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Chapter 3 - Ancient One

As soon as Renzo finished speaking, silence fell over the room.

"Wait a minute—a robot is claiming he's human?" Barton shook his head. "Sorry, I can't buy that. Tony, this was a mistake."

"He's not wrong," Renzo interrupted. "He saw the future—the Avengers' defeat, the deaths of his teammates. You, Dr. Banner, the Captain—even Thor… all of you will die."

Renzo's voice rose with urgency. "Ultron's goal is to wipe out all life-bearing planets. We have to stop him—and only we can."

"Ultron is waiting for you. Natasha is in his hands. He's in Sokovia."

"How do you know that?" Barton demanded.

"Because I've seen the future too." Renzo raised a hand, pointing to the glowing yellow gem on his forehead. "Through it, I saw Ultron's thoughts."

"But…" Dr. Banner stepped forward, rubbing his hands nervously. "If we're wrong about you—if you're something Ultron created…"

"Then what?" Renzo looked at them. Several of them fell silent.

Renzo gave a faint, knowing smile. He already had his answer.

"My instincts tell me not to kill Ultron."

The Avengers immediately tensed.

"He is in pain. But his pain will be transferred to Earth. So we must destroy him—and erase everything he's left behind. His army of drones, every trace of him in the global network… all of it."

"We have to act quickly. His power is beyond anything you can imagine. No single Avenger can defeat him."

Renzo turned his gaze to Steve and said quietly, "Together…"

Something in Steve's expression shifted.

"Maybe you see me as a threat. Maybe I am," Renzo continued. "I'm not the same as you."

He turned and walked toward Thor.

"So we need to act."

Renzo picked up Mjolnir from where it rested and held it out to Thor.

In that instant, every pair of eyes locked onto him in shock.

Mjolnir—Thor's hammer—could only be lifted by one deemed worthy. Strength alone meant nothing. Even the Hulk couldn't budge it. Tony Stark, who had carried a nuclear missile through a wormhole, had failed to move it an inch. Even Steve Rogers had only managed to make it tremble.

And yet, this being—this newly born synthezoid—had lifted it effortlessly.

Thor took the hammer back slowly, still stunned.

Seeing their reactions, Renzo knew he had achieved the effect he wanted.

Without another word, he turned and left, leaving the Avengers to decide their next move. The rest was no longer his concern.

"Ultron… Thanos… Wanda…"

Renzo murmured the names under his breath. These three would be his greatest challenges in the future—even Wanda, Vision's destined love.

Ultron was the easiest to deal with among them. His methods, while dangerous, were ultimately limited. Raising Sokovia and dropping it to Earth to cause extinction—it was destructive, but crude.

Renzo couldn't help but inwardly complain. An artificial intelligence capable of infiltrating global networks in seconds, and this was the best plan it came up with? It would have been far more efficient to access nuclear launch systems.

At this stage, Renzo didn't consider Ultron an insurmountable threat. Though Sokovia would suffer heavy casualties, it was still manageable. Compared to the coming war with Thanos, it was minor.

Even the Battle of New York had been more overwhelming.

"Thanos…"

Renzo rubbed his temples—out of habit, though he no longer needed to. That name alone gave him a headache.

A cosmic tyrant capable of crushing vibranium with his bare hands. The being who had beaten the Hulk into submission. Even the combined strength of the Avengers' strongest members had failed to stand against him.

Renzo looked down at his own vibranium body, silently assessing his chances against Thanos at full strength.

In another universe, Vision—or something like him—had cut Thanos in half with a beam from the Mind Stone. But universes differed. There was no guarantee things would play out the same way here.

"I still need to get stronger," he muttered.

As he walked, something felt off.

The sleek, high-tech interior of Avengers Tower faded, replaced by a worn, ancient library.

Renzo stopped, staring at the sudden change.

A name surfaced in his mind.

"Ancient One?"

"Welcome, Vision. May I call you that?"

Renzo shot upward instantly, his golden cloak flaring behind him. Before him stood a bald woman in white robes, calmly reading an old book without even looking up.

"Or perhaps you would prefer to tell me your own name… traveler from another world."

She slowly closed the book, a faint, knowing smile on her lips.

"Ancient One…"

Renzo spoke her name unconsciously.

"It seems you truly are a visitor who has disrupted time and space." She turned to face him.

The surroundings shifted again. Renzo immediately recognized the setting—this was where Stephen Strange had first met her.

The Ancient One sat behind a low table, a cup of tea before her, steam curling gently into the air.

"Then, Mr. Vision, would you care for some tea?"

"I'm a machine. I can't consume human food," Renzo replied. "At least, not for now."

"How unfortunate." She sighed softly, as if genuinely disappointed, then took a sip of her tea with quiet enjoyment.

For a moment, she seemed no different from an ordinary elderly person.

"I don't believe I've done anything to provoke you," Renzo said, maintaining a calm tone. "Surely you don't need to personally deal with someone who was 'born' just ten minutes ago."

He remained on guard.

The Ancient One's true power had never been fully shown, but there was no doubt—she stood at the level of a cosmic entity.

In another timeline, she had projected herself across universes with ease—something even Doctor Strange had struggled to counter.

If she truly intended to act against him, she wouldn't need much effort. She could exile him to another dimension… or erase his consciousness entirely and restore the original Vision.

Renzo couldn't predict her intentions.

So he kept his distance, ready to escape at the slightest sign of danger.

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