Stark was perplexed, as he needed to actually save not only himself, but also the two girls with him: Sora and Lilith.
If the moon crashes, then they're gonna be all killed, and though Stark didn't care about himself since he could revive, the others couldn't.
In the crater, Aphex hovered above, his arms crossed, his laughter echoing like thunder.
But then he suddenly remembered something: there were still items available besides his, weren't there?
Every single item on the bodies of the other participant was disintegrated by the spear, but those on Lilith's, Sora's and Follower's should still be good to go... right?
[Stark Items: Cooldown Gem, Double Power, Blood-Sainted Amulet and Clarity Orb]
[Lilith Items: Teleportation Sphere]
[Sora Items: Armor Reinforcement Shard]
[Follower Items: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???]
At least that is what he knew.
His brain directly went to the [Teleportation Sphere] though, with it, they could definitely survive!
Instantly, Stark dashed toward Lilith, wanting to grab the sphere and teleport all of them out of the falling moon's way.
If he could manage that, then not only would he get out of the crater, but there was a bigger chance at victory since he would also kill Follower!
"..." the black demon that hovered around the unconscious man looked up, seemingly unbothered.
"COME ON," Stark shouted, reaching Lilith's body and trying to see if he could acquire the [Teleportation Sphere] somehow.
[Teleportation: Teleport you and all the people close to you in a 1-meter radius to a location you pinpoint.]
[In an unconscious state, you can steal the items of the other participants!]
"YES!"
Stark was ecstatic, it meant his plan could actually work!
But of course... with Stark, every time something good happened, something far worse needed to balance it out.
"You really think I'm going to allow you to do that?" Aphex laughed out loud, beginning to float in the air and then pointing at Stark right as he was about to use the item, "GRAVITY FLUX!"
[Gravity Flux: Manipulates gravity to control the battlefield and slow enemies.]
He had already tried to use it two times before, but both time it was simply to slow down Stark.
This time though...
FWISH!
Using his gravity powers, Aphex sent Stark flying in the opposite direction to the two girls, and though he tried to run forward and even use [Domi-Chain Restrain] to bring them to him, it was useless.
In fact, most of the world was silent at that moment.
The words [Make your choice] didn't disappear as Stark darted his pupils from the two girls to the [Teleportation Sphere] repeatedly.
The risk of the choice was the following for Stark: either he saves himself and doesn't lose his only revive, or he tries to save the two girls, with a major chance of it failing, and all of them losing their lives.
Though of course, no one knew that Stark could revive.
"Come on, just use the teleportation sphere," people shouted.
"You have to try, stop wasting time," the rest also shouted.
The world was split between the two choices, though the most logical one was obvious: to save his own life.
Even Mike and the Gardenis family knew very well that no one would risk their lives for two people, especially in such a deadly trial.
Stark's gaze kept lingering on the [Teleportation Sphere] more and more.
"..." Elise Gardenis, Sora's mother, as well as her father and two siblings all stood silent, tears streaming down from their eyes.
They were sure that they could say goodbye to their daughter now.
Everyone was sure, in fact, that Stark would choose the smartest option out of the lot.
And so, the time came where he needed to choose.
"Alright," Stark mumbled to himself, opening his eyes and the aura in them burning brighter than ever before, "I know what to do now."
But instead of looking at the [Teleportation Sphere] or even [Lilith and Sora] options, he looked up at the falling reflection of the moon.
A third option appeared at that moment.
One that was so impossibly foolish to do that no one could understand how Stark could even think of doing that.
This was his final choice, and even if he failed, he could proudly say he gave it his all.
"Trying to play hero? How quaint!" Aphex sneered, his outstretched hand glowing with gravitational energy.
"I'm not leaving them!" Stark growled, his crimson aura flickering in defiance.
"Well, then get ready," Aphex laughed, "It's too late now."
The reflection of the moon was right above Stark, and he needed to do what he wanted to do now, because if he didn't at least try, he knows he would regret it.
Plus, Lana would probably insult him with every name in the book.
And above all else... he didn't want them to die.
He chose the third option without hesitation.
[Third Option: Face the Lunar Cataclysm head on.]