The first thing I felt was pain. Not sharp, not burning—just a dull ache, like I'd been punched in the chest by a heavyweight boxer.
The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't dead.
I remembered the truck, the headlights, the sickening crunch of metal, the darkness swallowing me whole. That should have been it. Game over. Curtains down. But when I forced my eyes open, I wasn't staring at a hospital ceiling.
I was in a living room.
A small, simple one, filled with neatly stacked police files, a worn-out couch, and the faint smell of coffee drifting from the kitchen. It was familiar. Too familiar.
I sat up quickly, my heart hammering, and stumbled toward a mirror hanging on the wall.
The reflection staring back at me wasn't mine.
Short dark hair. Strong jaw. Calm brown eyes that seemed made for detective work. A face I knew as well as my own.
"Nick Burkhardt," I whispered.
My breath hitched. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
And yet, the weight of memories pressed into my head—two lives colliding, forcing me to stumble and clutch at the wall. My life, up until the truck accident… and Nick's life, everything he'd lived through so far. Being a cop. Working cases. His girlfriend Juliette. His partner Hank.
But something was off.
Nick's memories ended here. Two years before the night his aunt would arrive in Portland. Two years before his life as a Grimm would begin.
I staggered back, gripping the edge of the couch, my thoughts a chaotic storm.
"I… I'm in Grimm?"
It sounded insane even as I said it. Grimm, the show I'd binged a dozen times, the one where Nick discovers he's descended from a long line of hunters who fight Wesen—creatures hidden among humans.
And now I was him.
Before panic could set in, a sharp chime echoed inside my skull.
Ding!
A glowing blue screen blinked to life in front of my eyes.
[Initializing Grimm System…]
[Host Detected: Nicholas Burkhardt]
[Integration Successful.]
[Welcome, User.]
I froze. "No way."
Lines of text scrolled across the screen.
[You have been chosen as the Host of the Grimm System.]
[Purpose: To hunt, grow, and rewrite fate.]
[Current Timeline: 2 years before canon events.]
[Preparation Window Granted.]
My throat went dry.
A System. Just like the ones in all those Webnovels I'd read. Missions, rewards, stats… cheats.
And I had it. Inside Nick Burkhardt's body.
"Holy shit," I whispered.
More text appeared.
[Main Mission: Survive and thrive as a Grimm.]
[Sub-Mission: Prepare for Aunt Marie's arrival.]
[Time Remaining: 730 Days.]
I sank into the couch, my hands trembling.
Two years. I had two years before the story began. Two years before Aunt Marie rolled into town with the trailer full of weapons and lore. Two years before the first Hexenbiest, before Monroe, before everything spiraled out of control.
Two years to change everything.
My mind spun with possibilities. In canon, Nick stumbled blindly into the supernatural world, barely scraping through case after case. But me? I had knowledge of every major event, every character, every betrayal. I knew which Wesen to trust, which Royals to fear, which allies to seek out.
And now… I had a System to back me up.
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling, a shaky laugh escaping my lips.
"I'm Nick Burkhardt. I'm a Grimm. And I've got two years to get ready."
My reflection in the darkened TV screen stared back at me, determined, resolute.
"This time," I whispered, "the hunt begins on my terms."