Zeus could feel the fear and tension that had set in the room the moment he had delivered his news. The protectors were murmuring among themselves. Some were whispering loudly at each other. He knew why they were like this. Ten thousand years ago,it had taken all the elder protectors in this room along with about a thousand other demi-gods to fight the dark forces. Almost every one who had fought on the protectors side had been killed. The losses on the protectors side had been heavy. The cost of victory had almost been too much for some of them to bear. Their children and friends had perished trying to save the mortals who weren't even aware that a war was being fought on their behalf. Zeus's own son, Hercules had been killed in the war. Every one had paid for their victory.
But what really worried them was that they no longer had that large force to fight the other side. Evil,as everyone knows grows faster than light when left unchecked. The other side was bound to raise twice or even thrice their previous attacking force. True,the protectors could kill about a 1000 Each when they got serious,but what was a 1000 when the dark forces boast 100's of thousands?,and the protectors killing a thousand each was back when they still had their full power. Nowadays they could face a 100 at best. That was how far they had fallen in power.
"What do we do Zeus?", A woman who had been quite the whole time asked. This was the earth goddess,Demeter. She had a middle aged look which made her look older than the rest,even though that wasn't the case. She had piercing green eyes and a long flowing hair light green in colour. On her head was a wreath made from palm fronds. Her voice was low and calm and her face was gentle. It was as if she could never get angry. "You are the eldest and strongest of us all. Lead us", the woman said. Everyone, turned to look at Zeus on his elevated throne. He could feel the weight of leadership fall on his shoulders once again but who was he to decline. He sighed heavily as he thought of what he was about to say.
"I have been thinking about a solution for this new problem that is brewing and I'll be honest with you. There's nothing we can do.", "So you suggest we let the mortals die?!", Poseidon asked in a low dangerous tone as he shook in rage. "No. I'm not foolish. I know the Dark forces will not end their onslaught with the subjugation of the human realm. Not when they are being led by our brother. You know how much he despises us. Besides,we have two things he needs more than anything. I can say we're definitely on his hit list.", Zeus told them. "Then let's take the fight to him before it becomes too late!" Ares shouted. Zeus shook his head in frustration. At times he wondered whether Ares had any sense at all away from the battlefield.
""You still don't understand, Ares. We number twelve In total. With our meager forces,even if we combined our effort,we can raise an army of 40 at best. I can't even call that an army. The other side most definitely has created a sizable force already. The most dangerous ones which we learnt just today had been freed number 30 or so. And those ones could go toe to toe with us even at our strongest. Even if we always ended up beating them in the past, do you think you can still do so in your current state?. We've grown weak!. That is the simple truth. Act powerful and mighty all you want but you all know you're nothing like your previous selves. Hermes may not be the best fighter among us,but he's not the worst either. You heard him. He got dominated the entire fight by that werewolf.", Hermes pulled a face as he heard the last part. He didn't like how Zeus had phrased his defeat. 'dominated' made it sound like some Bdsm activity Instead of a fight.
The others bowed their heads in shame as they heard Zeus say this. Protectors valued strength over anything. They had kept their waning power a secret from each other because they felt embarrassed. They didn't know that Zeus knew. From what Hermes had said earlier, he also knew. They had all had their suspicions but no way to prove them as each protector had his own set of followers. Even now that the humans had stopped praying to them,the gods still got temporary boost's of power every now and then from the odd person here or there who wanted to try if the gods would answer their prayer or not. So testing each other's strength to see if others were going through the same thing as you was out of the question since the protectors had varying degrees of strength and power.
"Fine,so what is your answer to this predicament?", Poseidon asked Zeus. "I believe our best bet would be to combine all our powers", the others looked at Zeus quizzically. Wasn't that what they had been doing all this while?, But as Zeus continued,they understood it wasn't the same thing at all. "And place it in an Item. This item will be given to a worthy mortal to wield....", "You must be crazy!!" A loud booming voice interrupted Zeus who just sat calmly in his chair. "You wish for us to strip ourselves of all our power and just give it to some human?, What can a human do that we can't?. Our bodies are far stronger than peak humans even in this state of ours. This will not work!, At least we have numbers. What will a single human do against millions,even with all of our powers combined?!", The voice,which was Ares's protested hotly.
Zeus could see the other gods nodding their heads in support of what Ares had said. Ares had made a good argument and Zeus was impressed. All the same, he knew someone was bound to raise these concerns. He was already prepared. "You say you have numbers Ares, just how much can you and the others boast?. I see you all nodding your heads, and I ask you. What difference is there between forty weak 'has been's' and a single person even if they're human?, And who says this person is going to fight alone?, I have a plan that will help him gather a strong force around him. As for his body, I intend to make it perfect with my own means. He will have a better body than all of you combined. He will be much much powerful than you can imagine,but most importantly, I intend to grant him a long life. As for strength, you could kill thousand each at your peak. At his peak, I intend our chosen to be able to kill a million. Plus,he will have a teacher to nurture him well in our ways. Need I say more?, This person is going to be a super protector. A super god at his peak. This is not for you or even me. This is for the mortal realm." Zeus declared.
"But we will be sitting ducks when the dark forces arrive. Your plan seems sound,but we will most definitely lose our lives in the process. At least,our current one until we are reincarnated. I do not need to tell you how long that could take.", Athena,the goddess of wisdom pointed out. "I know your concerns Athene. But I'm afraid this is our only alternative if we want to fight this darkness. But honestly, aren't you all tired of this life?, I know it's our duty to protect the mortal realm but don't you think we also deserve rest even if temporary?, Besides, we will be reincarnated with new bodies and our old strength. We could help better then if evil is still in the world.", Zeus finished. The others were nodding their heads now In acknowledgement of what Zeus had said. It was true,they were tired of fighting. Why not welcome death now for the meantime and come back later with their full strength?. And if leaving their powers with a mortal was the best chance they had of saving the mortal realm until they returned, then why not?, They could always get their power back when they got reborn.
"So what Item are we going to lock our powers in, and when and how are we going to do so?", Athena asked Zeus. Zeus placed his hand inside his robe and grabbed something around his chest. He yanked on whatever he was grabbing hold of and lifted his hand out of his robe. In his palm was a beautiful golden chain that had been molded in the shape of an unblinking eye. This eye signified the all seeing eyes of the gods or protectors. The name of the chain had been coined from this attribute of the gods hence the name of the chain, "the eye of the gods". Even though all the other gods had this attribute, only Zeus had this chain as he was the eldest and their leader. The eye of the gods was what a crown would be for kings. It was the ultimate symbol of authority among the protectors so it was safe to say the others were very surprised when they saw Zeus willingly take it off and say what he did. "This is what we will lock our powers in. As for the how,I'll show you. And the when?, Why wait?, Let's do this right here,right now." Zeus declared.