Unexpected Behavior using "after" in middleware

### Link to the code that reproduces this issue https://github.com/willwill96/nextjs-after-function-repro ### To Reproduce 1. Start the application 2. Fetch `http://localhost:3000` through preferred method 3. Observe Logs for the following - Middleware Timing - Start {time} - Middleware Timing - End {time} - Page Timing - Start {time} - Page Timing - End {time} ### Current vs. Expected behavior Current Behavior: `after` blocks within middleware functions are executed before page render begins Expected Behavior: [From the docs](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/functions/after) > after allows you to schedule work to be executed after a response (or prerender) is finished. Based on this, I expect `after` blocks within middleware functions to be executed after page render is finished. ### Provide environment information ```bash Operating System: Platform: linux Arch: x64 Version: #1 SMP Tue Nov 5 00:21:55 UTC 2024 Available memory (MB): 47749 Available CPU cores: 16 Binaries: Node: 22.12.0 npm: 10.9.0 Yarn: 1.22.22 pnpm: N/A Relevant Packages: next: 15.1.4 // Latest available version is detected (15.1.4). eslint-config-next: 15.1.4 react: 19.0.0 react-dom: 19.0.0 typescript: 5.7.3 Next.js Config: output: N/A ``` ### Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply) Middleware ### Which stage(s) are affected? (Select all that apply) next dev (local), next start (local), next build (local) ### Additional context Example Application Output: ``` Middleware Timing - Start 14041.842787 Middleware Timing - End 14042.483035 Page Timing - Start 14060.135459 GET / 200 in 27ms Page Timing - End 14069.832975 ``` Relevant code: - [src/middleware.ts](https://github.com/willwill96/nextjs-after-function-repro/blob/master/src/middleware.ts) ```ts import { after, NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server"; export async function middleware(req: NextRequest) { if (req.url === 'http://localhost:3000/') { console.log("Middlew…