified his theory of the carnival being used to hunt Numbers. As he, Yuma, and Tori searched for Hart with Kite and Orbital 7, he found the location through the description Hart projected in his mind. Once they arrived, Trey and Quattro challenged Yuma and Kite to a Tag Duel.

During the Duel, Yuma and Kite are incapable to worked together, causing Astral to suffered as Yuma's Life Points to dropped, but he told Yuma it was okay. After Yuma and Kite's Tag-Team Duel ends with them defeating Trey and Quattro, Astral saw Kite failing to steal Quattro's soul and "Numbers" with his Photon Hand, but was nullified by Quattro´s Crest. Seeing this, Astral tries to absorb Trey's "Number", but is repelled by the latter's own crest and became visible to Trey at that brief moment.



When Trey challenged Yuma to a duel, he used his Crest to erase Yuma's memories of "Kattobing", making Yuma unable to see Astral or the Emperor's Key. Astral tried to get Yuma to snapped out of it, but Trey captured Astral with his crest and then chained him to a tower, forcing him to helplessly watch Yuma get hurt. When Astral gave his last bit of strength to Yuma in order to prevent him from losing to Trey, Trey was enraged and used his power to crush Astral, making him disappear. When Yuma regained his "Kattobingu", it was shown in a flashback that Astral taught him how to duel just in case he would ever disappear, with Yuma saying that Astral was still in his heart, and he was able to Summon Number 39: Utopia and destroy Trey's "Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech". When "Number 6: Chronomaly Atlandis" went berserk, Trey joined his power with Yuma and with the 12 "Numbers", Astral was revived inside the Emperor's Key. He meets Kazuma Tsukumo, who tells him that his son needs him and Astral should go and help him. Astral returns to Yuma, and combined with him using ZEXAL, and drew a new monster, "ZW - Phoenix Bow" and defeat Trey. After the duel, Trey left "Number 6: Chronomaly Atlandis" and "Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech" for them, as well as the final Heart Piece needed to compete in the WDC finals.

WDC Finals
During the WDC party, Astral and Yuma met Vetrix in person for the first time, and Astral found out he could see him. Later, they managed to encountered Kite, who speak to Yuma, explaining that it is not him he wishes to defeat, but Astral. Astral doesn't speak to Kite, but shared a glance with him. The next day, he guided Yuma on the Duel Coaster and watched the other finalists Duel around them to learn the rules on the Duel Coaster. When Yuma was attacked by the Fallguys, Astral advised Yuma during the Duel, but Nistro and Anna Kaboom help them finish the Fallguys off. In the next stage, Astral points out that there are the four fields - so only eight Duelists total will make it to them and to Yuma and told to be careful. As Yuma blunders into Trap Points, Astral become exasperated as their Life Points goes down. When they arrived to "Jungle Field", they watched Vetrix Duel against Dextra, and was once again surprised that Vetrix can perceive him, as well seeing his Crest's powers.

When Yuma and Astral reached the "Space Field", Astral listened to Quinton, revealing the connection between Yuma's father, Dr. Faker, and Vetrix. After hearing about the sacrifice used to open a gate to another dimension, Astral compared it to Xyz Summoning. After Kite won against Quinton, Astral muses that when Vetrix and Dr. Faker began their plans, Astral entered this world. He says that must mean that the will of Yuma's father is in the Astral World, and vow to defeat the adults with Yuma. In the "Magma Ocean" field, they confront Vetrix again and learned about his plans to use Shark to as assassin to defeat Dr. Faker. Astral watch the Duel between Quattro and Shark, Astral was perplexed ans shocked how Shark has the power to bring out a "Choas Number". At the "Dangerous Canyon" field, Astral saw that Yuma was playing a defensive strategy, and told Yuma that he can't win this way and that he was afraid after seeing the other Duels. Astral muses that Kite and Shark are strong and have powers that can be feared, and he understands how Yuma could be scared of them. However, Astral comment how Yuma gotten over those sorts of fears before, making Yuma feel more confident now and win against Nistro.



Eventually, Yuma and Astral were looking for Yuma's lost deck and goes to Heartland Tower. In the disposal plant below Heartland, Astral sees a vision of the Astral World being attacked. Astral sees a vision of Hart and told Yuma that Hart is a floor above them, and they decided to go see him. When they went into Hart's mind, who asked Yuma and Astral to save his brother, Kite. Conversing with Yuma, Astral listen to Yuma telling him that he is unsure what to do with Hart and the "Numbers". They are then interrupted by a holograph of Dr. Faker, who told them his goal to rule the Earth and his deal with Barian World is to destroy the Astral World. When Reginald and Yuma's duel came, Astral was surprised to see that Shark did not defend himself, and speculate that its the darkness of the "Number". They realized that Vetrix influenced Shark with his Crest, and Astral told Yuma that to dispel Vetrix's control before Shark summon his "Number". When Yuma took Shark's Number, Yuma was in a bind, to help Shark by keeping his "Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss" or help Astral, who will vanish if Yuma lose the Duel. However, Astral says there's nothing more he can do in this Duel and let Yuma make the decisions. Fortunately, Shark activated Marine Snow Seal to save both Astral and Yuma, giving Yuma the victory and "Number 32: Shark Drake" to Astral.

Later, Astral and Yuma encounter Kite, who addressed Astral about the score to settle and gave his permission for them to watch the Duel close up. During the Duel, Yuma and Astral heard Hart was in trouble and left with Yuma to go and help him. After entering Heartland Tower. Astral and Yuma went into Hart's mind again to find Vetrix's dragon, who plagued Hart's memories. With the help of "Number 39: Utopia", the dragon was slain and Vetrix's psychic link with Hart was disabled and watch the rest of Kite's Duel through a screen. However, Vetrix had still managed to defeat Kite with "Number 69: Heraldry God - Coat of Arms" and took all his "Numbers", representing a greater threat to Yuma and Astral.



As Vetrix, Yuma, and Astral came to the WDC Finals, Dr. Faker taunted the finalists and the Duel began in the Sphere Field to gather the energy of the "Numbers". Astral and Yuma confronted Vetrix about his actions, which made wonders if a human with a heart this ugly could truly exist. When Vetrix queried Yuma did not want revenge on Faker, Yuma insisted his father would not want that, but Vetrix suggested that perhaps his father's own plans of revenge had already begun - the appearance of Astral in this world. Astral does not know what he means, but Vetrix told him that the fearsome powers residing in the "Numbers" could destroy this world - and Astral is the messenger of revenge sent here to spread them - sent by Kazuma. As the Duel begins, Astral asked Yuma if the power of the "Numbers" could really destroy the world. Yuma tells him not to think about what Vetrix was saying, but Astral says he can't help it - he has no memories, so Vetrix could indeed be right. Yuma tells him that he doesn't know why Astral was sent here, but he knows better than anyone that Astral is not an evil person. and tells Astral he'll leave the "Numbers" to him, and urges him to use them for justice. After Vetrix summoned Number 69: Heraldry God - Coat of Arms, Astral and Yuma performed ZEXAL to summoned ZW - Lightning Blade, but "Number 69" negated the attack.



They narrowly survived Vetrix's next attack by using "Half Unbreak", but Astral was able to come up with a winning strategy. When Yuma got hungry, Yuma brought out his rice balls to shared with Astral, letting the latter feel what eating food was like for the first time. After expressing great joy, Astral refocused and they used their power to summon "ZW - Tornado Bringer", but "Coat of Arms" negated even this effect. Astral and Yuma had no other choice, but to bring out their ace "ZW -", "ZW - Leo Arms" and equipping it to "Number C39: Utopia Ray". Negating "Number 69"'s powers, Yuma and Astral won, but realized that the Sphere Field absorbed their own "Numbers". Yuma attempts to rescue Vetrix, but Vetrix bidden "good bye" to them and fall into the Sphere Field. Yuma and Astral were then teleported to Heartland Tower in front of Faker. While trapped in the Sphere, Astral and Yuma learns of Faker's purpose of the WDC to gather "Number" cards for the Sphere Field Cannon as a power source. Following explanation, Astral realized the attacked on his home he saw in his memory from a "Number" card suddenly makes sense. As Yuma becomes exhausted by being in the Sphere Field, Astral apologized to him, saying it's all his fault since he wasn't strong enough. Yuma denies it, and says Hart needs saving more than he does right now. When power suddenly drops, Yuma feels relieved and Astral undo ZEXAL, Yuma was given "Number 39: Utopia" and "Number 32: Shark Drake", telling Yuma he's leaving "Hope" and "future" to him. Astral also told Yuma to save Hart and the Astral World.



While suffering in the Sphere Field, Astral watched Yuma, Kite, Shark's Duel against Dr. Faker. Astral muttered that he'll leave this to three of them and that the future is in their hands. When Vector took control of Dr. Faker, Hart managed to free Astral from the Sphere Field Cannon. Fusing his soul with Yuma's, they equipped "Number C39: Utopia Ray" with "ZW - Ultimate Shield". With the helped of "Xyz Unity", Kite's "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" and Shark's "Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss", they destroyed the "Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon" and defeated Vector. After escaping from the crumbling Heartland Tower, Yuma challenged Kite to a Duel to determine the "true" winner of WDC, which Astral readily agreed to have the "true final".

At the meeting spot, Astral learned that Tori Meadows could now see him and speculated it was due to the Duel with Vector, believing that means Kite and Shark can see him too. During the Duel, Kite was about to give up, but Astral spoke to him in private and told the he consider Kite his friend and convinced him to continue the Duel. Astral continued to take a more reserve role the Duel, Astral complimented Yuma on his moves and told him that can be on his own. However, Yuma says he can't - "Kattobingu" is made up of both of them and that they will advance together forever. Despite Yuma lost, Astral was still happy, knowing that Kite fought Yuma as a friend rather than an enemy. Once a content Yuma fell asleep, Astral declared his twenty-first observation: "It appears one can feel good about a loss as well".

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL II
Sometime after WDC, Astral spends most of his time inside the Emperor's Key. He pondered over the fifty Numbers they collected from the tournament and tried to gain some guidance from them. After Yuma gives the key to Tori and running off to duel Fuma in order to protect Astral, Astral's consentration snapped as the key has closed, and sensed that a Duel has begun. At that time, Astral didn't know why Yuma is dueling without him, but as Yuma loses Life Points, Astral is hit by red electricity, causing him great pain and realized that Yuma is having a Duel with the "Numbers" at stake.



As Astral continued to receive the damage Yuma takes, he looked through the mists inside of the key and sees Tori instead of Yuma. Astral contacted her in the form of a blue fireball and told her that Yuma is fighting the Barian World to protect the "Numbers", and asked her to take him to Yuma. After Tori returned the Emperor's Key to Yuma, Astral learned of "Chaos Xyz" from Yuma and was intrigued by them. Quickly deducing the situation, Astral and Yuma are able to make a comeback using a combination of "Number C39: Utopia Ray" and "Numbers Impact". Afterwards, they discuss the upcoming battle against the Barian World with Kite and Shark.

While the Barian World used brainwashed minions to take the "Numbers", Astral helps Yuma to fight against them to counteract them,  While observing Shark and his sister, Rio Kastle, Astral wondered just what they are - Shark, who can wield a "Number" and Rio, who predicted the initial invasion from the Barian World. Once the Barian, Alit, infiltrated Heartland Middle School in human form, Astral became curious of him and believed him to be another brainwashed Duelist for the Barian World since he could sense the energy Alit gives off. When Gilag appeared before him and Yuma, Astral was immediately suspicious of Gilag and kept a close eye on him until he was able to slip away.



Later, Astral was inside the Emperor's Key again, musing that he has collected fifty "Number" cards, and is determined to find the other fifty. He then recalled the memories of the "Numbers" one by one and gathered his memories, oblivious to Yuma's current anxiety. After Misael targeted Yuma with the Barian's Sphere Cube and began a duel, Astral comes out of the key and Yuma explained to him that Misael is a Barian and learned the he could see him. Watching Yuma's Duel tactics, Astral comments how he expected Yuma to use "Overlay Bullet" instead of "Overlay Chain"- a defensive card. Yuma told Astral that he has to be cautious, which Astral was about to praise until Yuma cut him off, making him worry. Once Misael summoned out his "Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon", Astral was greatly shocked of a "Number" outside of his 100 memories appearing before him. When Yuma became too weak to continue Dueling, Astral looked after him as Kite took their place. Astral watched Misael unleash his true power and was stunned when he brought out his "Number C107: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon". Once the "Sphere Field" began to collapse, Astral was freed from the Sphere, but watched in horror as Yuma and Shark fall down a cliff.

While Yuma was hospitalize, Astral heals himself inside the Emperor's Key lamenting about the Barians and Misael's "Over Hundred Number" as well as Yuma's state of depression. During Shark and Yuma's Duel, Astral stayed inside the key, hoping for Yuma to come to his senses and questioned what the most "essential thing" for them. Once Yuma regained his resolved, Astral came out of the key and assisted him win the Duel. Afterward, Astral thanked Shark for helping Yuma, although the latter denied, and commented how it his purpose of this duel from the start. Watching Yuma trying to give Shark a hug, Astral makes his 22th Observation about how "Occasionally humans may not honestly express their feelings" and smiled when he saw Kite watching them as well. Once Yuma was out of the hospital, Astral and Yuma found out that Gilag and Alit are Barian, with the latter challenging them to a Duel. During the Duel, Astral observed how much Alit and Yuma drawn into the Duel when he sensed the "Sphere Field" affecting him and causing him pain. As the duel continued, Astral and Yuma united with the power of ZEXAL and Xyz Summon "Number C39: Utopia Ray", forcing it to tie in battle with Alit's "Number 105: Burning Knuckler - Cestus the Meteor", destroying both of them, to which both Duelists activated "Xyz Stand-Up" to bring them back. They eventually won the Duel due to "ZW - Eagle Claw" and defeated Alit. After Alit told him to take his "Number", Astral tried and failed to, much to his surprise. Wondering why he couldn't take an "Over-Hundered" card, Astral suddenly became weakened and fading again for being in the "Sphere Field".

The next day, Astral stayed in the key to heal from the effects of "Sphere Field" on his body. When Gilag issued a challenged and accused Rei Shingetsu for hurting Alit, Astral advised Yuma that he should have faith in his friend and they decided to Duel without Rei. However, Rei ended up joining them after all, which worried Astral as Rei is a terrible Duelist. He warned Yuma that Rei would only hindered them and they can't lose against Gilag with the "Numbers" at stake. During the Duel, Astral is effect by the "Sphere Field" again and fell to the ground, telling Yuma that protecting Rei is too risky. Astral was forced to retreat to the key to heal himself and felt the damage Yuma took in the Duel, but sensed that Yuma won the Duel in the end. Recovering inside the key, Astral confronted by Number 96: Dark Mist, who told him he can't win against the Barian without accepting his evil side. Astral refused to believe this and tried to seek answers from the "Numbers" when the Shadow Giant appears before him, saying he must be tested. Once Yuma was inside, they Duel against it, but was failing to counter against the Giant's "Unformed Void, the Fictitious King" with their "Numbers". On the verged of losing, Dark Mist reappeared before Astral to remind Astral of his advice, saying that something may happen to Yuma if he loses inside the key. Fearing for Yuma's safety, Astral decided to undo the seal on "Number 96: Dark Mist" and grudgingly work together with him to win the Duel. Afterwards, Astral and Yuma talked with The Door and was shown Astral's true memories, learning his mission is to obtain a powerful card known as Numeron Code that can shape worlds. They are then transported outside the key, where Astral received another warning from Dark Mist that there will be events in the future that will require him to become evil.



Later, Astral watched the between Yuma and Orbital 7, although his was confused by situation. He watched the Duel between Shark and Rio, impressed by both of their Duelings skills. During the Heartland Middle School's Cultural Festival, Astral was interested is the event and asked Yuma questions. When Anna Kaboom dragged Yuma to Duel against pro-Duelist Tobio Habara and Umimi Habara, Astral offered advice to Yuma since he and Anna couldn't work together. As they continued to argue with one another, Astral became exasperated and urged Yuma to find common ground with Anna. When Yuma drew "Rank-Up Magic - Limited Barian's Force", he was stunned and demanded to know where Yuma got it, only to have received a lie as a response, so Yuma could keep his promise to Rei. Astral was amazed to see "Number C39: Utopia Ray V" for the first time, and spent the night wondering about it and grows concerned about its' power. When Vector arrived to Earth, Astral and Yuma found out that he was the Barian that possessed Dr. Faker. They then engaged a Duel against Vector, and was qickly put into a pitch when he stole "Limited Barian's Force" and destroyed "Utopia" with his "Number 66: Master Key Beetle". Luckily, Yuma was able to draw "V Salamander" and summon out "Utopia Ray V" to win the Duel. Before Vector flee with a captured Rei, he gave Astral "Master Key Beetle" and told him it will be the key to their final battle.

Manga Biography


In the manga, Astral has the same role as in the anime, being Yuma's partner, and collecting the Numbers in order to retrieve his memories.

Non-canon appearances
In the non-canon episode, Aim For Number 1 in the World!, Astral joined Yuma when he was force by Tori to visited her friend Summer at a Gymnastic building, and later watched Yuma Duel with Taiki.

Yuma Tsukumo
In the beginning, Astral has ambiguous thoughts regarding Yuma Tsukumo; for the most part he thinks of him and his Dueling skills as unrefined and unskilled, which causes the two to clash and fight a lot. However, when Yuma uses an unthinkable, but effective strategy, such as in his Duel with Reginald Kastle, his thoughts change to think of Yuma as an interesting Duelist. Astral even learns to use Yuma's lack of skill and obedience, as seen in Yuma's Duel with Mr. Kay when he tells Yuma what to do the opposite of what he should do so that Yuma disobeys him and makes the correct moves.

After the Duel with Kite Tenjo, the two realized that they needed the other's skill, and they grow closer to one another during the Duel with Fortuno, when Yuma admits to Astral that he considered him as his friend and unlocked Number C39: Utopia Ray and eventually gained the ability to overlay their souls togther using the power of ZEXAL.

At times, Yuma doesn't openly admit that he was worries or cares about Astral, usually feigning anger and yelling at him, which only makes Astral smile because he can tell Yuma's true feelings. In dire situations, Yuma openly shows concerns and proclaimed he will do anything to protect him from danger. It shown that Yuma deeply cares for Astral as he couldn't believe Astral would leave and as he cried for his death. Astral has shown many times how much he cares about Yuma, willing to give up his life for Yuma's safety. Astral has also been seen smiling more since Yuma told him that he is his friend, and encourages Yuma to never give up. Later, it was revealed that Astral has been teaching Yuma how to Duel, since one day he'll disappear and Yuma will have to fight alone. He also said that when he disappears, he would want to leave proof that he exists in Yuma's memory and heart. After Astral was revived, Yuma was greatly relieved as he cried tears of joy.

Nearing to the WDC finals, Yuma and Astral converse on what to do with the "Numbers" and their situation with Hart Tenjo. Yuma is torn between helping Astral or healing Hart, but Astral assured Yuma that he will follow whatever path Yuma chooses as his partner. During Yuma and Shark's Duel, Yuma was to make a choice between saving him or Shark, but Astral tells Yuma that he will let him make the decisions. During this, Yuma told Astral that he is a very important friend to him. When Vetrix told them that the "Numbers" could destroy the world, Astral questioned Yuma about it. Yuma denied this claim, saying he trusts Astral and would let Astral use the "Numbers" for good. During the Duel, Astral told Yuma that he can rely on him to defeat Vetrix and Yuma says he couldn't do it without him.

After Yuma dreams about being warned by The Door that someone is planning to take something most important thing to him, he feared that he will lose "[his] Astral". Not willing to put Astral in danger and be taken away from him, Yuma left his key to Tori in order to protect him and goes to duel with a Barian-brainwashed Fuma by himself. During the duel, Yuma thinks that he the only one that can protect him and reflected how Astral is always the one protecting him. In the key, Astral can receive the damage Yuma takes and knows Yuma is dueling alone, which disappointed him since they are "partners". Once Astral got to Yuma, Yuma confined to Astral about his dream and states how he couldn't protect him. However, Astral told Yuma that he was proud of him and that he's a true friend, and will not forgive anyone who hurts him. After nearly losing to Misael and becoming shaken, Astral and Yuma grew even closer as they reaffirmed their desires to Duel together.

Kite Tenjo
During Astral's first Duel against Kite Tenjo with Yuma, he developed a great fear toward him after seeing he Dueling skills surpassing his own and nearly beat him and Yuma. This left Astral severely depressed for some time and was reluctant to face him again. However, Astral eventually overcame his fears towards Kite as his bond Yuma grew stronger.

They officially meet each other when Kite stole the Emperor's Key and was able to entered it, making Kite capable to see him. Astral voiced his respect to Kite and told him that he wish to know about him, but Kite rebuffed all his attempts. After learning about Astral, Kite saw him as his real rival instead of Yuma since Astral advised Yuma during his Duels. Throughout the World Duel Carnival, Astral and Kite showed silent, mutual respect for each other, but couldn't converse since Kite couldn't see or hear him.

At the end of WDC, Astral told Kite, who could now see and hear him, that he considered him as a friend when encouraging to continue his rematch against Yuma.

Reginald Kastle
Although Astral had little interaction with Shark, he repeatedly mentioned his respect of Shark's Dueling skills and the impact he has on Yuma. Conversely, Astral also acknowledged the Duels he and Yuma must face with Shark if he had a "Number" card in his possession and the dark influence they must save him from.

Knowing Shark is trustworthy and strong-willed, Astral has no problems letting him keep "Number 32: Shark Drake" card in his possession. After the Duel with Vector, Shark can now see and hear Astral, but they still have little contact with each other.

Numbers
The Numbers are Astral's memories and his source of finding out why he has been send to Earth to be with Yuma. Although the cards are a part of him, Astral acknowledged the fact they are also sentient beings with minds of their own, such Number 96: Dark Mist, whom actively rebelled against him. The other "Numbers" take a more passive role, but did not hesitate to take Dark Mist's side. The only "Number" that's is loyal to Astral is Number 39: Utopia, whom is based off Yuma's wishes and desires. In the Emperor's Key, Astral usually spend his time trying to understand what his memories means and gain guidance from them.

Anime
Astral uses Yuma's Deck, but Yuma uses his Deck with an offensive strategy, while Astral uses a more defensive strategy using "Gogogo" monsters. However, like Yuma, he utilizes various Spell Card and Trap Cards and focuses on Summoning "Utopia", and eventually its upgraded version.

Manga
Just like in the anime, while Dueling in the manga, Astral uses Yuma's Deck but focusing on defensive strategies, and uses card effects to Swarm monsters to his field and Summon Xyz Monsters.

Chaos Numbers
Unlike Numbers, which were formed from Astral's memories when he crossed into Yuma's world, the later-formed Numbers do not contain any memory and are not considered part of original 100 Numbers. They are upgraded versions of their Number counterparts, and obtained through certain emotions. He currently has three Chaos Number in his possession.


 * Number C39: Utopia Ray (episode 18)
 * Number C39: Utopia Ray V (episode 88)
 * Number C39: Utopia Ray Victory (episode 98)