Nezzar

Part Two: One of Many

"How much longer?"

Insanity looked up from observing his nails and glanced around as if in search of who Marduk was speaking to. He touched his chest with a questioning look. "Are you talking to us?"

Fighting for patience, Marduk held his hands behind his back and cocked his head. "Who else would I be speaking to? Is anyone present but you and I?" You slothful swine.

Insanity's shoulders drooped, his thick blonde curls bouncing with the action. "What have we done this time?" The perfect lines of his face grew solemn.

"Why is the human king still sound of mind? Why are things not progressing as fast as they should? Nothing you have done so far has been enough to draw out the Destroyer."

"B-but—" he hugged himself as if cold, green eyes shifting about "—that is not our fault. The imp you assigned to the king..." When Insanity lifted his eyes, they shifted from pleading to hard and angry. "Your imp is the one that is a slothful swine, Marduk."

Marduk flinched at the demon's choice of words.

Mut and Insanity were to accompany Marduk to a meeting ground where he had requested Seth's audience. Taking Insanity with him was a calculated move on his path; though extremely unstable, Insanity was a formidable ally to have on one's side. He needed to throw everything he had into persuading Seth. The god was way too unpredictable to be treated with carelessness, even when asking for something as little as a favour.

Insanity began pacing, bare feet slapping against the marble floor of the Ziggurat's highest chamber. As he moved, afterimages formed around his frame—numerous versions of himself fighting for a moment of individuality. He suddenly burst into a fit of low laughter before mumbling feverish words.

Finally, he froze and turned only his head to face Marduk. His expression appeared abnormally happy and bright. "Know that we only do your bidding because it suits us. You are aware that one of us was sent to the outer darkness when they strayed and dared to tamper with one of Algodon's boys. All it took was one cut." He made a slashing motion with a raised finger and at that moment, he divided into two.

The second version of Insanity combed his fingers through his hair as he stared up at the ceiling and released a deep sigh. "I've longed to be out for months." Unlike the first Insanity, his eyes were a deep purple shade and appeared lined with kohl. "Lately, you have been acting in the most impatient manner."

Marduk groaned internally. He shouldn't have asked the question in the first place. He couldn't afford to be late for the meeting with Seth and at the same time, he could not act rashly with Insanity when his spiral began.

Green-eyed Insanity was back to leaning against the wall and observing the purple-eyed Insanity with calm detachment. The second was a different case. His eyes were fierce and angry, and as he spoke each word was pushed through gritted teeth. "We want what we want and you want what you want. But understand this, we will go about getting what we want at our pace and if we suspect that you intend to use us against those angel's pets, we will make your freshly regained rulership very difficult indeed. And if—"

"That's enough," the first Insanity said without looking up. Unlike purple-eyed Insanity, his voice had turned soft. "Come back in. You remember what happened to the one who strayed too far from home."

"But I don't want to go back in," Purple Eyes shot back. "I just got out. You have kept us long enough from a host. If we..."

As Purple Eyes paced and ranted on, the first Insanity looked up. Instead of green, his eyes were completely black. As they tracked Purple Eyes' movement, the lines of his face grew sharper, skin stretching over bones and sinew.