Hope and Sacrifice - Untarnished, #1

Sworn to vengeance. Scattered around the Earth, divine obelisks dropped from the Heavens into their midst. They gave humanity a fighting chance by granting a select few sacred armaments capable of turning back the demonic tides. Humanity was forced to retreat into final bastions of defence to hold back the endless swarms of the Hive while the world outside burned in endless flames. Vale wasn't educated enough to even know the name of the citadel he resided in.
The Champions were an enigma to him; they belonged to the upper platform and Vale was only a slum rat of the deepest levels. The citadel's foundation extended deep underground into the hollows of the Earth, the only way humanity could resupply its diminishing resources while trapped within the towering walls of their own making. Champions were tasked with defending humanity from the terrifying horror of the Hive. Or so Valerius believed, until he strayed somewhere he didn't belong, inadvertently stumbling upon the nightmarish scene of a newly-fledged Champion sucking the life out of someone he knew.
After Vale let curiosity get the better of him, he tried to flee, but was quickly overpowered by the Champion's supernatural strength. Vale was thrown into a life-or-death arena, to be sacrificed to train the next generation of Champions. Offerings were usually taken from the selection of genetically modified hybrid sub-human races, and an ordinary human being there was unheard of. Vale refused to die and was instead honed through the trials of blood and combat intended to kill him. His burning desire to survive and the unshakeable foundation of the Revelations of Heaven unexpectedly forged him into a human weapon.
Vale must now obtain his freedom and exact a price in blood from his captors for stealing the only thing of value he had left: his soul.