Confession dial The confession dial was a small , circular disk used as part of a Gallifreyan ritual act of purification . It allowed a dying Time Lord to face their demons and make their peace before their mind was uploaded to the Matrix . ( TV : " Hell Bent " ) It was often referred to as the last will and testament of a Time Lord . According to ancient tradition , it was to be delivered to their closest friend on the eve of their final day . ( TV : " The Magician ' s Apprentice " ) However , it could be re - purposed to expose someone to their greatest fears to drive them to confess ; if the person did confess they would be released , otherwise they would be killed . The Twelfth Doctor ' s confession dial was used in this manner by the Time Lords . However , the Doctor was able to escape after being trapped for four and a half billion years . ( TV : " Hell Bent " ) The Doctor ' s confession dial . After being summoned by Davros , the Twelfth Doctor left a confession dial with Ohila for her to deliver to . ( WC : " Prologue " ) Missy brought it to Earth and met with Clara Oswald , and explained that the confession dial was to be given to a Time Lord ' s best friend prior to their death . Clara attempted to pick the dial up , believing that it was intended for her , but it responded by shocking her . Missy explained the confession was for herself , and would only open after the Doctor died . She took it with her to Essex in 1138 and to Skaro . ( TV : " The Magician ' s Apprentice " ) Davros came into possession of the dial after he and the Dalek s took the Doctor , Clara and Missy prisoner . When the Dalek city was destroyed by decaying Dalek mutants revived by regenerative energy , the Doctor took back the confession dial . ( TV : " The Witch ' s Familiar " ) The Twelfth Doctor gave the Confession Dial to Mayor Me just before Clara Oswald ' s death in the trap street she governed . ( TV : " Face the Raven " ) He himself was subsequently teleported inside it , where he was pursued through a castle by a veiled creature from his nightmares which sought to force him to confess his knowledge of " the Hybrid " . After entering into a recurring loop of dying and reloading himself from the teleport ' s hard drive , he finally broke free and passed through a portal to outside the device , and found himself on Gallifrey ( TV : " Heaven Sent " ) , finally discovering that his prison had been his own confession dial . After escaping , the Doctor made his way to the barn of his childhood where he stayed until Rassilon came to face the Doctor himself . When Rassilon arrived , he tried to shake the Doctor ' s hand , but the Doctor instead dropped the confession dial at his feet and ordered Rassilon to " get off my planet . " Rassilon explained that the Doctor had information they needed on the Hybrid and if he ' d told them what they ' d wanted to know , he could ' ve walked out of the confession dial . The Doctor was unimpressed and just reiterated his order , exiling Rassilon and later the High Council . He later expressed his disgust to Ohila that the Time Lords had used his confession dial to create their own personal torture chamber for him . The Time Lords later extracted Clara from the last second before her death at the Doctor ' s request . However , she was distraught to see their time apart affected him adversely . The Doctor tried to dodge questions from Clara about his time away from her , but finally revealed he was tortured over the span of four and a half billion years . Clara told the Time Lords that they were monsters that were hated by everyone , especially her . ( TV : " Hell Bent " )