diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/delta-gate.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/delta-gate.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index c320594e..00000000
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/delta-gate.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,148 +0,0 @@
-name: Delta Gate
-
-# On-demand candidate-vs-control gate on the capped functional CI lane
-# (label: gate-functional). That lane is Bun-only host-mode — there is no
-# Node.js runtime available to it, so this workflow deliberately avoids every
-# JS-based action (checkout/setup-node/setup-bun/upload-artifact all require
-# one) and does everything with plain git + bun in shell steps instead.
-#
-# Verdict lines a caller should grep for in the run log:
-#   COLLECTED patch=<n> control=<n>   — collection-truncation guard inputs
-#   NEW-RED-COUNT:<n>                 — failures on candidate absent from control
-#   DELTA-GATE: CLEAN | NEW REDS | INVALID | STOPPED-BY-REGISTRY-TRIPWIRE
-#
-# The lane's own housekeeping stops the runner and drops a marker file when
-# host pressure (I/O, registry latency, disk budget) trips — never ours to
-# interpret as a red or a green. The final step checks for that marker before
-# it says anything about pass/fail.
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      candidate:
-        description: 'Candidate ref (branch or sha) to gate'
-        required: true
-        type: string
-      control:
-        description: 'Control sha to diff against'
-        required: true
-        type: string
-  # workflow_dispatch needs Actions-unit write on the dispatching credential;
-  # push does not (it runs from the pushed ref's own tree), so a plain push
-  # to a release or CI branch is the fallback trigger while that grant is
-  # outstanding — see the ref-resolution step below for what it gates against.
-  push:
-    branches: ['rel/**', 'ci/**']
-
-concurrency:
-  group: delta-gate
-  cancel-in-progress: false
-
-jobs:
-  delta-gate:
-    name: Delta gate — candidate vs control
-    runs-on: gate-functional
-    timeout-minutes: 120
-    steps:
-      - name: Resolve candidate/control refs
-        id: refs
-        run: |
-          candidate="${{ github.event.inputs.candidate }}"
-          control="${{ github.event.inputs.control }}"
-          # workflow_dispatch supplies both explicitly; a push event carries
-          # neither — fall back to the pushed commit as candidate and the
-          # last released, known-good tip (10.4.9) as control, so a plain
-          # push still produces a meaningful gate instead of an empty ref.
-          if [ -z "$candidate" ]; then candidate="${{ github.sha }}"; fi
-          if [ -z "$control" ]; then control="eec90bdd"; fi
-          echo "candidate=$candidate" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "control=$control" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "Resolved (trigger=${{ github.event_name }}): candidate=$candidate control=$control"
-
-      - name: Clean any residue from a prior run
-        run: rm -rf "ob-cand-${{ github.run_id }}" "ob-ctrl-${{ github.run_id }}" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-"*
-
-      - name: Clone + test — candidate
-        id: patch
-        run: |
-          set -o pipefail
-          git clone --quiet "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy.git" "ob-cand-${{ github.run_id }}"
-          cd "ob-cand-${{ github.run_id }}"
-          git checkout --quiet "${{ steps.refs.outputs.candidate }}"
-          git log --oneline -1
-          bun install
-          rc=0
-          bun x vitest run > "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.log" 2>&1 || rc=$?
-          echo "PATCH-RC:$rc"
-          grep -aE "Tests .*(passed|failed)" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.log" | tail -1
-          grep -aE "^ FAIL |^\s+×" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.log" | sed -E "s/ [0-9]+ms$//" | sed -E "s/^\s+//" | sort -u > "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.fail"
-          echo "PATCH-FAILING:$(wc -l < "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.fail")"
-
-      - name: Clone + test — control
-        id: control
-        run: |
-          set -o pipefail
-          git clone --quiet "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy.git" "ob-ctrl-${{ github.run_id }}"
-          cd "ob-ctrl-${{ github.run_id }}"
-          git checkout --quiet "${{ steps.refs.outputs.control }}"
-          git log --oneline -1
-          bun install
-          rc=0
-          bun x vitest run > "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.log" 2>&1 || rc=$?
-          echo "CONTROL-RC:$rc"
-          grep -aE "Tests .*(passed|failed)" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.log" | tail -1
-          grep -aE "^ FAIL |^\s+×" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.log" | sed -E "s/ [0-9]+ms$//" | sed -E "s/^\s+//" | sort -u > "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.fail"
-          echo "CONTROL-FAILING:$(wc -l < "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.fail")"
-
-      - name: Delta gate verdict
-        if: always()
-        run: |
-          set -o pipefail
-
-          # The lane's own tripwire wins over anything we would otherwise say:
-          # a bare failure/timeout above with this marker present is host
-          # pressure, never a real red and never a real green.
-          if [ -f /srv/gate-lane/TRIPWIRE-STOPPED ]; then
-            echo "DELTA-GATE: STOPPED-BY-REGISTRY-TRIPWIRE"
-            head -1 /srv/gate-lane/TRIPWIRE-STOPPED
-            exit 3
-          fi
-
-          patch_log="/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.log"
-          control_log="/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.log"
-          patch_fail="/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-patch.fail"
-          control_fail="/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-control.fail"
-
-          if [ ! -s "$patch_log" ] || [ ! -s "$control_log" ]; then
-            echo "DELTA-GATE: INVALID — a leg produced no log (see the two steps above for the real cause)"
-            exit 2
-          fi
-
-          pt=$(grep -aoE "\(([0-9]+)\)$" "$patch_log" | tail -1 | tr -d "()")
-          ct=$(grep -aoE "\(([0-9]+)\)$" "$control_log" | tail -1 | tr -d "()")
-          echo "COLLECTED patch=${pt:-0} control=${ct:-0}"
-          if [ "${pt:-0}" -lt 3000 ] || [ "${ct:-0}" -lt 3000 ]; then
-            echo "DELTA-GATE: INVALID — truncated collection"
-            exit 2
-          fi
-
-          echo "=== NEW REDS ==="
-          comm -23 "$patch_fail" "$control_fail"
-          new=$(comm -23 "$patch_fail" "$control_fail" | wc -l)
-          echo "NEW-RED-COUNT:$new"
-
-          echo "=== full candidate fail list ==="
-          cat "$patch_fail"
-          echo "=== full control fail list ==="
-          cat "$control_fail"
-
-          if [ "$new" -eq 0 ]; then
-            echo "DELTA-GATE: CLEAN"
-          else
-            echo "DELTA-GATE: NEW REDS"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-      - name: Clean up (mind the lane's disk budget)
-        if: always()
-        run: rm -rf "ob-cand-${{ github.run_id }}" "ob-ctrl-${{ github.run_id }}" "/tmp/ob-${{ github.run_id }}-"*
diff --git a/src/brainy.ts b/src/brainy.ts
index ffc2d5cd..64e8707e 100644
--- a/src/brainy.ts
+++ b/src/brainy.ts
@@ -1040,17 +1040,6 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Factory hook for the generation store, so an engine built on top of this
-   * reference implementation can substitute a `GenerationStore` that keeps
-   * the same behavioural contract (for example, one backed by a native
-   * implementation) — overriding it never changes this engine's own
-   * behaviour, since the default implementation is unchanged.
-   */
-  protected createGenerationStore(storage: BaseStorage): GenerationStore {
-    return new GenerationStore(storage)
-  }
-
   /**
    * Initialize Brainy.
    *
@@ -1308,7 +1297,7 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // guarantees indexes never observe rolled-back state. Reader-mode
       // instances skip recovery (readers never write; the next writer
       // repairs).
-      this.generationStore = this.createGenerationStore(this.storage)
+      this.generationStore = new GenerationStore(this.storage)
       const generationOpenResult = await step(
         'generation-store.open',
         'reading the generation manifest and committed ranges, opening the fact log and the ' +
diff --git a/src/plugin.ts b/src/plugin.ts
index 64abfe26..027a5367 100644
--- a/src/plugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugin.ts
@@ -460,10 +460,8 @@ export interface MetadataIndexProvider {
    * @param params - The find params, already normalized by `find()`
    *   (natural-language parsed, `connected` anchors resolved to canonical ids,
    *   an empty `where` dropped).
-   * @param hiddenIds - Ids this read must not return. The contract is the ANSWER, not the
-   *   mechanism: a provider may subtract this set before paging, or derive the
-   *   same exclusion from the params' visibility tiers itself — either way the
-   *   page must equal the engine's own answer with none of these ids in it.
+   * @param hiddenIds - Ids this read must not return; apply BEFORE paging so
+   *   `limit` stays exact.
    * @param graphIndex - The active graph provider, for a `connected` plan.
    * @returns The page's ids plus the stage that emptied it, or `null`.
    */
diff --git a/tests/integration/generation-store-factory.test.ts b/tests/integration/generation-store-factory.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 08b62619..00000000
--- a/tests/integration/generation-store-factory.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * @module tests/integration/generation-store-factory
- * @description Pins the `createGenerationStore` protected factory hook on
- * `Brainy` ({@link Brainy.createGenerationStore}). The hook exists so an
- * engine built on top of this reference implementation can substitute a
- * `GenerationStore` that keeps the same behavioural contract; this suite
- * proves two things:
- *
- *  1. A subclass overriding the hook is the ONLY path that constructs the
- *     generation store — it is called exactly once, with the same storage
- *     instance `performInit` holds — and the store the brain actually uses
- *     is the one the override returned.
- *  2. The default (non-overridden) path is unaffected — proven here by
- *     confirming the base class still produces a plain `GenerationStore`
- *     wired to `brain.storage`, and separately by running the existing
- *     `db-mvcc` and `brainy-core.integration` suites unmodified against this
- *     change (they exercise generation-store behaviour end to end).
- */
-
-import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from 'vitest'
-import { Brainy } from '../../src/brainy.js'
-import { GenerationStore } from '../../src/db/generationStore.js'
-import type { BaseStorage } from '../../src/storage/baseStorage.js'
-
-/** Typed access to the brain's private storage + generation-store fields (test injection point). */
-function internalsOf(brain: Brainy): { storage: BaseStorage; generationStore: GenerationStore } {
-  return brain as unknown as { storage: BaseStorage; generationStore: GenerationStore }
-}
-
-/**
- * A `GenerationStore` subclass that counts its own construction and
- * remembers the storage instance it was built with, so the test can prove
- * the hook is the sole construction path without mocking the module.
- */
-class SpyGenerationStore extends GenerationStore {
-  static constructCount = 0
-  static lastStorage: BaseStorage | undefined
-
-  constructor(storage: BaseStorage) {
-    super(storage)
-    SpyGenerationStore.constructCount++
-    SpyGenerationStore.lastStorage = storage
-  }
-}
-
-/** A Brainy subclass overriding the factory hook — stands in for an engine built on the reference. */
-class BrainyWithSpyStore extends Brainy {
-  hookCallCount = 0
-  hookStorageArg: BaseStorage | undefined
-
-  protected override createGenerationStore(storage: BaseStorage): GenerationStore {
-    this.hookCallCount++
-    this.hookStorageArg = storage
-    return new SpyGenerationStore(storage)
-  }
-}
-
-describe('Brainy.createGenerationStore — protected factory hook', () => {
-  const brains: Brainy[] = []
-
-  afterEach(async () => {
-    SpyGenerationStore.constructCount = 0
-    SpyGenerationStore.lastStorage = undefined
-    for (const brain of brains.splice(0)) {
-      try {
-        await brain.close()
-      } catch {
-        // already closed by the test
-      }
-    }
-  })
-
-  it('a subclass override is the sole construction path: called once, same storage instance, its store is the one the brain uses', async () => {
-    const brain = new BrainyWithSpyStore({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
-    await brain.init()
-    brains.push(brain)
-
-    // Called exactly once, through the hook.
-    expect(brain.hookCallCount).toBe(1)
-    expect(SpyGenerationStore.constructCount).toBe(1)
-
-    // Same storage instance the base class holds — not a copy, not a different adapter.
-    const { storage, generationStore } = internalsOf(brain)
-    expect(brain.hookStorageArg).toBe(storage)
-    expect(SpyGenerationStore.lastStorage).toBe(storage)
-
-    // The store the brain actually uses is the one the override returned.
-    expect(generationStore).toBeInstanceOf(SpyGenerationStore)
-  })
-
-  it('the default (non-overridden) path still produces a plain GenerationStore wired to the same storage', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
-    await brain.init()
-    brains.push(brain)
-
-    const { storage, generationStore } = internalsOf(brain)
-    expect(generationStore).toBeInstanceOf(GenerationStore)
-    // The default implementation constructs from the same storage the brain holds.
-    expect((generationStore as unknown as { storage: BaseStorage }).storage).toBe(storage)
-  })
-})