The wave hit like a phantom earthquake.
Captain Sean Renard froze mid-sentence, his back stiffening just outside the woods near the old tavern. Around him, Monroe, Rosalee, Hank, and Wu were still gathering their thoughts, shaken by the local chaos—the spreading rage infection and now, the news of a downed aircraft.
Hank paused, eyes narrowing. "You okay, Cap?"
Renard didn't answer at first.
"Renard?" Wu prompted, concern creeping into his tone.
The half-Zauberbiest took a shaky breath, his eyes darting toward the horizon. "Something… powerful just swept through here. Old magic. Strong. It felt like—"
He stopped himself.
"Like what?" Rosalee asked, voice gentle but firm.
Renard hesitated, then whispered, almost afraid to say it aloud: "Der Grimmfluch."
Monroe paled instantly. Rosalee stiffened beside him.
"No way," Monroe muttered. "That's a legend. A myth. Even by Grimm standards."
"They were real," Renard said. "The Royals had books—references buried deep. Grimms so powerful, they transcended bloodlines. The Black Line. They disappeared in the mid-1700s."
Hank looked between them, confused. "So what—you think Nick was one of them?"
"No," Renard said, quietly. "I think someone else just entered the field. And if it's who I suspect… they're not here for the infected. They're here for Nick."
In the heart of Portland, Harry knelt in his underground sanctum as the runes faded to a gentle glow, revealing a ghostly trail arcing outward from the room. The spell had worked.
The magical thread shimmered through the air like a living thing, pulsing with the essence of Nick Burkhardt.
He grabbed his coat, slung his wand holster over his shoulder, and snuffed out the final rune with a thought.
"Hold on, Nick," he murmured. "I'm coming."
Outside, the city burned.
And deep in the forest, something stirred beneath twisted metal and scorched trees.
A coffin, sealed and bolted, groaned as its lock snapped.
Flesh met air. Eyes flared open—blackened, seething.
Nick Burkhardt broke free.
His roar shattered the silence of the forest.