diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/model/resolve.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/model/resolve.ts
index 62653a762..55da60c62 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/model/resolve.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/model/resolve.ts
@@ -157,19 +157,27 @@ export function c3Linearize(
 
     // Add the direct parents list as the final sequence
     const sequences = [...parentLinearizations, [...directParents]];
+    const heads = new Uint32Array(sequences.length); // head pointer per sequence
     const result: string[] = [];
 
+    // Tail-count map: how many sequences contain this id at index > head.
+    // O(1) membership check replaces O(n) indexOf scans.
+    const tailCount = new Map<string, number>();
+    for (const seq of sequences) {
+      for (let i = 1; i < seq.length; i++) {
+        tailCount.set(seq[i], (tailCount.get(seq[i]) ?? 0) + 1);
+      }
+    }
+
+    let remaining = sequences.reduce((n, s) => n + s.length, 0);
     let inconsistent = false;
-    while (sequences.some((s) => s.length > 0)) {
-      // Find a good head: one that doesn't appear in the tail of any other sequence
+
+    while (remaining > 0) {
       let head: string | null = null;
-      for (const seq of sequences) {
-        if (seq.length === 0) continue;
-        const candidate = seq[0];
-        const inTail = sequences.some(
-          (other) => other.length > 1 && other.indexOf(candidate, 1) !== -1,
-        );
-        if (!inTail) {
+      for (let si = 0; si < sequences.length; si++) {
+        if (heads[si] >= sequences[si].length) continue;
+        const candidate = sequences[si][heads[si]];
+        if ((tailCount.get(candidate) ?? 0) === 0) {
           head = candidate;
           break;
         }
@@ -182,10 +190,19 @@ export function c3Linearize(
 
       result.push(head);
 
-      // Remove the chosen head from all sequences
-      for (const seq of sequences) {
-        if (seq.length > 0 && seq[0] === head) {
-          seq.shift();
+      // Advance head pointers past the chosen head; update tail counts
+      for (let si = 0; si < sequences.length; si++) {
+        if (heads[si] >= sequences[si].length) continue;
+        if (sequences[si][heads[si]] === head) {
+          heads[si]++;
+          remaining--;
+          // promoted was in this sequence's active tail; now it's the new head — remove from tailCount
+          if (heads[si] < sequences[si].length) {
+            const promoted = sequences[si][heads[si]];
+            const prev = tailCount.get(promoted)!;
+            if (prev <= 1) tailCount.delete(promoted);
+            else tailCount.set(promoted, prev - 1);
+          }
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/mro-processor.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/mro-processor.test.ts
index d313fb2e5..c2adf867c 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/mro-processor.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/mro-processor.test.ts
@@ -540,10 +540,35 @@ describe('computeMRO', () => {
       expect(result).toBeDefined();
     });
 
+    it('returns null for C3 merge-conflict inconsistency (non-cyclic)', () => {
+      // Classic incompatible ordering: A(X,Y) and B(Y,X) → C(A,B) is unresolvable
+      const graph = createKnowledgeGraph();
+      addClass(graph, 'X', 'python');
+      addClass(graph, 'Y', 'python');
+      addClass(graph, 'A', 'python');
+      addClass(graph, 'B', 'python');
+      addClass(graph, 'C', 'python');
+      addExtends(graph, 'A', 'X');
+      addExtends(graph, 'A', 'Y');
+      addExtends(graph, 'B', 'Y');
+      addExtends(graph, 'B', 'X');
+      addExtends(graph, 'C', 'A');
+      addExtends(graph, 'C', 'B');
+      addMethod(graph, 'X', 'foo');
+
+      const result = computeMRO(graph);
+      expect(result).toBeDefined();
+      // C3 fails for C — falls back to BFS ancestors
+      const entryC = result.entries.find((e) => e.className === 'C');
+      expect(entryC).toBeDefined();
+      // BFS fallback still produces an MRO (just not C3-ordered)
+      expect(entryC!.mro.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
+    });
+  });
+
+  // ---- Performance (deep chains) -------------------------------------------
+  describe('performance', () => {
     it('handles very deep single-inheritance chain without stack overflow', () => {
-      // Chain of 2000 classes: C0 ← C1 ← C2 ← ... ← C1999
-      // The iterative c3Linearize handles this without blowing the stack.
-      // (The recursive version overflows at ~1K–5K levels depending on platform.)
       const graph = createKnowledgeGraph();
       const DEPTH = 2000;
       for (let i = 0; i < DEPTH; i++) {
@@ -552,12 +577,10 @@ describe('computeMRO', () => {
       for (let i = 1; i < DEPTH; i++) {
         addExtends(graph, `C${i}`, `C${i - 1}`);
       }
-      // Add a method on the root so MRO produces an entry
       addMethod(graph, 'C0', 'baseMethod');
 
       const result = computeMRO(graph);
       expect(result).toBeDefined();
-      // The deepest class should have all ancestors in its MRO
       const deepest = result.entries.find((e) => e.className === `C${DEPTH - 1}`);
       if (deepest) {
         expect(deepest.mro.length).toBe(DEPTH - 1);