diff --git a/packages/db/test/helpers/migrated-connection.ts b/packages/db/test/helpers/migrated-connection.ts
index 6c8136d2df..63b57eb331 100644
--- a/packages/db/test/helpers/migrated-connection.ts
+++ b/packages/db/test/helpers/migrated-connection.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,25 @@ import type { DbConnection } from "../../src/index.js";
 
 let migratedTemplate: Buffer | null = null;
 
+function getMigratedTemplate(): Buffer {
+  if (migratedTemplate === null) {
+    const db = createConnection(":memory:");
+    try {
+      migrate(db);
+      migratedTemplate = db.$client.serialize();
+    } finally {
+      db.$client.close();
+    }
+  }
+
+  return migratedTemplate;
+}
+
+/** Build the shared template outside a test's timeout budget. */
+export function prepareMigratedConnectionTemplate(): void {
+  getMigratedTemplate();
+}
+
 /**
  * A fresh in-memory database with every migration applied, exactly as
  * `createConnection(":memory:")` followed by `migrate(db)` leaves it. The
@@ -10,13 +29,10 @@ let migratedTemplate: Buffer | null = null;
  * call opens an independent copy of that image. Replaying the 100+
  * migrations costs ~57ms, which the data suites paid once per test.
  *
- * Suites that exercise `migrate` itself keep calling it directly.
+ * Tests that exercise the initial migration keep calling `migrate` directly.
+ * Migration tests may use this only for current-schema setup that they rewind
+ * before exercising a later `migrate` boundary.
  */
 export function createMigratedConnection(): DbConnection {
-  if (migratedTemplate === null) {
-    const db = createConnection(":memory:");
-    migrate(db);
-    migratedTemplate = db.$client.serialize();
-  }
-  return createConnection(migratedTemplate);
+  return createConnection(getMigratedTemplate());
 }
diff --git a/packages/db/test/migrate.test.ts b/packages/db/test/migrate.test.ts
index bc3966d342..bd06dce395 100644
--- a/packages/db/test/migrate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/db/test/migrate.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { beforeAll, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ import {
   type DbConnection,
   type MigrationWarningLogger,
 } from "../src/index.js";
+import {
+  createMigratedConnection,
+  prepareMigratedConnectionTemplate,
+} from "./helpers/migrated-connection.js";
 
 type InsertMigrationParameters = [string, number];
 type DeleteMigrationParameters = [number];
@@ -1451,6 +1455,13 @@ function deleteDeferredCleanupMigrationRows(db: DbConnection): void {
 }
 
 describe("migrate", () => {
+  beforeAll(() => {
+    // The large-value replay cases need a current database only as a rewind
+    // fixture. Build that shared image outside either case's timeout budget;
+    // each case still exercises the real migrate() boundary after rewinding.
+    prepareMigratedConnectionTemplate();
+  });
+
   it("backfills the first checkout commit component for every artifact shape", () => {
     const db = createConnection(":memory:");
     const commit = "d".repeat(40);
@@ -4305,10 +4316,9 @@ describe("migrate", () => {
   });
 
   it("skips legacy large event value round trip when values are already inline", () => {
-    const db = createConnection(":memory:");
+    const db = createMigratedConnection();
 
     try {
-      migrate(db);
       dropRewindAddedTables(db);
       seedEventLargeValueBackfillThread(db);
       const values = seedEventLargeValueBackfillEvents(db);
@@ -4359,10 +4369,9 @@ describe("migrate", () => {
   });
 
   it("restores legacy large event values to inline payloads", () => {
-    const db = createConnection(":memory:");
+    const db = createMigratedConnection();
 
     try {
-      migrate(db);
       dropRewindAddedTables(db);
       seedEventLargeValueBackfillThread(db);
       const values = seedEventLargeValueBackfillEvents(db);