diff --git a/src/server/db_slice.cc b/src/server/db_slice.cc
index 4e2c57577819..7266a6453a7a 100644
--- a/src/server/db_slice.cc
+++ b/src/server/db_slice.cc
@@ -283,7 +283,6 @@ DbSlice::DbSlice(uint32_t index, bool cache_mode, EngineShard* owner)
       cache_mode_(cache_mode),
       owner_(owner),
       client_tracking_map_(owner->memory_resource()) {
-  load_in_progress_ = false;
   db_arr_.emplace_back();
   CreateDb(0);
   expire_base_[0] = expire_base_[1] = 0;
@@ -795,7 +794,8 @@ void DbSlice::FlushDbIndexes(const std::vector<DbIndex>& indexes) {
     std::swap(db_arr_[index]->trans_locks, flush_db_arr[index]->trans_locks);
   }
 
-  CHECK(fetched_items_.empty());
+  LOG_IF(DFATAL, !fetched_items_.empty())
+      << "Some operation might bumped up items outside of a transaction";
 
   auto cb = [indexes, flush_db_arr = std::move(flush_db_arr)]() mutable {
     flush_db_arr.clear();
diff --git a/src/server/db_slice.h b/src/server/db_slice.h
index 0cae9d6f0f38..94ed5ed1d231 100644
--- a/src/server/db_slice.h
+++ b/src/server/db_slice.h
@@ -473,11 +473,19 @@ class DbSlice {
 
   bool IsCacheMode() const {
     // During loading time we never bump elements.
-    return cache_mode_ && !load_in_progress_;
+    return cache_mode_ && (load_ref_count_ == 0);
   }
 
-  void SetLoadInProgress(bool in_progress) {
-    load_in_progress_ = in_progress;
+  void IncrLoadInProgress() {
+    ++load_ref_count_;
+  }
+
+  void DecrLoadInProgress() {
+    --load_ref_count_;
+  }
+
+  bool IsLoadRefCountZero() const {
+    return load_ref_count_ == 0;
   }
 
   // Test hook to inspect last locked keys.
@@ -585,7 +593,6 @@ class DbSlice {
 
   ShardId shard_id_;
   uint8_t cache_mode_ : 1;
-  uint8_t load_in_progress_ : 1;
 
   EngineShard* owner_;
 
@@ -598,6 +605,7 @@ class DbSlice {
   size_t soft_budget_limit_ = 0;
   size_t table_memory_ = 0;
   uint64_t entries_count_ = 0;
+  unsigned load_ref_count_ = 0;
 
   mutable SliceEvents events_;  // we may change this even for const operations.
 
diff --git a/src/server/main_service.cc b/src/server/main_service.cc
index cc705a38c9d6..b3851b4b94fa 100644
--- a/src/server/main_service.cc
+++ b/src/server/main_service.cc
@@ -2508,7 +2508,14 @@ GlobalState Service::SwitchState(GlobalState from, GlobalState to) {
   VLOG(1) << "Switching state from " << from << " to " << to;
   global_state_ = to;
 
-  pp_.Await([&](ProactorBase*) { ServerState::tlocal()->set_gstate(to); });
+  pp_.Await([&](ProactorBase*) {
+    ServerState::tlocal()->set_gstate(to);
+    auto* es = EngineShard::tlocal();
+    if (es && to == GlobalState::ACTIVE) {
+      DbSlice& db = namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetDbSlice(es->shard_id());
+      DCHECK(db.IsLoadRefCountZero());
+    }
+  });
   return to;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/server/rdb_load.cc b/src/server/rdb_load.cc
index 192df90b041f..4189332e747f 100644
--- a/src/server/rdb_load.cc
+++ b/src/server/rdb_load.cc
@@ -2034,9 +2034,11 @@ error_code RdbLoader::Load(io::Source* src) {
 
   auto cleanup = absl::Cleanup([&] { FinishLoad(start, &keys_loaded); });
 
-  shard_set->AwaitRunningOnShardQueue([](EngineShard* es) {
-    namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().SetLoadInProgress(true);
-  });
+  // Increment local one if it exists
+  if (EngineShard* es = EngineShard::tlocal(); es) {
+    namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().IncrLoadInProgress();
+  }
+
   while (!stop_early_.load(memory_order_relaxed)) {
     if (pause_) {
       ThisFiber::SleepFor(100ms);
@@ -2226,12 +2228,13 @@ void RdbLoader::FinishLoad(absl::Time start_time, size_t* keys_loaded) {
     FlushShardAsync(i);
 
     // Send sentinel callbacks to ensure that all previous messages have been processed.
-    shard_set->Add(i, [bc]() mutable {
-      namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().SetLoadInProgress(false);
-      bc->Dec();
-    });
+    shard_set->Add(i, [bc]() mutable { bc->Dec(); });
   }
   bc->Wait();  // wait for sentinels to report.
+  // Decrement local one if it exists
+  if (EngineShard* es = EngineShard::tlocal(); es) {
+    namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().DecrLoadInProgress();
+  }
 
   absl::Duration dur = absl::Now() - start_time;
   load_time_ = double(absl::ToInt64Milliseconds(dur)) / 1000;
@@ -2515,7 +2518,12 @@ void RdbLoader::FlushShardAsync(ShardId sid) {
     return;
 
   auto cb = [indx = this->cur_db_index_, this, ib = std::move(out_buf)] {
+    // Before we start loading, increment LoadInProgress.
+    // This is required because FlushShardAsync dispatches to multiple shards, and those shards
+    // might have not yet have their state (load in progress) incremented.
+    namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().IncrLoadInProgress();
     this->LoadItemsBuffer(indx, ib);
+    namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace().GetCurrentDbSlice().DecrLoadInProgress();
 
     // Block, if tiered storage is active, but can't keep up
     while (EngineShard::tlocal()->ShouldThrottleForTiering()) {
@@ -2554,6 +2562,8 @@ void RdbLoader::LoadItemsBuffer(DbIndex db_ind, const ItemsBuf& ib) {
   DbContext db_cntx{&namespaces->GetDefaultNamespace(), db_ind, GetCurrentTimeMs()};
   DbSlice& db_slice = db_cntx.GetDbSlice(es->shard_id());
 
+  DCHECK(!db_slice.IsCacheMode());
+
   auto error_msg = [](const auto* item, auto db_ind) {
     return absl::StrCat("Found empty key: ", item->key, " in DB ", db_ind, " rdb_type ",
                         item->val.rdb_type);
diff --git a/src/server/rdb_test.cc b/src/server/rdb_test.cc
index f2a23ce62126..c4feca4b9de4 100644
--- a/src/server/rdb_test.cc
+++ b/src/server/rdb_test.cc
@@ -735,4 +735,19 @@ TEST_F(RdbTest, HugeKeyIssue4497) {
   EXPECT_EQ(Run({"flushall"}), "OK");
 }
 
+TEST_F(RdbTest, HugeKeyIssue4554) {
+  SetTestFlag("cache_mode", "true");
+  // We need to stress one flow/shard such that the others finish early. Lock on hashtags allows
+  // that.
+  SetTestFlag("lock_on_hashtags", "true");
+  ResetService();
+
+  EXPECT_EQ(
+      Run({"debug", "populate", "20", "{tmp}", "20", "rand", "type", "set", "elements", "10000"}),
+      "OK");
+  EXPECT_EQ(Run({"save", "df", "hugekey"}), "OK");
+  EXPECT_EQ(Run({"dfly", "load", "hugekey-summary.dfs"}), "OK");
+  EXPECT_EQ(Run({"flushall"}), "OK");
+}
+
 }  // namespace dfly
diff --git a/src/server/replica.cc b/src/server/replica.cc
index 5a627777d596..5f8438a5df91 100644
--- a/src/server/replica.cc
+++ b/src/server/replica.cc
@@ -542,6 +542,7 @@ error_code Replica::InitiateDflySync() {
     // Lock to prevent the error handler from running instantly
     // while the flows are in a mixed state.
     lock_guard lk{flows_op_mu_};
+
     shard_set->pool()->AwaitFiberOnAll(std::move(shard_cb));
 
     size_t num_full_flows =