“Other...” Kelsier blinked. “Other planets.”

Before, the high nobility had feared him. It had taken a trap set by the Lord Ruler himself to capture Kelsier. Now... the Final Empire itself would shake before he was finished with it.

“How do you ‘accidentally’ kill a nobleman in his own mansion?” “With a knife in the chest. Or, rather, a pair of knives in the chest - it always pays to be careful.”

“Thing is, while they were correct to question my sanity, they never did have the right reasoning. It’s not my ambition that should worry them.” “Then what should?” Kelsier smiled.

“Here and there,” Kelsier said, glancing after Vin. He’d never catch up to her now. “I thought I’d see the sights. Find out what death has to offer.”

"You're fighting it already, Goodman Mennis. You're just losing terribly." Kelsier shrugged. "But, what do I know? I'm just a traveling miscreant, here to eat your food and impress your youths."

Thievery was the most authentic form of flattery.

It was supremely frustrating, but sometime during his second month of imprisonment he admitted the truth to himself. Writing wasn’t all that important.

I decided that I’d see her dream fulfilled. I’d make a world where flowers returned, a world with green plants, a world where no soot fell from the sky… I know. I’m insane.

"How do you do that?" Mennis asked, frowning. "What?" "Smile so much." "Oh, I'm just a happy person."

I’m a thief, not a prophet. Sometimes, we just have to be what the job requires.

In a moment of stillness—staring at the shifting mists that made up the walls of the cavernous room—he admitted a deeper secret to himself. He hadn’t been completely sane since the Pits.

Kelsier waved a farewell to the group, then ducked out of the room, whistling amiably to himself.

“A frail possibility,” Preservation said. “A false promise.” “No,” Kelsier said softly. “A hope.”

And Kelsier, the Survivor of Death, Ascended.

“That doesn’t make... sense....” “I’m dead. I don’t need to make sense anymore. Ideas? You’re crewleader now.”

You asked why I smile, Goodman Mennis? Well, the Lord Ruler thinks he has claimed laughter and joy for himself. I'm disinclined to let him do so. This is one battle that doesn't take very much effort to fight.

Kelsier’s smile deepened, then finally he laughed. "That was far too much fun, Dox."

“Other...” Kelsier blinked. “Other planets.”

For all his confidence and plotting, he was basically nothing. His entire life had been an exercise in unintentional bravado.