diff --git a/src/authorization/AuthorizationChecker.js b/src/authorization/AuthorizationChecker.js
index 3644d59..afffad8 100644
--- a/src/authorization/AuthorizationChecker.js
+++ b/src/authorization/AuthorizationChecker.js
@@ -659,37 +659,6 @@ export class AuthorizationChecker {
       };
     }
 
-    // Check for cycles using efficient approach
-    const useKeyedVisited = this._getVisitedMode(_visited);
-    const visitKey = useKeyedVisited ? this._getVisitedKey(userId, relation, objectId) : null;
-    if (useKeyedVisited) {
-      if (_visited.has(visitKey)) {
-        return {
-          possibility: 0,
-          reliability: 0,
-          validity: includeMeta ? DEFAULT_VALIDITY : minimalValidity(DEFAULT_VALIDITY),
-          reason: 'cycle',
-          binary: true,
-          ...(evaluation && { evaluation })
-        };
-      }
-    } else {
-      for (const visited of _visited) {
-        if (visited.userKey === userKey && visited.relation === relation && visited.objectKey === objectKey) {
-          return {
-            possibility: 0,
-            reliability: 0,
-            validity: includeMeta ? DEFAULT_VALIDITY : minimalValidity(DEFAULT_VALIDITY),
-            reason: 'cycle',
-            binary: true,
-            ...(evaluation && { evaluation })
-          };
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
-    _visited.add(useKeyedVisited ? visitKey : { userKey, relation, objectKey });
-
     const config = this.arbiter.relationConfigs.get(relation);
     if (!config) {
       return {
@@ -766,6 +735,41 @@ export class AuthorizationChecker {
       }
     }
 
+    // Check for cycles using efficient approach.
+    // Deliberately placed AFTER the direct fast path: direct checks never
+    // recurse, so they must not pay for key allocation / Set mutation. Only
+    // the rule-evaluation branches (which recurse via evaluateRule with the
+    // shared _visited) need cycle detection.
+    const useKeyedVisited = this._getVisitedMode(_visited);
+    const visitKey = useKeyedVisited ? this._getVisitedKey(userId, relation, objectId) : null;
+    if (useKeyedVisited) {
+      if (_visited.has(visitKey)) {
+        return {
+          possibility: 0,
+          reliability: 0,
+          validity: includeMeta ? DEFAULT_VALIDITY : minimalValidity(DEFAULT_VALIDITY),
+          reason: 'cycle',
+          binary: true,
+          ...(evaluation && { evaluation })
+        };
+      }
+    } else {
+      for (const visited of _visited) {
+        if (visited.userKey === userKey && visited.relation === relation && visited.objectKey === objectKey) {
+          return {
+            possibility: 0,
+            reliability: 0,
+            validity: includeMeta ? DEFAULT_VALIDITY : minimalValidity(DEFAULT_VALIDITY),
+            reason: 'cycle',
+            binary: true,
+            ...(evaluation && { evaluation })
+          };
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    _visited.add(useKeyedVisited ? visitKey : { userKey, relation, objectKey });
+
     // Handle logical operators with binary evaluation
     if (config.union || config.intersection || config.exclusion) {
       const res = this.ruleEvaluator.evaluateRule(