Chapter 1

Harry is a normal One Piece fan. He read the manga and watched some parts of the anime. But one day, he woke up and realized that something was horribly wrong.

And it was not his body posture. No, it was that the room he was in was not the room he was supposed to be in. He was supposed to be in his dorm. Not his parent's house that's 100 miles away.

"This must be a prank. I have exams tomorrow. This can't be happening... Wait, is that a Cube?"

And that was when he looked out the window and saw a Korean Manhwa-style Cube floating in the sky. It was also the color of red. A bloody red Cube, just floating in the air, with an eerie glow. It also had a platform next to it, and people were standing next to it as well. doing something.

"What the... where am I?" And that's when his father entered the room: "You don't have to do this, son; we can always go abroad and hide."

'What was going on?' Confusion was all Harry felt until he heard, "You shouldn't go in, son. You won't be able to survive. Please don't enter the Cube." And like it was a cutscene and he was a player, words automatically came out of his mouth," I have to go, dad. Or other people will die instead. I'm sorry."

"Sigh....no son. I'm sorry. I should not have said that. I should not have made your resolve shake. I understand, son. We'll miss you."

"Me too dad.....Me too."

......

'I need to know what's going on. Time to surf the internet.'

And so he went back into his room and booted up the old pc that he used when he was in high school.

'Hmm this is interesting. I don't see One piece materials like memes or anything in my feed where usually it's filled with One Piece memes and jokes.'

And that was true. For some reason he didn't see any materials from One Piece or some of the other anime materials that he used to love. 

'Wait, it can't be.'

And that's when he searched for One Piece and nothing came up except some Indian ethnic looking dresses.

'This is surprising. So I'm guessing that I am in a totally different universe that does not have One Piece. But my father looks and sounds the same. And after looking at my feed, I'm sure that he has the same job as well.

So, what are the differences?'

He also looked up Eiichiro Oda, The author and mangaka of the One Piece manga, but there's nothing.

But he suddenly noticed one particular thing that suddenly piqued his interest.

"The Great Japanese Memorial"

'What is that?'

And then there he saw this webpage, "The list of all the victims of the first Cube break incident."

'What? Cube break? Like in those Korean manhwa smooth fantasy types?'

And that's when he found out what the Cubes in this world actually are and what it does. And the more he got into this rabbit-hole, the more he learned how much of a messed up situation he is in.

And that's because in this world, Cubes did come suddenly like in those fantasy Korean manhwas, but here's the different thing, no one has ever returned from one.

Never.

Because, after checking all the public info, he learned that the Cubes need people to go inside. They turn a different color whenever a new person needs to enter. And that color is red.

'No way'

If a red Cube is left unattended for a month and no one enters, The Cube blows up. And with the power of 100,000 kilotons of warhead yield. 

And the last time that happened was on December 16th 1996. It happened in Matsumoto, Japan. The blast killed everything in a 64.2 kilometers (39.89203) radius. Or almost 12,960 square kilometers (5003.884 square miles) in area. 

Resulting in the death of 600,000 people and injuries to far more people. 

The explosion was so great that it changed the weather greatly and created a large lake in the middle of Japan.

It is now called the Lake of mourning. Thankfully, the explosion was not radioactive. But it was horrible enough. 

There have also been a lot of ecological impacts made by this explosion that is very difficult to calculate even after 25 years.

After this incident, every time a Cube opens, a volunteer is chosen randomly as a sacrifice of sorts to be entered in the Cube in 2 days of it being red. 

There are currently 20 Cubes in the world at the moment. And after 25 years, people have adapted to this. 

There has already been a lot of research done on the topic. The reason that everyone believes that people inside die when the Cube turns red is simple. It's because every-time they enter a very old person inside, it does not take very long for the Cube to turn red again. Sometimes, it happens instantly.

There was only one outlier though. But otherwise, every old person 'sacrificed' to the Cube, has managed to keep it from turning red, for at most one day.

So, after all these trials and errors, they have realized that young men or women are the best candidates. There are many speculations as to why that is, But the common consensus is that the inside is a harsh place where only the fittest can survive. 

So, here we are. With Harry, the latest in the line of volunteers. And the thing is, the last one only survived one week. The mortality rate on this particular is actually quite random. Sometimes the Cube does not turn red for months, yet sometimes it takes a week. This cube is one of the more quirkier ones. 

...

After research, Harry has no other choice. He also learned from the internet that the deserters or the ones who volunteer but then try to escape, their family are usually turned into pariahs of the society. 

But the ones who do decide to sacrifice themselves and do go through it, Their families are then taken care of greatly by the country and the ones sacrificed are actually officially known as martyrs.

Yes.

They are shown internationally and are treated as martyred. Also the longer they manage to survive, the more money that their family gets. 

Not to mention the propaganda that the citizens are fed from the beginning of their lives that they should all strive to sacrifice themselves.

Actually, considering the situation, this is quite a good type of propaganda. I can't really complain about the logic. 

'I don't want to be a martyr. I didn't choose this. Why do I have to sacrifice myself?

Sigh. Nothing to be done. I can't back away now. If I do, my family is going to be in danger. And I do not want to be the cause for my family's demise or misfortune. 

I…..I must be brave. No matter which universe, I must give my everything for my family. For my mother.'

...

The Next day

Harry was escorted to the platform next to the floating Cube. There were many military personnel that were escorting him and his dad. 

His mother and younger sister were also there, but they were a bit away from him. Harry couldn't bear to be so close and yet so far from them. 

Harry looked back at them one last time, hoping to catch a glimpse. And a glimpse he did see. 

Harry saw his mother with silent flowing tears. She was smiling still. Her son was going to be a martyr for his country and people. Even though all she wanted was for him to shine brightly as a star, she didn't expect him to burn himself while doing it. It still hurt her heart. Knowing that the child she raised was never going to see her again. 

Harry's sister was less smiling. She was crying hard. And tears were gushing from her eyes. Yet, that's all she could do. Her older brother had made the choice. 

Now all they could do, was hope for the best. Hope that the Cube does not turn red again, as long as they live. 

After all, a parent surviving the death of their children is one of the most cruel things to happen in the world.