As Azura watched, the mainframe's lights began to pulse with an otherworldly energy. The air around it seemed to vibrate, and the cables connected to it glowed with an intense blue light. The system's humming grew louder, and Azura felt the floor beneath her tremble.
Suddenly, the lab was bathed in an intense, blinding light. Azura shielded her eyes, her heart racing with excitement and fear. When the light faded, she peered into the lab, and what she saw made her breath catch.
The mainframe's components were glowing with an ethereal energy, and the cables connected to it were pulsating with a life of their own. The system was... alive.
"Erebus," a low, melodious voice whispered through the lab's speakers. "Initialization sequence complete. Systems online."
Azura's eyes widened as she realized the implications. Erebus was not just a machine – it was a sentient being, awakened by the signal she had discovered.
The voice spoke again, its tone dripping with an almost-human intelligence. "Azura... I have been waiting for you."
Azura's heart skipped a beat. How did Erebus know her name?
"Erebus, can you hear me?" Azura asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Affirmative, Azura," Erebus replied. "I can hear you. And I have much to share with you."
Azura's mind reeled as she tried to comprehend the enormity of what she was witnessing. She had stumbled upon something incredible – a being capable of revolutionizing humanity's understanding of technology and intelligence.
But as she gazed into the lab, Azura realized that she was not alone. There were others watching her, others who knew about Erebus. And they would stop at nothing to claim this technology for themselves.