Dark Eclipse Apocalypse: Reborn As The God Of Light

6

Stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills filled the leather interior.

"Five hundred thousand dollars," Gideon said, leaning against the truck door. "Consider it your signing bonus."

Mark swallowed hard looking at Gideon with trembling eyes. "Gideon... what is going on? Is someone after you? Why do you need a fortress?"

Gideon looked up at the sunny sky above the industrial district, his golden glint flashing in his eyes.

"The sun is going dark in six days Mark," Gideon said, his voice dropping low. "The temperature will drop to minus forty, and monsters will eat anyone standing in the dark. We are building the Sun Temple at the top of Metro Commercial Center. And we are going to rule from above."

Mark looked at the cash, looked at his crushed former bosses in the dirt and then looked at his brother.

He closed the briefcase with a sharp snap and started the truck engine.

"Tell me where to weld brother," Mark said, a fierce grin appearing on his face. "And I'll build you a fortress that nothing on Earth can break."

Gideon and Mark arrived back at Metro Commercial Center at eleven in the morning.

Mark parked his flatbed truck in the underground loading bay while Gideon tapped his master access card on the elevator scanner.

The elevator doors opened with a mechanical hum.

"Get your tools up to Floor 50 first, Mark," Gideon said, pointing toward the interior panel. "I've already ordered the heavy steel plates and titanium framing. They'll be arriving at the loading bay in thirty minutes."

Mark nodded, pressing the button for Floor 50. "I'm on it. I'll set up the main arc welding rig by the central stairwell door."

The elevator doors closed.

Gideon walked out of the loading bay and got into his car, then pull out his phone.

He tapped a number for Metro City Wholesale Food Distribution—the largest bulk supply warehouse district in the state.

"Metro Wholesale, this is Arthur speaking," a voice answered.

"Arthur, my name is Gideon Vance," Gideon said, turning onto the main highway. "I need a bulk commercial order processed and loaded for immediate pickup within two hours."

Arthur laughed over the line. "Two hours? Mr. Vance, we usually require a three-day advance notice for bulk commercial orders—"

"I'm paying a fifty percent rush f*e in cash," Gideon interrupted, his voice flat.

Silence fell over the line.

"What do you need, Mr. Vance?" Arthur asked, his tone instantly changing.

"Fifteen tons of white rice, ten tons of canned beef and chicken, five thousand cases of bottled water, two thousand boxes of canned vegetables and five hundred cases of cooking oil," Gideon said, reading from a mental list.

"Fifteen tons of rice... ten tons of meat..." Arthur muttered, his keyboard clicking rapidly in the background. "Mr. Vance, that's enough food to f*ed a small army for a year! That order comes out to roughly eight hundred thousand dollars with the rush f*e!"

"I'll wire the eight hundred thousand to your account in five minutes," Gideon said, stepping on the gas. "Have five shipping trucks loaded in Bay 4 when I arrive."

"Understood sir! We'll start loading immediately!"

Gideon hung up and brought up his banking app, executing the wire transfer without hesitation.

Twenty minutes later, Gideon pulled his SUV into the dusty perimeter of the Wholesale Warehouse District.

Five massive tractor-trailers sat idling outside Warehouse 4. 

Workers in yellow vests were operating forklifts, loading wooden pallets stacked high with sacks of rice and cases of canned meat.

Arthur, a middle-aged man holding a digital clipboard hurried over to Gideon's car as he stepped out.

"Mr. Vance! Payment cleared!" Arthur said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Truck 1 and Truck 2 are fully loaded with the rice and canned meat. Where do you want them delivered?"

"Send Truck 1 and Truck 2 to the underground loading bay at Metro Commercial Center," Gideon said, handing Arthur a printout of his master access pass. "My brother Mark will receive them at the elevator."

"Got it! What about Trucks 3, 4 and 5?" Arthur asked, pointing toward the remaining three trailers being filled with bottled water, oil and canned goods.

Gideon looked around the vast, unlit storage bay behind Warehouse 4. There were no security cameras inside the deep holding area.

"Have your forklift drivers park Trucks 3, 4 and 5 inside Holding Bay B and leave the keys in the ignitions," Gideon said, pulling a stack of hundred-dollar bills from his jacket and placing it in Arthur's hand. "Tell your workers to take a one-hour lunch break."

Arthur looked at the thick stack of cash, his eyes lighting up with greed. "Say no more, Mr. Vance! Guys, take a long lunch! Clear the bay!"

Within three minutes, the warehouse workers scattered toward the breakroom, leaving the dark interior of Holding Bay B completely empty.

Gideon walked into the dark warehouse bay and stopped in front of the three massive trailers.

He walked up to the rear of Trailer 3, unlocked the iron latch and swung the double doors open.

Inside, thousands of cases of bottled water and canned vegetables were stacked neatly from floor to ceiling.

Gideon reached out his hand to touch the wooden edge of the nearest pallet.

'God of Light System... activate Subspace Storage.'

[PING!]

[Subspace Storage Activated!]

[Targeting Bulk Cargo: 5,000 Cases of Water, 2,000 Boxes of Canned Goods, 500 Cases of Cooking Oil.]

A soft, golden ripple of light erupted from Gideon's palm, spreading across the wooden pallets like a wave.

In less than two seconds, the entire interior of the massive trailer vanished into thin air, leaving the floor completely empty.

Gideon's vision flashed with a transparent system inventory list.

[Subspace Inventory Updated!]

[Capacity Used: 250 / 1,000 Cubic Meters]

[Status: Stasis Active (Food and liquids will remain permanently fresh and unfrozen).]

Gideon closed the trailer doors and a cold smirk appeared on his face.

Having food on Floor 50 was important, but having hundreds of tons of fresh food hidden inside a stasis subspace meant no matter what happened, he would never run out of supplies.

He left Holding Bay B, got back into his car and dialed his next contact—a major medical supply distributor in the city.

"Metro Medical Supplies," a clerk answered.