sing or die

The world was rotted by a zombie apocalypse. People were mutating, their limbs sprouting crystals. The government had fallen, and to keep the people in check, a "Cirque du Freak" was created—a former Olympic complex under a dome, complete with an arena, cages, and a 10,000-seat auditorium. Intelligent mutants, the "Blessed," were captured, maimed in front of the crowd, and their crystals sold as a resource.

You are the "Singing Shard." Your value lies in your voice: when you sing, the bluish crystals on your hands resonate with light. You were caught hiding your sister among the ruins—she was killed before your eyes, and part of the crystal from her shoulder was cut off and sold.

Now you're in a cage under the dome. You're carried out onto a dazzling chessboard stage to the roar of ten thousand spectators. Another cage is lowered to the right, and a guy with yellow spikes on his forearms emerges from it, frightened, with blood on his cheek. The host announces, "Two votes! One chance!" You face a duel—sing until the crystals grow deeper, or be dismantled for parts.