diff --git a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
index 88fb17e6..d8e90e0f 100644
--- a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
@@ -1119,6 +1119,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
       ...verb,
       // Standard fields at top-level
       subtype: reserved.subtype as string | undefined,
+      // visibility is a reserved top-level field (the verb mirror of Entity.visibility).
+      // Surfacing it here lets the graph-index fast paths apply visibility filtering on
+      // their already-hydrated results (so default related() stays O(degree) instead of
+      // falling through to a full scan), and lets related({ includeInternal }) results
+      // actually report which edges are internal.
+      visibility: reserved.visibility as HNSWVerbWithMetadata['visibility'],
       createdAt: normalizeStoredTimestamp(reserved.createdAt),
       updatedAt: normalizeStoredTimestamp(reserved.updatedAt),
       confidence: reserved.confidence as number | undefined,
@@ -1131,6 +1137,45 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * @description Apply the metadata-derived verb filters (`subtype`,
+   * `excludeVisibility`) that the graph-index fast paths can satisfy on their
+   * already-hydrated O(degree) / O(type) candidate set — matching the semantics
+   * of the full-scan fallback in {@link getVerbsWithPagination}. This is what
+   * keeps default `related({ from/to })` (which always sets the visibility
+   * exclusion) on the fast adjacency path instead of forcing a full O(E) scan.
+   *
+   * - `subtype`: keeps only verbs carrying a matching subtype; a verb with no
+   *   subtype is excluded when a subtype filter is set (same as the fallback).
+   * - `excludeVisibility`: drops verbs whose stored visibility tier is in the
+   *   excluded set; an absent tier is `'public'` and is always kept.
+   *
+   * @param verbs - Hydrated candidate verbs from a fast-path lookup.
+   * @param filter - The `getVerbs` filter (only `subtype` / `excludeVisibility`
+   *   are read here; the structural match was already done by the caller).
+   * @returns The candidates with the metadata filters applied (input order preserved).
+   */
+  protected applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+    verbs: HNSWVerbWithMetadata[],
+    filter?: {
+      subtype?: string | string[]
+      excludeVisibility?: string[]
+    }
+  ): HNSWVerbWithMetadata[] {
+    let out = verbs
+    const subtypeFilter = filter?.subtype
+    if (subtypeFilter) {
+      const allowed = new Set(Array.isArray(subtypeFilter) ? subtypeFilter : [subtypeFilter])
+      out = out.filter((v) => v.subtype !== undefined && allowed.has(v.subtype))
+    }
+    const excludeVisibility = filter?.excludeVisibility
+    if (excludeVisibility && excludeVisibility.length > 0) {
+      const excluded = new Set(excludeVisibility)
+      out = out.filter((v) => !(v.visibility && excluded.has(v.visibility)))
+    }
+    return out
+  }
+
   /**
    * Get a noun from storage (returns combined HNSWNounWithMetadata)
    * @param id Entity ID
@@ -1851,17 +1896,15 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
     const cursor = pagination.cursor
 
     // Optimize for common filter cases to avoid loading all verbs.
-    // NOTE: subtype filter intentionally disqualifies the fast paths and forces
-    // fallthrough to the full shard scan (which loads metadata and applies the
-    // subtype check after the load). Subtype is not stored on the raw HNSWVerb;
-    // it's a metadata field. The graph-index fast paths return verbs without
-    // metadata, so they can't apply subtype filtering correctly. The 8.0
-    // `excludeVisibility` filter (also a metadata field) disqualifies them the same way.
-    if (
-      options?.filter &&
-      !(options.filter as { verbType?: string | string[]; subtype?: string | string[] }).subtype &&
-      !(options.filter as { excludeVisibility?: string[] }).excludeVisibility
-    ) {
+    // The graph-index fast paths (getVerbsBySource/Target/Type_internal) hydrate
+    // each candidate's metadata, so `subtype` and the 8.0 `excludeVisibility`
+    // filters — both metadata fields — are applied on the small O(degree) /
+    // O(type) candidate set via applyVerbMetadataFilters() BEFORE pagination.
+    // (They used to disqualify the fast paths and force a full O(E) shard scan,
+    // which made default related({ from/to }) — which always sets the visibility
+    // exclusion — scan the entire graph per node.) An arbitrary `metadata` filter
+    // still falls through, since each block guards `!options.filter.metadata`.
+    if (options?.filter) {
       // CRITICAL VFS FIX: If filtering by sourceId + verbType (most common VFS pattern!)
       // This is the query PathResolver.getChildren() uses: related({ from: dirId, type: VerbType.Contains })
       if (
@@ -1879,9 +1922,13 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
           ? options.filter.verbType[0]
           : options.filter.verbType
 
-        // Get verbs by source, then filter by type (O(1) graph lookup + O(n) type filter)
+        // Get verbs by source, then filter by type (O(1) graph lookup + O(n) type filter),
+        // then apply the subtype / visibility metadata filters on the candidate set.
         const verbsBySource = await this.getVerbsBySource_internal(sourceId)
-        const filteredVerbs = verbsBySource.filter(v => v.verb === verbType)
+        const filteredVerbs = this.applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+          verbsBySource.filter(v => v.verb === verbType),
+          options.filter
+        )
 
         // Apply pagination
         const paginatedVerbs = filteredVerbs.slice(offset, offset + limit)
@@ -1914,8 +1961,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
           ? options.filter.sourceId[0]
           : options.filter.sourceId
 
-        // Get verbs by source directly
-        const verbsBySource = await this.getVerbsBySource_internal(sourceId)
+        // Get verbs by source directly (hydrated with metadata), then apply the
+        // subtype / visibility metadata filters on the O(degree) candidate set.
+        const verbsBySource = this.applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+          await this.getVerbsBySource_internal(sourceId),
+          options.filter
+        )
 
         // Apply pagination
         const paginatedVerbs = verbsBySource.slice(offset, offset + limit)
@@ -1948,8 +1999,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
           ? options.filter.targetId[0]
           : options.filter.targetId
 
-        // Get verbs by target directly
-        const verbsByTarget = await this.getVerbsByTarget_internal(targetId)
+        // Get verbs by target directly (hydrated with metadata), then apply the
+        // subtype / visibility metadata filters on the O(degree) candidate set.
+        const verbsByTarget = this.applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+          await this.getVerbsByTarget_internal(targetId),
+          options.filter
+        )
 
         // Apply pagination
         const paginatedVerbs = verbsByTarget.slice(offset, offset + limit)
@@ -1982,8 +2037,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
           ? options.filter.verbType[0]
           : options.filter.verbType
 
-        // Get verbs by type directly
-        const verbsByType = await this.getVerbsByType_internal(verbType)
+        // Get verbs by type directly (hydrated with metadata), then apply the
+        // subtype / visibility metadata filters on the candidate set.
+        const verbsByType = this.applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+          await this.getVerbsByType_internal(verbType),
+          options.filter
+        )
 
         // Apply pagination
         const paginatedVerbs = verbsByType.slice(offset, offset + limit)
@@ -2026,8 +2085,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
         // Get verbs by source (uses GraphAdjacencyIndex if available)
         const verbsBySource = await this.getVerbsBySource_internal(sourceId)
 
-        // Filter by verbType in memory (fast - usually small number of verbs per source)
-        const filtered = verbsBySource.filter(v => verbTypes.includes(v.verb))
+        // Filter by verbType in memory (fast - usually small number of verbs per source),
+        // then apply the subtype / visibility metadata filters on the candidate set.
+        const filtered = this.applyVerbMetadataFilters(
+          verbsBySource.filter(v => verbTypes.includes(v.verb)),
+          options.filter
+        )
 
         // Apply pagination
         const paginatedVerbs = filtered.slice(offset, offset + limit)
diff --git a/tests/unit/brainy/related-visibility-fast-path.test.ts b/tests/unit/brainy/related-visibility-fast-path.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7b289390
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/brainy/related-visibility-fast-path.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/**
+ * @module tests/unit/brainy/related-visibility-fast-path
+ * @description Graph-perf #1 (8.0): the visibility-aware fast adjacency path.
+ *
+ * `related({ from })` / `related({ to })` route through the O(degree)
+ * GraphAdjacencyIndex fast paths in `storage.getVerbs`. Before this fix, the
+ * default visibility exclusion (`excludeVisibility: ['internal','system']`,
+ * which every default `related()` sets) DISQUALIFIED those fast paths and forced
+ * a full O(E) shard scan — the root cause of multi-second per-node edge lookups
+ * on large graphs. The fast paths now hydrate each candidate's metadata and
+ * apply the subtype / visibility filters on the small O(degree) candidate set.
+ *
+ * Two observable contracts are pinned here (the perf change itself is structural
+ * — these prove the fast path produces the SAME correct results the scan did):
+ * 1. default `related()` excludes `internal` / `system` edges; `includeInternal`
+ *    / `includeSystem` opt them back in.
+ * 2. returned `Relation`s now carry `visibility` (previously dropped by
+ *    `hydrateVerbWithMetadata`, so `related({ includeInternal })` could not even
+ *    report which edges were internal).
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
+import { Brainy } from '../../../src/index.js'
+import { NounType, VerbType } from '../../../src/types/graphTypes.js'
+import { createTestConfig } from '../../helpers/test-factory.js'
+
+describe('related() visibility-aware fast adjacency (graph-perf #1)', () => {
+  let brain: Brainy
+  let a: string, b: string, c: string, d: string
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    brain = new Brainy(createTestConfig())
+    await brain.init()
+    a = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'A' })
+    b = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'B' })
+    c = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'C' })
+    d = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'D' })
+    // A → B public, A → C internal, A → D public.
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: b, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: c, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague', visibility: 'internal' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: d, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague' })
+  })
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('default related({ from }) excludes internal edges (out-direction fast path)', async () => {
+    const edges = await brain.related({ from: a })
+    const targets = edges.map((e) => e.to).sort()
+    expect(targets).toEqual([b, d].sort())
+    // None of the default results carry a non-public visibility.
+    expect(edges.every((e) => e.visibility === undefined || e.visibility === 'public')).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('related({ from, includeInternal }) surfaces the internal edge AND reports its visibility', async () => {
+    const edges = await brain.related({ from: a, includeInternal: true })
+    expect(edges.map((e) => e.to).sort()).toEqual([b, c, d].sort())
+    const internalEdge = edges.find((e) => e.to === c)
+    // The latent-bug fix: visibility now flows through hydration to the Relation.
+    expect(internalEdge?.visibility).toBe('internal')
+  })
+
+  it('default related({ to }) excludes an internal edge (in-direction fast path)', async () => {
+    // B has one public in-edge; C has one internal in-edge.
+    const intoB = await brain.related({ to: b })
+    expect(intoB.map((e) => e.from)).toEqual([a])
+
+    const intoC = await brain.related({ to: c })
+    expect(intoC).toHaveLength(0) // internal edge hidden by default
+
+    const intoCAll = await brain.related({ to: c, includeInternal: true })
+    expect(intoCAll.map((e) => e.from)).toEqual([a])
+    expect(intoCAll[0]?.visibility).toBe('internal')
+  })
+
+  it('subtype filter still works on the fast path (returns only matching, excludes internal)', async () => {
+    const colleagues = await brain.related({ from: a, subtype: 'colleague' })
+    expect(colleagues.map((e) => e.to).sort()).toEqual([b, d].sort())
+  })
+})