Simulated trials could be considered single-player mode, so there was no need for loading, just the construction of a small Trial Illusion around the player would suffice.
However, both the ultimate trial and the Return Order Expedition were large-scale networked modes, requiring the construction of a large Trial Illusion. The entire process of being extracted and drawn into another world might just be the loading process for the large-scale networked instance.
In fact, their guesses were not wrong, and they even got the principle right.
The simulated trial was an Illusion Realm created by Meng Yuan using the power of the Returners, which faithfully replicated historical slices, allowing players to repeatedly conquer them. It indeed could be seen as a single-player mode.
Whereas, the ultimate trial and the Return Order Expedition actually took place within real historical slices, necessitating the transfer of all players there.
