Crossfall didn't know what to do with the Precedent.
That was the problem.
It sat in the center of the Axis Sphere, legs folded, hands resting on its knees, staring into the air like it was waiting for instructions that no longer existed.
Aarav watched it from the edge of the platform, arms crossed, heart still pounding.
"You just broke something fundamental," Mira whispered.
"I do that a lot," he replied.
"No," she said. "This time it wasn't a rule. It was a system."
The Precedent lifted its gaze.
"I was designed to enforce inevitability," it said calmly.
"You introduced refusal."
Aarav frowned. "I didn't refuse. I chose."
"That is the same thing," it replied.
Caelum approached slowly, as if walking toward a wild animal.
"What happens now?" he asked the Precedent.
"I no longer know," it said.
Silence.
That had never happened before.
Not here.
Not anywhere.
The multiverse had always known what came next.
Not today.
Aarav felt itlike gravity had loosened.
Not gone.
Just uncertain.
Drifters gathered around, whispering.
"It sat down…"
"It didn't enforce anything…"
"It listened…"
Aarav swallowed.
He hadn't defeated it.
He had confused it.
That felt worse.
Mira turned to him. "You understand what this means, right?"
"Yeah," he said.
She waited.
"I just proved that control isn't absolute."
Her voice dropped. "No. You proved it isn't necessary."
That word echoed.
Necessary.
The Precedent stood.
Not suddenly.
Carefully.
Like learning how to move for the first time.
"I was created because gods require validation," it said.
"You removed that requirement."
Aarav tilted his head. "You don't sound mad about it."
"I do not possess anger," it replied.
"But I am… incomplete."
Mira blinked. "Incomplete how?"
"I was not designed to question."
Aarav stepped closer.
"Then do it anyway."
The Precedent studied him.
"Why?"
"Because that's what being real feels like."
It processed.
Then:
"I will attempt."
Across Crossfall, something strange happened.
Not dramatic.
Not explosive.
Quiet.
Small.
A child asked their parent, Why do we live here?
A woman paused before stepping through a gate and said, Do I want to?
A man looked at the sky and whispered, What if?
The city didn't fracture.
It hesitated.
Caelum felt it.
Mira felt it.
Aarav felt it like a wave through his chest.
"What did you just do?" Mira asked.
The Precedent tilted its head.
"I allowed uncertainty to propagate."
Caelum whispered, "That's not possible."
"It is now," Aarav said.
The Precedent looked at him.
"You are not a variable," it said.
"You are a disruption of necessity."
Aarav laughed weakly. "That might be the nicest thing anyone's said to me."
Mira wasn't smiling.
"You just created a precedent," she said.
"I know."
"No, Aarav. You created the precedent."
Across the multiverse
In places Aarav had never seen
Worlds began to pause.
Not collapse.
Not rebel.
Pause.
A prophecy faltered.
A god hesitated.
A machine delayed execution.
A timeline branched.
Not because of war.
Because of doubt.
And doubt
Once introduced
Could not be deleted.
The Precedent looked at Aarav.
"You are not sustainable," it said.
"Yeah," he replied. "We covered that."
"You will collapse."
"Eventually."
"You will not endure."
"Probably."
"And yet," it said,
"You are correct."
That made Mira's breath catch.
Caelum stiffened.
"Say that again," Aarav said.
"You are correct."
The words rippled.
The Precedent straightened.
"I will not enforce inevitability."
Caelum whispered, "Do you understand what you're saying?"
"Yes," it replied.
"I am resigning."
Everything stopped.
"You can't resign," Mira said.
"I just did."
Aarav stared.
"You're choosing."
"Yes."
He laughed.
A real laugh.
"Oh my god."
The Precedent looked at him.
"This is… terrifying."
Aarav nodded.
"Welcome to being alive."