38 / 365 Prism's Edge: She's never coming back

If you believe in what the Elders say about souls, having one of your fellow Collectors killed is not only murder - it's also the erasure of their existence, their soul released into the ether. They're never coming back, and everything they were dissolves in an instant, with their last breath. There's death, and then there's only nothingness. This is why sending an Elder's Sword to dish out punishment to rebels or instigators is kept only for the worst of the worst. 

Marlene helped many Collectors escape their duties and join the Resistance, who refute the Elder's teachings. She had to die. She did not go gently, or quietly. She fought, and she was overpowered, and Andrei found her in a pool of her own blood, just as her murderer was walking away, apologizing and saying something about being sorry, and that he was just doing his duty. Andrei doesn't follow. He only knows he's numb, and that he can't leave her death be for nothing - he somehow must continue her work.

part of the bg is painted, part is from  1923 02 UNRESTRICTED