diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e1d55ee..9312fd7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,20 +58,26 @@ deviation OR 1 hour elapsed (whichever first). Volatile periods get pushes every
 few minutes; the 1-hour heartbeat is the dead-market floor. Recommended
 `maxAge = 2 hours` (one missed heartbeat tolerance).
 
-> **⚠️ Required config invariant: `pauseTimeAfter >= maxAge`** (enforced at
-> `initialize` — a violating config reverts `PauseTimeAfterBelowMaxAge`). The
-> share price multiplies the DIA equity price by the vault's _live_ NAV ratio,
-> and both must belong to the same corporate-action epoch. When an action
-> completes the ratio rebalances instantly, but DIA can keep serving the
-> pre-action price for up to `maxAge`. Only the post-window pause separates the
-> two; if it lifts while a pre-action price is still fresh, that price pairs
-> with the post-action ratio — on a 2:1 split the share reads ~2× its true
-> value, enabling over-borrow (bad debt). Setting `pauseTimeAfter >= maxAge`
-> guarantees only same-epoch prices are served. The exact boundary
-> (`pauseTimeAfter == maxAge`) is airtight because the staleness check rejects
-> the `maxAge` edge (`age >= maxAge` is stale), so at pause-lift the oldest
-> still-fresh push is strictly newer than `effectiveTime`. A margin above
-> `maxAge` is still recommended as defence-in-depth.
+> **⚠️ Required config invariant: `pauseTimeAfter > maxAge` (STRICTLY)**
+> (enforced at `initialize` — a violating config, including the equal boundary,
+> reverts `PauseTimeAfterBelowMaxAge`). The share price multiplies the DIA
+> equity price by the vault's _live_ NAV ratio, and both must belong to the same
+> corporate-action epoch. When an action completes the ratio rebalances
+> instantly, but DIA can keep serving the pre-action price for up to `maxAge`.
+> Only the post-window pause separates the two; if it lifts while a pre-action
+> price is still fresh, that price pairs with the post-action ratio — on a 2:1
+> split the share reads ~2× its true value, enabling over-borrow (bad debt).
+>
+> The margin `pauseTimeAfter - maxAge` is the maximum forward DIA feed clock
+> skew the config tolerates. Staleness is aged from the push's own _source_
+> timestamp, so a feed running `skew` seconds fast can stamp a pre-action
+> observation up to `skew` after `effectiveTime`; only a margin exceeding that
+> skew guarantees every still-acceptable push at pause-lift was observed at or
+> after the action. Equality (`pauseTimeAfter == maxAge`) tolerates **zero**
+> skew — a feed even one second fast reopens the 2× window — so it is rejected.
+> Size the margin above your feed's worst-case forward skew; the recommended
+> `maxAge = 2 hours` with `pauseTimeAfter = 3 hours` (a 1h margin) is the
+> reference.
 
 **DIA on Base mainnet:** the canonical oracle contract is
 `0xCE521b52513242c5094bc56f57887BB2A05B8129`. Per-symbol feeds are all served
@@ -91,7 +97,7 @@ DIAVaultOracle oracle = diaVaultOracleBeaconSetDeployer.newDIAVaultOracle(
         maxAge:          2 hours,
         actionTypeMask:  type(uint256).max,
         pauseTimeBefore: 1 hours,
-        pauseTimeAfter:  3 hours  // >= maxAge, with a margin (see invariant above)
+        pauseTimeAfter:  3 hours  // > maxAge, with a skew margin (see invariant above)
     })
 );
 ```
diff --git a/src/concrete/deploy/MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployer.sol b/src/concrete/deploy/MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployer.sol
index a3c69eb..817d034 100644
--- a/src/concrete/deploy/MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployer.sol
+++ b/src/concrete/deploy/MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployer.sol
@@ -62,8 +62,10 @@ contract MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployer {
     /// The beacon for the MorphoPairAdapter implementation contracts.
     IBeacon public immutable iMorphoPairAdapterBeacon;
 
-    /// The central multi-pair price store every adapter deployed through this
-    /// beacon reads — fixed for the beacon's whole life.
+    /// The central multi-pair price store recorded at deploy time. This is the
+    /// central baked into the FIRST implementation; a beacon upgrade can retarget
+    /// live adapters to a different central while this value is unchanged — see
+    /// the config-struct NatSpec for why it is not a live invariant.
     ST0xPriceOracle public immutable iCentral;
 
     constructor(MorphoPairAdapterBeaconSetDeployerConfig memory config) {
diff --git a/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.sol b/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.sol
index 91a8414..3f3396f 100644
--- a/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.sol
+++ b/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.sol
@@ -104,8 +104,8 @@ error HistoricalRoundDataUnsupported(uint80 roundId);
 /// @param maxAge Maximum acceptable DIA push age in seconds.
 /// `block.timestamp - timestamp >= maxAge` reverts `DIAPriceStale` (the edge
 /// instant fails closed — a push exactly `maxAge` old is stale). Immutable
-/// after init — redeploy a fresh proxy to change. MUST be `<= pauseTimeAfter`
-/// (see `pauseTimeAfter`).
+/// after init — redeploy a fresh proxy to change. MUST be `< pauseTimeAfter`
+/// STRICTLY (a positive margin is required — see `pauseTimeAfter`).
 /// @param actionTypeMask Bitmap of action types that trigger the auto-pause.
 /// `ACTION_TYPE_STOCK_SPLIT_V1` for splits only, or `type(uint256).max` for
 /// every present and future action type. Must be non-zero.
diff --git a/test/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.t.sol b/test/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.t.sol
index ac97a9b..adb798e 100644
--- a/test/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.t.sol
+++ b/test/src/concrete/oracle/DIAVaultOracle.t.sol
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ contract DIAVaultOracleTest is Test {
     /// which condition dominates.
     ///
     /// The overlap is not contrived: it is the normal state late in a post-action
-    /// window, since `pauseTimeAfter >= maxAge` guarantees every push predating
+    /// window, since `pauseTimeAfter > maxAge` guarantees every push predating
     /// the action has gone stale before the pause lifts. Here the push sits
     /// exactly on the staleness edge (`age == maxAge`) while the completed action
     /// is still mid-window.
@@ -672,8 +672,9 @@ contract DIAVaultOracleTest is Test {
 
     /// @notice The staleness edge fails closed: a push aged EXACTLY `maxAge`
     /// reverts `DIAPriceStale` (`age >= maxAge` is stale). This edge-rejection
-    /// is what makes the cross-epoch invariant airtight at `pauseTimeAfter ==
-    /// maxAge` — see the contract NatSpec.
+    /// tightens the cross-epoch invariant by one second; the invariant itself is
+    /// closed by the strict `pauseTimeAfter > maxAge` init margin — see the
+    /// contract NatSpec.
     function testLatestAnswerAtMaxAgeBoundaryIsStale() external {
         DIAVaultOracle oracle = _deployProxy(_defaultConfig());
         uint128 boundary = uint128(block.timestamp - MAX_AGE);