Death leaves a vacuum, the 10's leave a legacy
Death says: All things pass. Universal truth that. But there is more to the card. There is the acknowledgement (1) That we mourn such losses, and go through low times when there is a passing. (2) There is the acknowledgement that nature abhors a vacuum, and that something else will fill the spot left by this passing. It won't be the same, but it will be new and possibly ease our sorrow. What there isn't in this card is anything saying what might have been left behind. That's for the 10's to discuss. 10's have nothing to say about whether this ending is sad or not, or that something new will come to take its place. But they do have a lot to say about what it left behind.
In fact, the 9's are the suit cards that usually indicate earthly completion of a suit--you've learned all the lessons that suit can teach you. 10's, therefore, examine what is left behind; what continues on after something has come to an end. Cups usually indicates leaving behind strong feelings, like the feelings you may recall having for a grandparent well into adulthood and give to your grandchildren; Pents is often about a tangable legacy, wealth dispursed or children to carry on the family name. With the Wands it is not so optimistic; the creative energy that set things in motion has become routine. Its legacy is a driving force that makes people feel restricted rather than excited.
So, yes, the 10/Swords, as communications and ideas says that words and thoughts are at an end (taken as far as they could go in the 9's). But it also says, "Here is the legacy of all those words and ideas." And that legacy is silence. A message that turns out to be far more powerful and lasting than all those words and thoughts. It could be read as a message on fighting and the ruin it brings. However, I often like to site Hiram story, which is likely the basis for the RWS image of this card. Solomon's architect, Hiram, would not give up his secrets to two murderous thugs and they killed him. This story was told among the Masons, generation to generation. Its moral: silence, even eternal silence, is preferable to speaking to those who will not understand, or appreciate, or will make bad use of what you have to say.