Lassim stood before the podium, the stone fragment held tightly in his hand. With a deep breath, he placed the fragment into the slot.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, the rune lines connecting the podium to the door began to light up, glowing brilliantly as they surged toward the creases on the door. They reached about halfway before slowing down and then retreating, the light dimming until it vanished entirely.
The podium spat out the fragment, its rune lines now completely dead, devoid of the residual energy left over from the last activation.
"Oh, I guess it needs to be charged first like a power source," Realizing what needed to be done, Lassim channeled his water mana into the stone, watching as the runes glowed once more.
He covered nearly all of the runes on the fragment except the last one with water mana, ensuring it wouldn't teleport him away.
Satisfied, he shoved the fragment back into the slot.