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A suffocating silence gripped the battlefield as the Harbinger leader took another step forward, its immense form towering over Celestial City's defenders.
The air around it shimmered with a swirling aura of dark energy, distorting the reality in its immediate vicinity.
It was as though the creature's very presence warped the fabric of existence, making the ground tremble and the sky churn with unnatural hues of green and purple.
Its voice was a deep, resonant echo that seemed to originate from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"You stand defiant, yet you tremble," it intoned, each word dripping with malice.
"Your resistance is futile. This world is but the first—a doorway to countless others. I am the herald, the beginning of your end."
The defenders, though seasoned and brave, faltered under the weight of the Harbinger's presence.
Even the most stalwart among them hesitated, their weapons trembling in their hands.