Per 
Ketter's Cathedral
Dust from ages ago flew outside as the old door creaked open. The drenched man overcome by the smell sniffed his nose and stepped inside. "Hello?" he asked whilst slowly closing the door. His question was only answered by the eerie silence echoing between the stone pillars. He wiped his feet and stepped towards the aisle.
The man, whose name bared no importance, was surprised for the first time in years. Even though the cathedral was abandoned for what seemed like decades, the benches all had cushions that were looked after with hymnals in a compartment underneath. Out of curiosity, he took one and skimmed through the pages. The verses were written in Hebrew, which he could neither speak nor read. He looked further through the hymnal whilst walking further towards the altar.
A symbol he did not recognize caught his attention. A sideway eight with a double-cross coming out of the middle. Unfortunately, he never had an interest in alchemy before. He studied it for a good while before he realized that he still hadn't arrived at the altar. Strange, he could have sworn he had been walking for a good minute, perhaps even several minutes already.
It was then that he saw that the only light inside were the crepuscular rays that came through the stained glass. The chandeliers whilst still impressive, only hung from their chains as did the oil lamps. He walked back down the aisle and put the hymnal back, now seeing that they were not all the same after putting it back underneath the wrong seat by accident. They had all different symbols on their cover, but he did not see that earlier as they all were carefully laid downwards.
He held the other one, imprinted with a knot, and placed it back as he found it. Eventually, he found an empty bench and parted with the hymnal, which he now saw, had an encircled pentagram on the cover. The cathedral remained empty and the unsettling feeling inside him grew stronger. The lost man decided to search for a hymnal associated with his own beliefs, even though he was not very religious to begin with.
He found one with two equilateral triangles that made a star, one with a star and crescent, and a lot of others with symbols that had their own meaning. It dawned on him that some of the ones he recognized did normally not even have hymnals to begin with. In the end, he did not find what he was looking for.
He walked to the side and found a stand to burn candles with a crate underneath. Unable to find his coin, he decided to burn one regardless and said a quick prayer. To make up for his inability to pay, he cleaned the mud of the aisle that came from his own feet, which he wiped again.
He heard the sliding of a curtain echoing and glanced around. It was then that he saw that the confessional was now available. A bit hesitant, he stepped inside, unbeknownst to himself as to who was at the other end, and closed the curtain. He slowly sat down, wondering if he had done the right thing, and said;
"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."
"I'm sorry, I am not a priest. But be not afraid, tell me, when was your last confession?" a fool stench became stronger inside. It reminded him of rotten eggs.
"This is my first confession Fa- Excuse me, how should I address you?"
"I assume that as you find yourself in a confessional, you are in a cathedral, right?"
"Yes, but I don't quite understand. Aren't you inside as well?"
"This is a place for people that do not identify with religion very well, it is an instrument crafted for mainly agnostic or atheists people. The setting is based on what your most influential belief is, as everyone can think of a place of worship, it can be a temple, a cathedral, or something else. As for who you are speaking to, that is decided by the instrument by which religion you happened to pick first. You cannot find the religion you associate the most with, which I assume you tried. But I must say, I never thought I of all people would hear out a confession."
"Euh… This is a lot to take in… Did I die? And doesn't that mean that you are-"
"Yes, I am. And yes, you did. I'm terribly sorry, my condolences."
"So you will decide my fate? I have to confess to all the sins I ever committed at once?"
"No, the instrument knows. But everyone deserves an opportunity to speak before being judged. At least that was the consensus we came to in regards to the people who find themselves here. Most people tell us their regrets or admit several things. After you are done, you will receive a fair judgment."
"So, an assignment to heaven or hell after I am done, huh?"
"Not perse, there are other possibilities like reincarnation or eternal sleep. Now, do you have anything you want to get off your chest or would you like the ask more questions? Don't worry we have all the time. I don't think you heard a bell toll yet."
In a slight state of shock, he realized that he was right. It did indeed feel like he was inside significantly longer than an hour. His eyes stared past the altar and the chandeliers hoping to see the clock on the wall move to prove him wrong. But by every second that passed as he counted, another one didn't go by. Slightly shaken, he remained silent for a moment before speaking out;
"Yes, I might not be the most religious man but I don't think I belong here."
"Faith and religion are complicated things. A child that gets baptized and does its communion may change its beliefs later. Others are not sure what to believe anymore with the, if I may say so, impressive rate of scientific discoveries. Things are not simply black and white, nor should they be judged like that. Even people, especially the ones like you. I assume you can probably see where I am coming from."
"I- I understand what you are talking about. Not completely, but I do. But how do you keep operating this instrument?"
"We don't keep it going, you do. Well, some of you do. You cleaned the aisle, didn't you? Others do things like that as well. Someone else will clean off the candle wax eventually just like someone will oil the hinges on the door. Oh, about the candles don't worry about it. Most beliefs don't bury people with coins anymore, nor do they find themselves in the setting of the cathedral should they wind up here."
"Good… As for my confession…"
"Take all the time you need to make up your mind."
⠀
If the man confessed to his sins first, even though the confessional might have been a construct, or did accept his outcome already, no one knows except those two and the instrument. The details never left the inside the confessional, as it should be. However, it is known, that after he opened the curtain again, he patiently sat down on the same bench he took the first hymnal from, and eventually fell asleep. And as his candle finally melted completely down and the flame went out, a light emitted inside the cathedral.
Later, perhaps surprisingly, he walked out of the door with every single trace of the rain gone. And now all are left wondering if he ever set foot in there, if not into another cathedral, ever again.
