The universe blinked.
Not metaphorically. Not poetically. It actually blinked—or at least, that's how it felt to Aurelius.
One moment, the backyard existed. The next, reality hesitated, like it had forgotten what it was supposed to be doing. Time stuttered. Wind froze mid-motion. A falling leaf paused in the air, trembling, unsure whether gravity still applied.
Aurelius hovered in the center of it all, wings buzzing softly.
"Oh no," he muttered. "That… that feels important."
Lumulith appeared instantly, materializing from a fold in space that folded itself politely back into place. His galaxy-eyes were no longer amused. They were alert.
"Aurelius," the Observer said carefully, "do not move."
Aurelius froze. "I'm a fly. I don't really do 'not moving.'"
"Then panic internally," Lumulith replied. "Quietly."
The air rippled.
From the pause in reality emerged something that was not a being so much as a decision made manifest. It had no fixed shape—only outlines that refused to stay still. Light bent around it. Sound avoided it entirely.
Aurelius felt cold.
Not physical cold—existential cold. The kind that made a creature question whether it had ever truly existed in the first place.
"What… is that?" Aurelius whispered.
Lumulith's voice dropped. "An Auditor."
Aurelius blinked. "That sounds… bad."
"It is," Lumulith said. "Auditors exist to evaluate anomalies in the Evolution System. Sparks that should not exist. Paths that should not awaken."
Aurelius hovered slightly closer to Lumulith. "And I'm guessing I fall under the category of 'should not exist.'"
"Yes."
"…Fantastic."
The Auditor shifted. The paused leaf disintegrated into nothingness without falling. A section of fence simply ceased to be, leaving behind a clean, unreasonable absence.
[ANOMALY DETECTED]
The words didn't echo. They simply appeared in Aurelius's mind.
[SPECIES: INSECT]
[EVOLUTIONARY PATH: ACTIVE]
[PROBABILITY OF COSMIC DISRUPTION: UNACCEPTABLE]
Aurelius squeaked. "Hey! That's rude. I've only almost destroyed one backyard!"
The Auditor turned its attention fully toward him.
Reality creaked.
Lumulith moved instantly, placing himself between Aurelius and the entity. "Observer's right invoked," he said. "The spark has chosen. Interference violates the First Decline Accord."
The Auditor paused.
[COUNTERCLAIM: SPARK IS UNSTABLE]
[RECOMMENDED ACTION: TERMINATION]
Aurelius felt something snap inside him.
Not fear. Not panic.
Defiance.
"Okay, wow," he said, wings buzzing louder. "That escalated quickly. I don't even get a warning? No probation period? No 'hey, stop blowing things up' pamphlet?"
The Auditor advanced.
Space compressed.
Lumulith hissed, wings flaring. "Aurelius, listen to me carefully. You are about to experience your first forced evolutionary choice."
Aurelius spun midair. "Forced choice? I don't like the sound of that."
"You will," Lumulith said grimly, "if you survive."
The pressure increased. Aurelius felt himself being measured. Every instinct, every spark of power, every chaotic thought laid bare.
The Evolution System responded.
Not with words—but with a pull.
Paths unfolded before Aurelius's awareness like branching stars.
One path glowed sharp and violent—Predatory Ascension. Power through dominance. Survival through eradication.
Another shimmered with cold precision—Conceptual Evolution. Abandon form. Become law. Become rule.
A third pulsed warmly, unpredictably—Adaptive Chaos. Growth through imbalance. Survival through creativity.
Aurelius's wings trembled.
"Oh come on," he muttered. "You couldn't make one of these say 'safe and reasonable option'?"
The Auditor lunged.
Reality fractured.
Aurelius made his choice.
He didn't overpower the Auditor.
He didn't erase it.
He adapted.
His wings flared, not brighter—but smarter. Energy folded inward, compressing instead of exploding. His tiny body shimmered, not growing larger, but denser—more real.
The Auditor struck—
—and passed through him.
Missed.
Aurelius reappeared behind it, buzzing wildly. "HAHA! DID YOU SEE THAT? I DID A THING!"
The Auditor froze.
[ANOMALY RESPONSE: UNEXPECTED]
Lumulith stared, stunned. "You… didn't resist. You adjusted your existence mid-attack."
Aurelius hovered, panting. "Yeah, well… turns out being small teaches you how to dodge really well."
The Auditor retreated slightly, its form destabilizing.
[STATUS: OBSERVATION MODE ENGAGED]
[SPARK CLASSIFICATION UPDATED: CHAOTIC VARIABLE]
And then—just like that—it vanished.
Time resumed.
The leaf fell.
The wind moved.
The backyard breathed.
Aurelius hovered, shaking. "So… uh… did I just pass?"
Lumulith slowly smiled. "You didn't just pass, Aurelius. You forced the universe to reconsider you."
Aurelius let out a breath. "Lesson nine," he muttered. "Never let reality think it understands you."
Above them, unseen by mortal eyes, countless entities shifted their attention.
Because the fly had chosen a path.
And it was no longer one the universe could easily erase.