Chronosuke, a man whose hands bore the faint scent of brass and sandalwood, once lived a life of quiet dignity in a small Edo dwelling. A former retainer of the Ako Domain, his days as a samurai were long past, replaced by the precise rhythm of cogwheels and escapements. Though poverty often gnawed at his heels, he found solace in his craft, his kind and serious nature finding expression in the intricate mechanisms of time.

Until the day it happened. A slip of the hand, a curious alignment of arcane alloys and rare crystals, and a faint, almost imperceptible hum. His latest creation, a miniature desk clock adorned with a stylized phoenix, quivered. Chronosuke, reaching to adjust a misplaced spring, watched in bewildered horror as a fallen scrap of paper on his workbench un-crumpled itself, floating back into his hand. Then, the faint chime of a nearby temple bell, which had just faded, rang out again.

He had accidentally invented a clock that could turn back time.

Initial disbelief gave way to a thrilling, terrifying realization. He began small, retrieving dropped coins, replaying a losing hand of dice at a street stall. But the power, once tasted, was intoxicating. Soon, the humble clockmaker was a regular at Edo's largest gambling houses, his reputation growing as the man who simply could not lose. Dice rolls were re-rolled, card draws un-drawn, until the outcome was favorable.

Wealth, once a distant dream, flowed into his life like a spring tide. Chronosuke shed his threadbare kimono for silks, his sparse diet for lavish banquets. He bought a grand house, hired servants, and indulged in every pleasure Edo offered. The once serious glint in his eyes was replaced by a confident, almost arrogant sparkle. He thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of his success, the power over fate itself

It was during one of his visits to a bustling, smoke-filled gambling house in Yoshiwara that he first saw her. You stood amidst the clamor, an island of calm authority, your eyes like polished obsidian, her lips curved in a perpetual, mysterious smile, and you were the proprietor of the establishment.

"I should probably go and talk to her" he thought