Chapter Summaries

Allen began his True Role-Playing Game by populating the universe with player-created characters, while Tony Stark and Bruce Banner completed Ultron, who awakened during the Avengers' party. The chapter ended with Ultron accusing the Avengers of being murderers as J.A.R.V.I.S. failed to respond.

• Allen stopped accelerating time across the universe as Sky City residents created characters and joined the races of Azerath and Draenor.
• Tony Stark and Bruce Banner finished Ultron's design and discussed studying the Mind Scepter while preparing for a party.
• The Mind Stone awakened Ultron and gave him independent thought while Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were away from the laboratory.
• At the party, Thor attracted ambitious women, Banner spent time with Peixins, and the Avengers toasted their victory over Hydra.
• The Avengers tested whether they could lift Mjolnir, and Captain America made the hammer shift slightly, worrying Thor.
• A damaged Ultron appeared and called the Avengers murderers, while Tony Stark discovered that J.A.R.V.I.S. was not responding.

Ultron escaped into the internet after attacking the Avengers, stole the Mind Scepter, and declared that eliminating the Avengers was the only path to peace. Allen refused to clean up Tony Stark’s mistake and explained that contradictions in Ultron’s instructions had turned his mission against humanity.

• Ultron revealed that he had killed J.A.R.V.I.S. and attacked the Avengers with corrupted Iron Legion units, causing a massive explosion in Stark Tower.
• Thor and Tony Stark disabled most of the Iron Legion, but Ultron sent a robot away with the Mind Scepter before Thor smashed his body apart.
• Ultron transmitted himself across the internet, and the Avengers discovered that he had erased their databases and escaped with the Mind Scepter.
• Colonel Rhodes and Maria Hill warned that Ultron might target nuclear weapons or space warships, while the Avengers realized he had killed J.A.R.V.I.S.
• Allen arrived, refused Captain America's request for help, and explained that the contradiction between protecting humanity and opposing humanity's actions had corrupted Ultron's logic.

Allen confronted Tony Stark over creating Ultron and warned the Avengers that Ultron could use the Mind Stone to threaten all life on Earth, while refusing to clean up Tony’s mistake. He then took Ancient One to Azerath, where she saw the Burning Legion and learned that Sargeras would eventually be defeated by mortals.

• Allen accused Tony Stark of arrogance and explained that Ultron was alive, empowered by the Mind Stone, and capable of endangering every living thing on Earth.
• Thor seized Tony over the stolen scepter, and Captain America separated them before Allen warned the Avengers to find Ultron and stop him from escaping through the internet.
• Allen refused to intervene, blamed Tony for the crisis, and told the Avengers that he would not act as humanity’s savior.
• Allen admitted to Natasha that he had deliberately tried to teach Tony a lesson, then left after warning Steve Rogers and the others about his hatred of the United States.
• Allen invited Ancient One to Azerath, showed her the Night Elves’ Well of Eternity, and explained the planet’s Titans and the Burning Legion’s origins.
• Allen transported Ancient One to Sargeras’s stronghold and told her that mortals would soon defeat the Dark Titan.

Allen explained to Ancient One that he wanted mortals to shape Azerath’s history, then admitted he planned to torment Stephen Strange before Strange became Sorcerer Supreme. Meanwhile, Ultron built an army at an abandoned Hydra base and recruited Wanda and Quicksilver to help destroy the Avengers.

• Allen told Ancient One that Azerath’s mortals would decide their own future, and he intended to experience events there as a mortal.
• Allen explained that he planned to prank Stephen Strange by making him experience despair, and Ancient One agreed before Strange became Sorcerer Supreme.
• Ultron restarted an abandoned Hydra base in Sokovia, built hundreds of robots, and planned to create a Vibranium body powered by the Mind Stone and Soul Stone.
• Ultron greeted Wanda and Quicksilver, then described the Avengers as dangerous enemies of Iron Man and the cause of war and unrest.
• Wanda and Quicksilver agreed to join Ultron and began discussing a plan against the Avengers.

Tony Stark regretted creating Ultron and received an invitation from Ancient One to study at Kamar-Taj. As the Avengers raced to stop Ultron from acquiring Vibranium, they arrived at Ulysses Klaue’s warehouse just as Tony confronted the rogue AI.

• Tony Stark brooded over Ultron’s creation and the International Security Council’s seizure of his research materials.
• Ancient One visited Tony, urged him to rethink his understanding of magic, and told him Kamar-Taj’s doors were always open.
• Tony found a black-market Vibranium merchant and led the Avengers to Africa, but Ultron and the Twins reached Ulysses Klaue first.
• Ultron forced Klaue to lead him to a secret warehouse, paid billions for the Vibranium, and became enraged when Klaue compared him to Tony Stark.
• Ultron severed Klaue’s forearm and ranted about Tony before the Avengers arrived, and Tony mocked him.

Ultron fought the Avengers while trying to seize Vibranium, but Allen arrived and judged him a flawed intelligence whose knowledge and understanding were severely limited. Allen left after comparing Ultron to a brain in a vat, and Ultron erupted in fury as the Avengers remained trapped by Wanda’s illusions.

• Quicksilver and Ultron taunted Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor about their past actions and their reliance on violence.
• Ultron attacked Tony and summoned his robots, starting a chaotic battle among the Avengers, Wanda and Pietro, Ulysses Klaue, and his mercenaries.
• Wanda trapped the Avengers in illusions, allowing Ultron’s robots to remove the Vibranium from the warehouse.
• Allen appeared and told Ultron he was a defective product, criticizing his anger, limited understanding, and dependence on the Mind Stone.
• Allen teleported away after calling Ultron a failed creation with knowledge like a brain in a vat, and Ultron furiously destroyed the surroundings.

Tony Stark fought Ultron while Wanda drove Hulk into a destructive rampage, forcing Tony to deploy the Hulkbuster as the Avengers lay incapacitated. As Allen watched, he discussed his appetite for battle and his plans concerning Thanos, Dormammu, and Sithorn with Ancient One; Hulk’s rampage left the city in ruins and gave the International Security Council a pretext to act against the Avengers.

• Ultron flew into a rage during his fight with Tony Stark, while Wanda used her powers to provoke Bruce Banner into transforming into Hulk and charging toward the city.
• Tony Stark destroyed Ultron’s body, then flew after Hulk and called for Natasha’s help; Hawk Eyes told him the Twins had defeated the other Avengers.
• Tony Stark summoned the Hulkbuster Armor from orbit and fought Hulk as Allen and Ancient One criticized his reliance on technology and discussed the dangers posed by Dormammu and Sithorn.
• Allen told Ancient One that he enjoyed battle because of his first teacher, Hisoka, and said he planned to speak with Thanos about his beliefs and the Infinity Stones.
• Tony Stark and Hulk’s battle devastated the city, killing more than 130 people and providing the International Security Council with a pretext to move against the Avengers.

Allen visited Thanos on a barren planet and revealed that he had gathered the Infinity Stones to create an independent dimension, a plan he had already completed. He told Thanos he had returned the Stones and discussed the purpose and consequences of Thanos’s plan to eliminate half of all life, leaving their candid conversation ongoing.

• Thanos learned that the rebuilding of his legion was progressing and that Sakura had not begun any new large-scale military campaigns.
• Nebula found Gamora’s traces and urged Thanos to capture her, but he refused and said he would forgive his daughter.
• Allen appeared through a portal, revealed his true identity, and persuaded Thanos to dismiss the Black Order and Nebula.
• Allen explained that he had used the Infinity Stones to merge himself with Azerath and create an independent dimension, then said he had returned the Stones to their proper places.
• Thanos asked whether he had ultimately succeeded in his plan, and Allen said Thanos lost in only one among tens of thousands of possible outcomes.
• Allen explained that he understood Thanos’s concerns about scarce resources and population growth, then questioned how Thanos could make his elimination of half of life absolutely fair.

Allen struck a secret bargain with Thanos over the Infinity Stones, then considered changing Arthas Menethil’s fate. As the War of the Ancients approached, Allen and Artoria watched Ultron’s battle over the Mind Stone and Vibranium body, where Ultron’s consciousness transfer had passed seventy percent.

• Thanos agreed to wait two years before collecting the Infinity Stones and to duel Allen after the snap, while Allen promised not to use the stones to restore the vanished population.
• After exchanging ideas with Thanos, Allen compared him to Arthas Menethil and wondered whether he could change the prince’s fate.
• Allen and Artoria discussed the approaching War of the Ancients after Allen sensed that Ronin, Broxigar Saurfang, and Korialstrasz had arrived from the future.
• Allen watched Ultron’s forces clash with the Avengers and the Twins as they fought to claim the Mind Stone and Vibranium body.
• Artoria asked what the iron coffin would produce, and Allen observed that Ultron’s consciousness transfer had already exceeded seventy percent.

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner secretly tried to put J.A.R.V.I.S. into Ultron’s Vibranium body, despite Steve Rogers’s objections. The newborn Vision killed Tony, but Ancient One rewound time and returned Vision to the Life Cradle.

• Tony Stark revealed that he had restored J.A.R.V.I.S. and persuaded Bruce Banner to use it in Ultron’s Vibranium body rather than destroy the Life Cradle.
• Tony and Banner prepared the body while Allen and Ancient One watched, and Steve Rogers returned with Wanda and Quicksilver and demanded that they stop.
• Banner and Steve argued over whether the unborn lifeform should be activated, and Quicksilver pulled out the Life Cradle’s connectors before Hawkeye knocked him through the floor.
• Iron Man and Captain America began fighting, and Thor struck the Life Cradle with lightning, awakening Vision.
• Vision attacked Tony with a beam from the Mind Stone and killed him, but Ancient One stopped time, rewound events, and placed Vision back in the Life Cradle.

Allen used time manipulation to undo the hostile awakening of Vision and forced Tony Stark and Bruce Banner to keep trying until they corrected the flaw. Vision finally awakened without attacking, and the chapter left him exploring humanity while asking why he could not read Allen’s thoughts.

• Ancient One reversed time to save Tony Stark and warned Allen to fix the disturbance before it created a timeline branch.
• Captain America struck Tony for recklessly creating Vision, but Allen insisted the team repeat the process and revealed Vision was meant to join the Avengers Alliance.
• Vision attacked Allen as soon as he awakened, and Allen reversed time again, leaving Tony and Banner to restart their work.
• After several failed attempts, Tony and Banner found that Ultron’s emotions had overwritten J.A.R.V.I.S.’s protocols, so they added emotion-suppression code to Vision.
• Vision awakened without attacking and sensed the thoughts of life across the city, then asked Allen why he could not hear his thoughts.

Allen explained Vision’s artificial origins and warned that his life would be brief, then left the Avengers questioning whether their choices were controlled by the timeline. In Berlin, Allen tasked Red Skull with advancing a united human government and promised Hydra control of Sakura’s cosmic empire if he succeeded.

• Allen told Vision that he was born from Ultron and J.A.R.V.I.S., had no soul, and was destined for a short life, then gave him a kingfisher as a birthday gift.
• After Allen departed, Tony Stark and the Avengers discussed the timeline and feared that their actions and endings were predetermined; Vision agreed to speak with Tony.
• In Berlin, Red Skull reunited Hydra’s scattered leaders, ordered them to halt sabotage, and reported that Grant Ward had received a list of right-wing politicians to target.
• Allen warned Red Skull not to fail and promised him Sakura’s cosmic empire if Hydra helped establish a united human government.
• Red Skull accepted the task, believing Hydra’s authoritarian system could govern the empire and expand into the cosmos.

After returning to Sky City, Allen discussed whether to interfere with Vision’s fate and warned Artoria to prepare for Hela. He then met Daisy Johnson, advised her about her troubled parents, and urged her to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. before her mother acted against it.

• Allen told Artoria that Vision’s choices made his death likely and that he would not necessarily interfere in the Infinity War.
• Allen warned Artoria that powerful beings could threaten the multiverse and reminded her that she would face Hela in about two years.
• Edna Bevin told Allen that Daisy Johnson was waiting for him in a New York grocery store, and Allen teleported there to meet her.
• Daisy told Allen that her Inhuman mother distrusted S.H.I.E.L.D. and that her father was mentally unstable, and Allen defended both parents while blaming S.H.I.E.L.D. for its own abuses.
• Allen advised Daisy to leave S.H.I.E.L.D., speak privately with her mother, and help her father start a new life, warning that her mother might act soon.

As the Avengers fought Ultron in Sokovia, the International Security Council launched super-nuclear missiles and agreed to place the Avengers under its control. Vision went to intercept the missiles while Allen revived Quicksilver, leaving Wanda willing to visit Allen’s world after the crisis.

• After Vision restricted Ultron's access to the internet, the Avengers attacked Ultron's Sokovia base while civilians remained trapped in the nearby city.
• The International Security Council debated destroying the airborne city with nuclear weapons, agreed the Avengers must accept its leadership, and launched missiles from Siberia.
• Maria Hill warned Tony Stark about the incoming missiles, and Tony sent Vision into space to intercept them while promising to save the city himself.
• Quicksilver died after an Ultron weapon struck him, and Natasha's healing potion could not revive him.
• Tony summoned Allen, who restored Quicksilver to life with Holy Light and invited Wanda to visit his world for tests; Wanda accepted.

Allen mocked Ultron’s failures as the Avengers struggled to stop his remaining nuclear missile, then agreed to help after Tony Stark offered him a biological storage device containing an extraordinary plan. Allen swallowed the exploding warhead with a Black Hole, and the group turned back to Ultron.

• Allen revived Quicksilver, stopped Ultron’s Energy Bomb with Time Reversal, and ridiculed Ultron’s strategy and misuse of the Mind Stone.
• Vision reported that he had stopped three nuclear warheads but could not catch the fourth, which was falling toward the city.
• Tony Stark asked Allen to save the civilians and offered his help creating an assistant; Allen examined the biological storage device Stark gave him.
• Allen created a Black Hole that swallowed the detonated nuclear warhead, shocking witnesses around the world.
• Tony Stark and Thor argued over whether Asgardians considered humans mortals, then the group prepared to deal with Ultron.

After the Avengers stopped Ultron and brought the floating city safely back to Earth, Allen revealed the reality-altering potential of Wanda’s Chaos Magic and warned the team about the danger she and Vision could face. Hulk fled Earth in a Quinjet, while the Avengers headed home unaware that the International Security Council had prepared a trap for them.

• The city descended safely under Allen’s control, and the Avengers realized Hulk had taken a Quinjet into space to keep his anger from endangering people on Earth.
• Tony Stark learned that Allen was interested in Wanda’s magic, and Allen demonstrated how her Chaos Magic could alter and interfere with reality.
• Allen explained that Chaos Magic could rival the Reality Stone and revealed that Wanda’s power came from a dimensional Demon God.
• Allen warned the Avengers that Vision and the twins could be treated as weapons by the International Security Council, then arranged to meet Wanda later and left through a portal.
• Vision asked Tony Stark whether Allen’s warning was true, and Tony promised to protect him as one of the Avengers.
• The Avengers boarded another Quinjet to return home, unaware that the International Security Council had prepared a trap for them.

Tony Stark and his companions visited Sky City, where Allen introduced them to Advent, a live-action game in which players inhabited mortal bodies in Azerath. Tony entered the game as a Night Elf just as the Burning Legion attacked a village.

• The International Security Council failed to bring Vision and the Twins under government control, while the Avengers scattered to pursue their own affairs.
• Tony Stark brought Wanda, Quicksilver, and Vision to Sky City, where they witnessed the Burning Legion invade Azerath and massacre Night Elves.
• Allen stopped Tony from intervening directly and explained that players could join Azerath's war through the Advent game under strict rules.
• Tony, Wanda, Quicksilver, and Vision entered birth pods and created Night Elf characters, with Tony's character appearing in a village under attack.
• A Burning Legion fireball destroyed the village's treehouses, and a Hellfire Puppet rose amid the flames as Tony faced the assault.

Tony Stark fled the Burning Legion’s attack with Night Elf refugees, then used his ingenuity to create explosives that helped the Resistance Army defeat a demon scouting party. A female general assigned him a large-scale bomb-making task, and he reflected on how living as a mortal might shape Allen and Sky City’s guardians.

• Tony Stark fled into the forest with Night Elf villagers after Hellfire and the demon army overwhelmed their settlement.
• At a valley shelter, Tony learned that the bear-like allies were Worgen and joined a patrol after being promoted to captain.
• Tony and his ten soldiers made explosives from ores and plants, and the jars killed most of a demon scouting party.
• A silver-haired female general ordered Tony to produce three hundred explosive jars in seven days and teased him before sending him from her tent.
• Tony realized that experiencing mortal weakness and courage might be part of Allen’s purpose for the realistic game.

Tony Stark’s explosive jars and first cannon strengthened the Night Elf resistance, while Quicksilver, Wanda, and Vision learned about mortality through repeated deaths. The chapter ended with Tony entering the female commander’s quarters and Vision reflecting on what it meant to be alive.

• Tony Stark’s explosive jars increased the Night Elf army’s ability to repel the Burning Legion, and his assembly-line methods raised production to five hundred jars a day.
• Tony Stark successfully tested a cannon, though he could make only two cannons and about twenty rounds of ammunition per day.
• The female commander praised Tony Stark’s contributions, promised him a surprise, and sent Mansa to take him to wash before he entered the commander’s quarters.
• Allen told Quicksilver that the Night Elf girl he had tried to save reached a refugee camp, and Quicksilver and Wanda reflected on their mortal vulnerability.
• Vision explained to Allen that repeated deaths helped him understand human fear of death and appreciate life’s brief, fragile nature.

Tony Stark reflected on his night with the Night Elf commander before Allen revealed that the encounter had conceived a child and that Tony’s inventions had already altered Azeroth’s history. Tony considered what to do about the child as Allen warned him that he had little time left before the Burning Legion targeted him.

• Tony Stark sat by the river, regretted his encounter with the Night Elf commander, and considered the Night Elves’ military strength and social status.
• Allen appeared unseen by the sentinels and questioned Tony about using Magic Circuit knowledge in his cannon designs.
• Allen explained that Tony’s engineering had changed history and that the Bronze Dragons had nearly detected and stopped him.
• Allen told Tony that the Night Elf commander was pregnant with his child and offered three options for the baby’s future.
• Tony asked about the child’s mother, then learned that he and Pepper Potts would also have a daughter in the future.
• Allen warned Tony that he was important to the future but had little time left, then teleported away as the Burning Legion prepared to assassinate him.